I'm A Big Boy Now

I am very excited to say that Oliver is finally potty trained.  Back in August, I attempted to potty train him using a 3-Day potty training program.  After 5 full days of wet pants and floor, I gave up.  He just must not have been ready.  I know some of you may be thinking I gave up too easily but he made no effort.  He didn't even try to make it to the potty - ever.  I figured I'd just wait.
Fast forward to Friday Dec 10th.  I was looking after my nephews for the evening and watched an episode of Supernanny.  The family had a son who was also 3 and not potty trained.  Watching him was like watching Oliver back in August.  The Supernanny called the parents lazy.  I had to agree with her.  Not about them, but about me.  That is exactly what I was being.  It wasn't even like I took offence to it.  I knew she was right.  I knew I was being lazy.
I couldn't stop thinking about the stupid show all weekend so come Monday when Oliver got up, I put his pull ups out of his sight, put some underwear on him and decided I wasn't going back.  Getting underwear on him wasn't that easy.  He refused.  He cried and protested and wanted his pull up.  It was only when he wanted to go downstaris with me to do laundry that I could get him to put underwear on.  The rest is history.  It's been smooth sailing.  He's only had a handful of accidents.  He initiates going.  I rarely ever have to prompt him to go - usually just before a nap, bedtime or if we are going out.  I do still put a pull up on him at night.  Only twice has he woken up wet and both times were when he's fallen asleep at dinner time and not woken up until the next morning.  I will probably just put one on him until the bag is finished.  I am so very proud of him.  It may have taken a long time to get here but it's been going so smoothly I don't even care.  It was worth the wait. 

C'est La Vie

Today, we attempted to have family pictures taken.  Not only just us but I really wanted to get a picture of the grandkids on Shawn's side and Syd is even here so it was the perfect opportunity.  What a disaster!  Oliver was such a nightmare.  He just refused (aside for maybe 3 minutes) to cooperate.  I broke out all the bribes.  Candy, a new Hot Wheel, a color change Hot Wheel, Mcdonalds, anything he wanted at all.  I was that desparate.  Reed, he wanted nothing to do with being there either.  He cried more in the 90 minutes we were there then he has the 6 months he's been alive.  I didn't know what to do.  I wanted a picture so I told her to take them screams, tears and all.  Eventually, I just gave up and we left.  I didn't get any pictures that I wanted.  I wanted Reed to have his 6 month pictures done and that didn't happen either.  I don't know what was up with either of them.  It was such a horrible experience.  The photographer, Jillian was great.  She was very engaging and patient.  She gave it her best effort to get Oliver to cooperate.  I kept saying to myself "thank God she has 4 kids" because I like to think that she must have encountered such craziness either personally or professionally.  I was quite embarrassed.  It shall be interesting to see what kind of pictures we end up with.  I do know she got a few good ones of Jack on his own and I think of Oliver too for the 3 minutes he was cooperating.  Ahhh, c'est la vie!!

A Proud Moment

My Pride and Joy

Yesterday, Reed had his 6 month well baby check up.  Because Shawn is working nights this week, I bundled up the three kids and off to the doctor's office we went.  I was half dreading this trip to the doctors office with three kids in tow.  Let's face it, the wait times can sometimes be long and offices are pretty boring.  If our doctor's office lacks anything, it's any form of children entertainment.  I can remember my doctor's office as a kid always having a little place in the corner that held toys and books.  This doctor's office, not so much.  It holds only a few books.
As the time went on I thought to myself, this is going pretty good.  The kids are being really good, Jack played his DS a little, they had snacks, I read them some books, they played with their hot wheels and ran around and chased each other.  We had snuggles and played rock, paper, scissors.  I thought they were good boys.  They sometimes needed a gentle reminder not to scream or talk so loud but they were good.  We waited about 40-45 minutes for the appointment then had to wait another 20 minutes after to see the nurse for Reed's needles.
When Reed's turn came for his needles, we all piled into the little room the nurse uses for giving  needles and measuring/weighing infants.  As she is preparing the needles she tells me the following:
"I just had a lady in here and she was telling me there is a young lady out there with 3 young children.  At first she said she felt bad thinking about how busy you must be (I'm thinking it was more she was dreading seeing me get there with three young kids lol) but that those 3 kids were so good she couldn't believe it.  She told the nurse I should be proud of myself for having such great kids and that I have done a great job."  I was so proud.  I was wearing it on my face.  I found it very nice she shared this with me.  It was nice to hear.  We ended up riding the elevator down with said lady and her husband.  She repeated everything herself to me.  She told me I have a beautiful family (I do) and she told the boys they were so good that Santa must be coming to their house (he is).  She told me I am doing a good job and to keep loving my boys (I will).  I thanked her, she wished us a Merry Christmas and off we went our separate ways.   
So to the random lady at the doctor's office, thank you.  Thank you for seeing that my boys are good kids.  Thank you for taking the time to take note they are and tell me.  Thank you for seeing that I love them.  Thank you for making my day.

