Well, kindergarten is going exceptionally well! We are well into the school year (halfway through the first semester) and it's almost Halloween! Cold temperatures are creeping up on us... or more like, jumping out at us. The midwest... ah, when you can have your air conditioner and heater on in the same day, amirite?!
Tiny Dancer is doing great with her morning routine and kindergarten. She is such a good girl, smart, but overall she is just GOOD. She follows the rules, like, always. She gets this from me. Number One Rule Follower, right here.
We had her first parent/teacher conference, which went well. No surprises, went over what she can work on. She's really picking up on writing her letters and memorizing sight words. She's beginning to read parts of books all on her own. And she still loves books! I can't wait for our future Barnes & Noble visits together. :)
The Baby's birthday party is in 2 weeks. I've been good at picking up what's needed here and there, and making things that need made... I can't believe he will be 1 in 2 weeks. It's unbelievable how fast time flies!
Friday, October 18, 2013
Saturday, August 24, 2013
...and she goes.
My baby started kindergarten this week. She just finished up her first week there... I still haven't really processed it yet and I haven't shed any tears over it yet (surprisingly).
We met Tiny Dancer's teacher Monday night. We LOVE her! And then she went for her first day on Tuesday. She got a little teary-eyed and she told me she was scared, but we left. She told me later that she loved it. And everyday she continues to love it. She likes the cafeteria food too, which is good since she's so picky!
I pulled out some baby toy's that were Tiny Dancer's for the kids I babysit. I specifically remembered picking this particular toy out and buying it for her. Back when it was only her. She was the only child and the only grandchild. I started reminiscing about when we only had 1 child. We had money and we had it easy. We went and did whatever we wanted with Tiny Dancer in tow.
But I stopped that train of thought and thought about NOT having Little Monster and The Baby. I didn't like that feeling.
Those 2 have rounded out our family in ways I could have never imagined.
Sure, we don't have a lot of money. But I get to stay home all day with my babies. I hope eventually that includes homeschooling them. I don't even know if I would have ever entertained the idea of homeschooling if I was still working. And I wouldn't be a full time stay at home mom if I hadn't had more kids. One kid's childcare was easy, but after that... Little Monster is most of the reason why I am a stay at home mom right now.
And sure it's cause for celebration if I can make a trip to the grocery store with all 3 kids in tow and nobody gets lost or seriously injured, and I come home with at least half of what we needed.... but once they get a little older, that will get easier. And we will have 3 times as much fun as we would have had with only one child.
I don't want my kids to completely define me as a person. It's not fair to me or to them. But when I imagine a life without them, it's a life not as full. Not as beautiful. Not as rich with love and laughter. I thank God everyday for giving them to me. And my goal is to make them the 3 best things that I've ever done in my life.
We met Tiny Dancer's teacher Monday night. We LOVE her! And then she went for her first day on Tuesday. She got a little teary-eyed and she told me she was scared, but we left. She told me later that she loved it. And everyday she continues to love it. She likes the cafeteria food too, which is good since she's so picky!
I pulled out some baby toy's that were Tiny Dancer's for the kids I babysit. I specifically remembered picking this particular toy out and buying it for her. Back when it was only her. She was the only child and the only grandchild. I started reminiscing about when we only had 1 child. We had money and we had it easy. We went and did whatever we wanted with Tiny Dancer in tow.
But I stopped that train of thought and thought about NOT having Little Monster and The Baby. I didn't like that feeling.
Those 2 have rounded out our family in ways I could have never imagined.
Sure, we don't have a lot of money. But I get to stay home all day with my babies. I hope eventually that includes homeschooling them. I don't even know if I would have ever entertained the idea of homeschooling if I was still working. And I wouldn't be a full time stay at home mom if I hadn't had more kids. One kid's childcare was easy, but after that... Little Monster is most of the reason why I am a stay at home mom right now.
And sure it's cause for celebration if I can make a trip to the grocery store with all 3 kids in tow and nobody gets lost or seriously injured, and I come home with at least half of what we needed.... but once they get a little older, that will get easier. And we will have 3 times as much fun as we would have had with only one child.
I don't want my kids to completely define me as a person. It's not fair to me or to them. But when I imagine a life without them, it's a life not as full. Not as beautiful. Not as rich with love and laughter. I thank God everyday for giving them to me. And my goal is to make them the 3 best things that I've ever done in my life.
Friday, August 16, 2013
We Are Food Allergy FREE (well, almost)
At The Baby's 9 month check-up, we got The Baby's and Little Monster's food allergies tested. Hers for eggs and his for dairy.
We were so excited to get the call - Little Monster's egg allergy is GONE. GONE!!! She can eat anything with eggs! This was AMAZING! We had done really great at cutting out eggs and I'm so happy we experienced it because I think I've learned a few ways for the whole family to eat a little better. But not worrying about anaphylactic shock is amazing! We don't have to carry around Benadryl and Epi pens anymore! Yippee!
The Baby's test came back good too - he has a VERY mild dairy allergy. So mild, the told me to not give him straight up milk and cheese, but not to worry about limiting it from his diet. We'd also discuss trying whole milk at his 1 year appointment. So, the other day, I gave him some stuff that had milk as an ingredient and wouldn't you know it, he broke out in hives immediately around his mouth.
At our follow-up visit with our pediatrician from The Baby's ER visit, I asked her about it. She said that was strange because it is really so mild, but we are just cutting out all milk for the next 3 months and after his birthday we will try the milk stuff again.
So, even though we do have a food allergy lingering around, it's so minimal that we don't need to worry about Epi pens. And since he still only eats a handful of things (mostly fruits and veggies anyway), it's not a big deal to keep that from his diet.
I'm so excited that we don't have to worry about it anymore... after we found out about Little Monster's non-allergy, we took her for a milkshake, homemade cookies, donuts, pancakes and actual eggs the following weekend. She's gonna gain about 50 pounds now. ;) Oh, well, she could probably use it!
We were so excited to get the call - Little Monster's egg allergy is GONE. GONE!!! She can eat anything with eggs! This was AMAZING! We had done really great at cutting out eggs and I'm so happy we experienced it because I think I've learned a few ways for the whole family to eat a little better. But not worrying about anaphylactic shock is amazing! We don't have to carry around Benadryl and Epi pens anymore! Yippee!
The Baby's test came back good too - he has a VERY mild dairy allergy. So mild, the told me to not give him straight up milk and cheese, but not to worry about limiting it from his diet. We'd also discuss trying whole milk at his 1 year appointment. So, the other day, I gave him some stuff that had milk as an ingredient and wouldn't you know it, he broke out in hives immediately around his mouth.
At our follow-up visit with our pediatrician from The Baby's ER visit, I asked her about it. She said that was strange because it is really so mild, but we are just cutting out all milk for the next 3 months and after his birthday we will try the milk stuff again.
So, even though we do have a food allergy lingering around, it's so minimal that we don't need to worry about Epi pens. And since he still only eats a handful of things (mostly fruits and veggies anyway), it's not a big deal to keep that from his diet.
I'm so excited that we don't have to worry about it anymore... after we found out about Little Monster's non-allergy, we took her for a milkshake, homemade cookies, donuts, pancakes and actual eggs the following weekend. She's gonna gain about 50 pounds now. ;) Oh, well, she could probably use it!
The Baby is 9 Months Old!
I cannot believe he is 9 months old... it just doesn't seem possible!
He went to the doctor for his 9 month check up - sweet boy is in the 10th percentile for weight and 25th percentile for height. Good thing his head is in the 50th! He's got a big noggin on a teeny tiny body... He's so much smaller than the girls were at his age - and that includes a 6 week premature baby! He's just the tiniest thing. Must take after Daddy.