Just Searching For A Gigabit Router

How many gigabits is that thing?

Reed - Quick Update

Finally after 5 months (longer if you count the last 10 weeks of my pregnancy), we have an answer regarding Reed's left kidney.
Reed has what is called a Multicystic Dysplastic Kidney (MCDK). MCDK is a condition that results from the malformation of the kidney during fetal development. The kidney consists of irregular cysts of varying sizes and has no function. His right kidney however is perfectly healthy. Humans need only one functioning kidney to live.
Back in the day, they used to surgically remove the cystic kidney. Now however, they just monitor it. We will need to go to Sick Kids every 3 months for follow up ultrasounds to make sure it doesn't grow or change in any way and also to make sure his right kidney continues to function properly. Should any concerns arise, then we would talk about it being surgically removed.
I guess this was the best news we could get. I'm okay with it. I'm very happy that he won't need to have surgery. Thank you to everyone for your kind words and support while we have been waiting for answers. I really do appreicate it.

Happy 3rd Birthday Oliver

My little Oliver turned 3 today.  Time has gone by way too fast.  He has grown and changed so much since last year.  He amazes me every day. 

At 3, Oliver knows the alphabet (though not every letter is understandable) and can count to 13.
At 3, Oliver knows the sound that about 5 letters make.
At 3, Oliver knows his shapes and colors.
At 3, Oliver's favorite toys are his cars from the movie Cars.
At 3, Oliver refuses to use the toilet or potty and refuses to talk about anything that has to do with him being potty trained.
At 3, Oliver's best friend is his brother Jack.
Broccoli is his favorite vegetable.
At 3, Oliver is very stubborn. When he has an agenda, there is no alternating it.
At 3, I can still sometimes get snuggles.
At 3, Oliver is the cutest, sweetest, most adorable little 3 year old ever.

Happy Birthday Oliver! I love you very much!

Happy Halloween

Jack

Oliver

Reed

Vaccinations

Do you as an adult keep your vaccinations up to date?  I was sitting here and thinking, those of us who vaccinate our kids (I'm not even going to get into my thoughts on people who do not vaccinate their children) do so because we want to protect them.  Did you ever stop to think that if your vaccinations are not up to date then you are putting your and other young children and babies around you a chance at exposure before they are able to be fully vaccinated.  Makes sense right?  Do yourself and everyone around you a favor and get your boosters.   They don't cost a thing and most of you can get them at your family doctors office or clinic.  I'm sure your local public health unit would be a good place to start if you don't have a family doctor.  And yes, my vaccinations are up to date.  Now to get Shawn to go and get his vaccinations up to date too.

October is Child Abuse Awareness Month

Kids Shouldn't Have to Live With Abuse

Each October Children's Aid Societies partner with other agencies in Ontario to participate in a province-wide Purple Ribbon Campaign to raise awareness on the prevention of child abuse and negelct.

Everyone has a legal and moral duty to report child abuse. Not only is everyone required to report known incidents of abuse, but also cases of suspected abuse.  CAS relies on the community to be the voice for those children who are unable to speak up for themselves. [Source]

If you know or suspect a child is in need of protection contact your nearest CAS right away.  Someone will answer your call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Your call can remain anonymous.  Click here for a listing of Ontario Children's Aid Societies.

Postpartum Depression

I think I am ready to admit it.   I believe I have postpartum depression.  Although I have yet to see the Dr and actually be told I have this, I can check off quite a few of the symptoms.  Let me begin by saying this - IT SUCKS!
At first, I didn't think it could be it because Reed is 4 months old now and I figured it was something you got right from the beginning.  After doing some reading, I learned this is not true.  It can begin to develop at anytime during the first year.
I plan to bring it up when I take Reed in for his next well baby check up.  Because I don't want to take a prescribed antidepressant (I'm too afriad to), I have started taking St John's Wort as well as an Omega-3 supplement both which are supposed to aid with depression.
I do think that maybe, just maybe I felt this a tiny bit when Oliver was a baby but it wasn't anything that I thought warranted any kind of intervention.  This time though, it's way different.  Way worse.  Like worse enough that I plan to bring it up to my Dr and am actually taking something for it.
I have also started a running program (Couch-to-5K) because exercise is obviously an important factor in helping me fight my depression.  That and of course I have a billion pounds of baby weight to shed.
I'm not always the most open and honest about things like this.  Normally I would just keep it to myself but
I thought maybe talking about it may be of some help too. 
When the thought first occurred to me, I didn't want to admit it.  I guess you could say maybe I was a little bit ashamed.  I thought, I shouldn't be depressed.  I should be happy.  Elated even.  I have 3 wonderful, happy, healthy kids, family and friends who love us and a helpful (most of the time) partner.  What have I got to be depressed about?  Then I realized it isn't something I have any control over.  Well, maybe some control but let's face it, I'm not in the driver's seat.  It looks like I'm along for the ride with this one.  Hopefully it doesn't last too long. 

Breast vs Bottle - To Each Their Own.

After reading a couple of blog posts on the subject (here and here) I was inspired to write a post on the subject myself.  I don't know many other child rearing subjects that causes more debate then breastfeeding vs bottle/formula feeding. 
I am a bottle/formula feeding Mom and I am not the least bit ashamed of this.  I don't judge breastfeeding Moms because of their choice and it would be really wonderful if it were the same the other way around.  Think what you want about bottle/formula feeding but for real, shut the fuck up there is no reason for you to judge anyone else about choices they make for them and their families.
I will probably open up a can of worms here but I don't 100% agree with "breast is best".  I know I'm not a doctor or any kind of medical professional but my thoughts are strictly based on my experience of having 3 kids.
Here are my counter arguments to some of the reasons why breast is best.

Nursing provides a time of close personal and physical bonding between Mom and baby.
Guess what?  I have bonded perfectly with my children.  Even though it's a bottle in their mouth and not by boob, feeding time is still a time of close personal and physical bonding.  Guess what else?  For Daddy too.

Medical evidence is clear: breast milk results in healthier babies and stronger immune system.
I disagree with this one.  As I said earlier, I know I am not a medical professional but this is based on my experience of having 3 kids.  My kids are very healthy.  Aside from the common cold, they very rarely, if ever get sick.  Jack is almost 6 and has been on an antibiotic once and this was back in May for tonsillitis.  Oliver has never been on an antibiotic.  Neither of my kids have ever had an ear infection or any other illness.
Of course, all I can do is compare their health to the health of my friends babies/kids who were/are breastfed.

Babies who are breastfed go to sleep faster, and are more easily soothed than bottle babies.
Ha.  Again, I disagree.  Jack and Oliver were both sleeping through the night by 13 weeks.  Ask me about my friends breastfed babies who weren't sleeping through the night until they were almost 6 months old or older!!!  Oy. 

Breastfeeding is easier and less work.
Easier and less work?  This is supposed to be a deterrent?  I didn't realize washing bottles (which takes like 3 minutes) was a lot of work.  So I need to warm my kids bottle before feeding it to him.  This is a big deal?  This too is a lot of work?
From what my breastfeeding friends tell me, breastfeeding wasn't all that fun and easy for the first weeks.  Dreadful and painful infact.  Yes it did become easier with time but I still don't find bottle feeding to me hard or a lot of work.