The Baby also thought it would be a fun time for his first ER visit. The week after his check up, he cut his 2 front top teeth. Yes, top teeth! It was so funny to me because the girls got their bottoms first, which I know is more common, but this kid gets his two front teeth first. Silly boy. On Wednesday/Thursday, the girls each ran a really random, yet quick, fever. Pretty low grade, went to bed with Tylenol and woke up feeling fine. On Friday, my parents took me and the kids and my sister and her baby to Tuscola, about 2 1/2 hours away from here, to hit up the Tanger Outlet Malls for some back to school shopping.
The Baby was fine the whole day... he didn't whine or cry too much and he liked being pushed in the stroller. We go home and once Daddy got home, he noticed The Baby felt warm. His temp was almost 102! So we gave him some Tylenol, looked in his mouth and saw 4 more teeth trying to push through. I thought 102 was kinda high for teething, but he had no other symptoms.
We went out to eat and hung out at an arcade for a while and when we got home, The Baby started crying and we noticed he was retracting a bit in his chest. I gave him a breathing treatment and nursed him and once he calmed down, it look a lot less like retractions. We put him to bed and at 1am, he woke us up, crying and really struggling to breathe. Retracting a lot, but no nose flares, no blue tinged fingernails... but I thought he was acting really lethargic and his fever was back. I gave him Tylenol and he puked it up and then a breathing treatment, but he still was not really responding to us and his breathing sounded awful.
This is the point where I started freaking out and my husband had to get me to calm down. I begged him to take him to the ER. He said fine, but he'd go alone and call me if he needed me. I was up the rest of the time until 3:30 when they got home. They gave him more Tylenol, got his fever down and gave him a steroid shot. His pulse ox was 97 when he got there and 97 when he left, so nothing too crazy there but his pulse rate was in the 190s when he got there! Poor little guy... when they left, it was back in the 130s. Well, once he got home, he was hopped up on steroids so he didn't want to sleep and Daddy's alarm went off an hour later. He just stayed home and took him so I could sleep. Our day was all messed up. But The Baby was totally fine the rest of the day!
He does have a cough now and we went to our pediatrician for a follow-up from the ER visit where she ordered a chest X-ray. Thankfully, it came back normal. He's still got a junky cough, but we're hoping that's the end of this nonsense. Oh, yeah, he also started crawling the same week and his 2 bottom teeth popped through. 2 more on the top are close!
He went to the doctor for his 9 month check up - sweet boy is in the 10th percentile for weight and 25th percentile for height. Good thing his head is in the 50th! He's got a big noggin on a teeny tiny body... He's so much smaller than the girls were at his age - and that includes a 6 week premature baby! He's just the tiniest thing. Must take after Daddy.
The Baby also thought it would be a fun time for his first ER visit. The week after his check up, he cut his 2 front top teeth. Yes, top teeth! It was so funny to me because the girls got their bottoms first, which I know is more common, but this kid gets his two front teeth first. Silly boy. On Wednesday/Thursday, the girls each ran a really random, yet quick, fever. Pretty low grade, went to bed with Tylenol and woke up feeling fine. On Friday, my parents took me and the kids and my sister and her baby to Tuscola, about 2 1/2 hours away from here, to hit up the Tanger Outlet Malls for some back to school shopping.
The Baby was fine the whole day... he didn't whine or cry too much and he liked being pushed in the stroller. We go home and once Daddy got home, he noticed The Baby felt warm. His temp was almost 102! So we gave him some Tylenol, looked in his mouth and saw 4 more teeth trying to push through. I thought 102 was kinda high for teething, but he had no other symptoms.
We went out to eat and hung out at an arcade for a while and when we got home, The Baby started crying and we noticed he was retracting a bit in his chest. I gave him a breathing treatment and nursed him and once he calmed down, it look a lot less like retractions. We put him to bed and at 1am, he woke us up, crying and really struggling to breathe. Retracting a lot, but no nose flares, no blue tinged fingernails... but I thought he was acting really lethargic and his fever was back. I gave him Tylenol and he puked it up and then a breathing treatment, but he still was not really responding to us and his breathing sounded awful.