These are just a few examples I often read and/or hear.  I'm not saying that one is better than the other.  My point is, they both have their pros and cons.  Like parenting isn't hard enough on it's own, and there aren't a million things you can debate and worry about, nobody should ever make anyone else feel bad about a choice they have made.  Because some of you Moms out there breastfeed, it doesn't mean that you are a better parent or care more about your children than us bottle/formula feeding Moms.  All I ask is that we all be respectful of each others choices. 

Nervous - Addendum

Reed's appointment yesterday went well. He will be referred to see a pediatric urologist. The general surgeon with met with yesterday said this would be their area
of expertise so they will know what is the best course of action to take.
They were concerned about the mass being attached to the adrenal glad but this is not the case. It is more acting as a hat to the kidney which they say may potentially still have some slight function or it will not function at all. They also noted his right kidney is bigger than average (it mesasure in the 95 percentile) and he said this is because it is overcompensating for the left one and will probably get bigger. Now it's just waiting for the Urology Clinic to get a hold of us and meet with them and see what they have to say. They did try to get us into the clinic while we were there yesterday but our appointment was later in the day (we met with the general surgeon around 4pm) and the clinic was closed for the day. It would have been nice to see them all in the same day but c'est la vie!

Nervous

Reed has his first appointment at Sick Kids today. He is going in to have an ultrasound and then meet with a general surgeon. I'm really feeling nervous about
these said appointments. I really mostly nervous about hearing what exactly is going on in the poor little guys abdomen.
I haven't talked much about it because there really has been much to say but here is a little background info.
When I was pregnant, they found a fibroid on my uterus. Because I was planning a homebirth, I was sent for a follow up ultrasound to make sure it hadn't grown so I could proceed with my homebirth. When I went for my ultrasound they couldnt' see it anymore. I felt a little sketchy about this so asked for a Level 2 ultrasound. My reason for this is fibroids prevent your uterus from contracting as it should and can lead to increased bleeding and I didn't want this to happen to me at home should they had make a mistake.
Fast forward to my Level 2 ultrasound and they find fluid in the baby's left kidney. We meet with a pediatrician. He tells us Reed has a blockage/narrowing of the ureter (it's called UPJ), his kidney is very damaged and not fully developed and what little kidney is there will fade away. End result, he will have one functioning kidney which is not a problem and all should be well. He recommended Reed have his own ultrasound anytime after he is a week old.
At 3 weeks old, Reed went for his ultrasound. Long story about getting the results but I eventually hunted them down and had them at the Dr's office for his 2 month check up.
As it turns out from his ultrasound, he does indeed have a full second kidney however it is being pushed down by a mass that has grown in his abdomen. It's a good size. I don't know the exact dimensions but I can feel it and you can actually kind of see around about where it is because it sticks out ever so slightly.
We have no idea what it is. This is what freaks me out and makes me nervous. I can think all of the worse case scenarios but I don't want to go there. Needless to say, we are consulting with a general surgeon because it's going to have to be removed. Let's all cross our fingers and say a prayer it's benign.

Goals

Do you ever set goals? Do you ever meet them? Sometimes I will make some goals in my head and I've learned that this is not an effective form of goal making because nobody knows about them so I guess I don't really feel obligated to actually work toward meeting them. I do often wonder if I made my goals public if I would feel more enticed to meet them but I don't really think that will make a difference. So, like how I make my goals, I beat myself up the same way for not even trying to meet them.
It's just so easy to get unmotivated.
My current goal is to shed this disgusting baby weight I'm carrying around with me. When I get pregnant, I get all crazy and just eat whatever the hell I want without a care in the world. After my babies are born, I completely regret it because it just isn't easy to lose the weight. You would think I would have learned my lesson this third time around but no.
I do realize my kid is only 2 months old. I know "they" say it took 9 months to gain the weight so I should give myself the same amount of time to lose it. I just can't wait for the summer to be over (gasp) so that it isn't a million degrees both inside and out. I know that is a poor excuse (the heat) but I just can't bring myself to get outside and jog or work up a sweat working out when I'm already sweating. Also, it is not easy finding time in a day with 3 small kids. Perhaps I just need to make it more of a priority and then I will find the time. I do after all find the time to play poker once a week and watch my show for an hour every day. It isn't even like I want to lose a tremendous amount of weight. I just want to be able to wear my old clothes again. That would be nice. I have never gone back down to my pre Jack weight. That would be absolutely superb but I am at least realistic with my goals.

Odd Finding

Was over at Laura's playing cards. She went inside from the garage then came back to tell me Oliver was asleep on the stairs. This is how she found him.
Have you ever found your kids asleep in a bizzare place?

Also, I've decided that drinking Cheryl shouldn't play cards. It never ends well.

Reed's Birth Story

It's been 5 days already since Reed was born. I can hardly believe it's been that long already. It makes me sad to think time is going by so quickly. I wish I could freeze him at his cute little size. I can't believe I'm even saying that because normally I'm not a big fan of the infant stage. Maybe it's because I know it's going to be the last time I have a newborn to care for.
I had said I would write about our little birthing adventure so here it is.
Friday we decided to head up to Shawn's parents for the weekend. They live just north of Parry Sound. I figured I wasn't even 38 weeks pregnant so we should be fine. After the 38th week, I wouldn't travel anywhere. On our drive up I started to feel cramping. This wasn't any kind of surprise to me as I had been feeling this cramping from about 26-28 weeks. Braxton Hicks I was told. They just felt like menstrual cramps. They weren't any worse than normal. I didn't think anything of it until I woke up the next morning still feeling these cramps on and off. Never have I woken up in the morning feeling them. There was never a certain time of day I ever did but never when I first woke up in the morning.
Because we were so far away from my midwives and there wouldn't be anything they could do for me from there, I decided that maybe we should go into town and go to the hospital. Here they did a non stress test. The test showed that yes I was having some tightening but there was no regular pattern and when they checked my cervix I wasn't at all dilated. The doctor there suggested we pack up and return home because anything could happen at any time. This is what we did.
The drive home is about 3 hours. During our drive I continued to feel the cramping. I was writing down when they started and they were still very erratic in time, length and strength. When we returned to Durham I called the midwife (the Dr in Parry Sound had already talked to her). Because of the inconsistency of my cramping she thought I was just having Braxton Hicks contractions and suggested I go home and rest and keep myself hydrated. She said when the contractions begin to develop a pattern then to give her a call. This was probably between 630-700pm. When we got home, I had a nice warm bath. At around 7:44pm I decided to time the contractions again using a website (www.contractionmaster.com) After having 6 contractions spaced from 3-7 minutes apart and lasting 48 seconds to over a minute, I decided to call the midwife again. We decided to meet at the hospital. Before we left I went to the washroom. It was here that my water broke. This totally freaked me out. I remember how quickly I delivered Oliver after my water broke. Shawn and I were still waiting for Stephanie (bless her soul) to get here to watch Oliver. In the meantime, waiting downstairs by the van, I began to feel a lot of pressure in my bottom. Oh oh. Not good. This really had me in a panic. I was certain I was going to deliver my baby in my driveway. Shawn asked if I wanted him to call an ambulance. Without thinking twice about it, I said yes.
The original plan was to deliver in Oshawa. The ambulance brought us to the hospital here in Bowmanville. They don't deliver babies at this hospital anymore. I informed them the midwife was meeting us in Oshawa. He said there wasn't enough time to get to Oshawa unless I wanted to have my baby in the back of the ambulance. This I did not want. Shawn followed the ambulance to the hospital. Once we arrived, I don't think more than 5-10 minutes passed before I delivered our baby in a back room which appeared to be a room that housed supplies. I think maybe they did sutures and stuff back here. There was a baby warmer covered by a blanket that didn't look like it had been used in a while.
The delivery went smoothly. I felt bad for the Doctor and Nurses. Although they all remained calm, comforting, and supportive it was quite obvious this was not something they are accustomed to doing. The Doctor told me it had been 8 years since he had delivered a baby, the Nurse, her first. The other nurse told me she had 5 kids so she wasn't the least bit phased by the whole thing. Once the baby and I were quickly looked after, we were transported to the Oshawa Hospital where we met the midwife. From there, we did what needed to be done, spent the night and were released the following day. We were home by 1pm.
Reed is doing well. He had his 5 day check up with the midwife today. He weighs 7lbs 5oz and is sleeping and eating well. Aside from feeling a little tired, I am also doing well. It can get to be a little busy at times but the boys are adjusting well and being very patient and understanding. I love my boys.

34 Weeks

Time is going to so quickly. I can hardly believe that in 6 weeks we will be having our third child.
This pregnancy has had it's ups and downs. Nobody ever told me that each pregnancy becomes more physically draining then the last. I just feel so tired all the time. I get many aches and pains. I feel so whiny and like I complain a lot. I mentioned this to Shawn the other day and he just laughed. He neglected to comment. Good man he is.
On the other hand, this little guy moves a lot. It's nice to feel him moving so much except when he decides to tuck his little foot right under my ribcage and I can hardly breathe.
I'm excited most to see how the boys are once he is born. Jack talks about his being born in June. He knows it is around Daddy's birthday but that we don't know the exact date. I asked him what he thought of my big belly the other day. He replied "It's perfect". Such a sweet boy.
I have no idea what to expect from Oliver. He is either going to be a doting, loving, overbearing brother or he won't bother with him at all. I'm leaning toward the first. I could of course, be in for a surprise. I hate surprises.
Shawn and I are going to try putting bunk beds together tomorrow. We managed today to put together a dresser from Ikea without killing each other (we didn't once argue/disagree on anything), so we shall see how it goes tomorrow. I honestly think it was the first time we put something together and didn't once shout at one another or become frustrated.
I have a prenatal visit this week. I really hate the weight part. Whatever, I know I'm pregnant and all that stuff but it's still depressing seeing the number every couple of weeks. It doesn't help that I never weigh myself normally so to have to do it all the time just kind of sucks. I'm doing well though. I haven't gained a crazy amount of weight. I'm right within what is normal. I just know it wasn't easy to lose all of the weight the last time (I could never lose that last 5 lbs) and I'm going to have far less time to myself. I'm grateful it's going to be the summer so we will be out for lots of walks and trips to the park/zoo.

28 Weeks

I am, as the title says, 28 weeks pregnant. I can hardly believe that in only 12 weeks I will be giving birth. My weight gain as gotten out of control. I was doing so good too. It's those damn cookies and ice cream. I have absolutely no self control around either of them. According to any pregnancy weight gain calculator I'm actually right on target but having gained 7lbs (yes 7!) over the last 4 weeks completely shocked me. Well maybe not shocked because I guess I was expecting it but there is always that glimmer of hope it won't be so much when I step on the scale. I don't own a scale so it's always a surprise when I go to an appointment. Whatever, I'm having a baby and I know weight gain is normal but 7 pounds in 4 week?!? It's not going to be much fun having to lose this weight after it's all said and done.

I've been planning on having a home birth. Because they found a fibroid at my 19 week ultrasound I am going for a follow up ultrasound next week to check on it's growth. At 19 weeks, it was 5cm. Unless it has shrunk to 3cm or less, a home birth isn't going to be an option. I'm hoping it has gotten smaller and not bigger or even stayed the same size. I guess I should be checking out my two choices of hospitals and going to tour them. Although I gave birth to Jack at one of these hospitals, their facilities have changed and I would like to check it out. The midwife is being pretty optimistic. My biggest fear is having to have my care transferred and to an OB/GYN who is going to push for a c-section. It would devastate me to have to go from planning a home birth to having a c-section. I of course am thinking worse case scenario. Damn fibroid. Who invited you anyway?

Here's a picture I took of myself today. Don't mind the dust and fingerprints on the mirror.

There Is Really A Market For These?

Okay so Shawn and I were talking about baby proofing earlier today. I think the extent of our baby proofing has been to put outlet covers on the electrical outlets and locks on the kitchen/bathroom cabinet doors and not much more than that. Of course, if we had stairs we would have installed baby gates at the top and bottom of them but we don't have any stairs. We of course keep medications out of reach and although they can still be toxic, I use mostly green products and as I just said, we've put locks on the cabinet doors.
I came across a Kijiji ad for this today and could hardly believe my eyes.

It's called a Thudguard. It is a foam hat that is designed to help absorb and reduce the impact of falls from a child’s own height and lessen the chance of head injury when infants are learning to walk.
Do people really buy these things? Obviously they do. I'm just in total shock. I mean, really? Ya I know kids fall when they are learning to walk and yes I know they could hit their head on like say the side of a table or whatever but to buy a helmet and make them wear one? Why not have kids wear a helmet all the time whether they are learning to walk or not? Isn't a head injury always possible?
I don't know about you but, I just find this to be a little extreme.

Happy 5th Birthday Jack

I can't believe my little guy is 5 today. It seems like just yesterday Shawn was driving me to the hospital half if the bag after watching the Super Bowl. These past 5 years have been filled with great joy, and a lot of learning but I wouldn't change a darn thing about it for anything. Happy birthday Jack. Mommy couldn't be any more proud of you!

It's A Boy!!

Holy shit! I had my 2nd ultrasound today. I can't believe we are having another boy. I have to admit, I was maybe just a teensy, wee bit disappointed with the news. It would have been nice to have a little girl. I didn't think I was going to feel that way and it actually surprised me.
I could also tell that Jack was a little disappointed. He really wanted to have a little sister because "I already have a little brother. One is enough." Shawn too was hoping to have a little girl. He was all like "well, I guess we will just have to have a 4th kid". Ha ha. Crazy fool for thinking that is ever going to happen.
Oh well. I'm just happy that the baby is developing well and appears to be healthy. It's all I can really ask for.

16 Weeks and Counting

Holy geez. I'm already 16 weeks pregnant. No complaints really. Okay so maybe I'm a little bit anxious to look and feel a little less fat and a little more pregnant. I'm not really fond of this in between stage. I've made the jump from my regular pants to maternity pants because well, they just fit and feel so much better. In just a few weeks it will be time for the ultrasound that will hopefully tell us if we are having a boy or a girl. I'm pretty anxious for this. The suspense is killing me. I hate not knowing.
I had my first prenatal appointment with the midwife this week. I am happy to report that I have gained only 2 pounds since my last appointment 4 weeks ago. How I made it through the Christmas holidays with two turkey dinners and unlimited sweets at my fingertips with only a 2 pound weight gain I don't know but I sure as hell am not going to complain.

Jack and Oliver are doing well. I can't believe that in only a months time Jack is going to be celebrating his 5th birthday. Holy crap! Five is a big birthday. It's hard for me to believe I've been a Mommy for almost 5 years now. It sure has been a blessing and a heck of a lot of fun.
What to say about Oliver. Hmmm. The boy keeps us busy. He's as sweet as pie but can be a little hellion. I guess it goes along with being 2. He is also a little chatter box. It will be nice when he isn't just saying "No. Don't want to (insert whatever it is I'm asking him to do or telling him it's time to do). Lately his favorite thing to do is recite the alphabet. It's really quite cute listening to him. He really only gets like the first 3 or 4 letters right then it's just him stammering through the rest but he does make 26 sounds and sings the "now I know my alphabet" part. The boy never ceases to amaze me.

I think the best part about my boys, is watching them love each other and being kind to each other. I mean, they have their moments but overall they really seem to genuinely like each other. Jack says every day how cute his brother is and that he loves him. Oliver gets super excited every morning when Jack wakes up or comes home from school. They greet each other with a "good morning and did you have a good sleep" every day. I just love seeing them love each other. It gives me nice warm fuzzies. Being a Mommy rocks. I love and enjoy it more and more every day.