This is the point where I started freaking out and my husband had to get me to calm down. I begged him to take him to the ER. He said fine, but he'd go alone and call me if he needed me. I was up the rest of the time until 3:30 when they got home. They gave him more Tylenol, got his fever down and gave him a steroid shot. His pulse ox was 97 when he got there and 97 when he left, so nothing too crazy there but his pulse rate was in the 190s when he got there! Poor little guy... when they left, it was back in the 130s. Well, once he got home, he was hopped up on steroids so he didn't want to sleep and Daddy's alarm went off an hour later. He just stayed home and took him so I could sleep. Our day was all messed up. But The Baby was totally fine the rest of the day!
He does have a cough now and we went to our pediatrician for a follow-up from the ER visit where she ordered a chest X-ray. Thankfully, it came back normal. He's still got a junky cough, but we're hoping that's the end of this nonsense. Oh, yeah, he also started crawling the same week and his 2 bottom teeth popped through. 2 more on the top are close!
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
School supplies have been purchased and labeled. All of the requirements have been met. Paperwork has been filled out. School registration is next Wednesday and Thursday. I just CANNOT believe Tiny Dancer starts kindergarten in less than a month. The summer flew by and I'm more nervous than she is (at least right now). My husband told me I needed to remember to exude calmness on her first day. To be honest, I'm not that worried about myself during the time... I'm more worried about Dad! He's the teary-eyed one when the girls do something new. I mean, he got choked up at kindergarten roundup! I'll be fine when we take her and breakdown once we're in the parking lot. That's typically how I roll.
We're still working on sight word flash cards. She is so not interested. I don't know how to make her interested. She's smart, but I'm worried about her not applying herself. And I get it, she's in kindergarten, but I don't want a lazy worker in school! That won't bode well for if (when) we eventually make the change into homeschooling. I don't have the patience for lazy workers!
Hopefully, once she gets in there, the reality will set in and she will work hard. Hopefully, once she gets there, the reality will set in that I have a KINDERGARTENER. Because right now, it just does not seem possible that Tiny Dancer is old enough for kindergarten. She's still wearing a 3T swimsuit for goodness' sake.
We're still working on sight word flash cards. She is so not interested. I don't know how to make her interested. She's smart, but I'm worried about her not applying herself. And I get it, she's in kindergarten, but I don't want a lazy worker in school! That won't bode well for if (when) we eventually make the change into homeschooling. I don't have the patience for lazy workers!
Hopefully, once she gets in there, the reality will set in and she will work hard. Hopefully, once she gets there, the reality will set in that I have a KINDERGARTENER. Because right now, it just does not seem possible that Tiny Dancer is old enough for kindergarten. She's still wearing a 3T swimsuit for goodness' sake.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Ch-ch-ch-changes!
I decided as opposed to keeping my blog private, that I'd make some changes to it. First, my children are no longer referred to by their names... They will go by, forevermore, the following names:
Tiny Dancer, Little Monster and The Baby.
Yeah, I didn't get to creative on that last name. I don't post a whole lot of pictures, so hopefully I don't experience any problems with them not being private.
Oh, and I changed the name of the blog! Sweetness of little girls just doesn't work for us anymore now that The Baby is here. I hope by giving Dr. Seuss credit for his lines from One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish that I'm not doing anything illegal. I love those lines from the book. :)
Tiny Dancer, Little Monster and The Baby.
Yeah, I didn't get to creative on that last name. I don't post a whole lot of pictures, so hopefully I don't experience any problems with them not being private.
Oh, and I changed the name of the blog! Sweetness of little girls just doesn't work for us anymore now that The Baby is here. I hope by giving Dr. Seuss credit for his lines from One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish that I'm not doing anything illegal. I love those lines from the book. :)
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Summer, I'm Already Missing You
Wow, where has summer gone?! I've just finished up Tiny Dancer's kindergarten requirement appointments. She needed her 5 year physical (she did great, had to get 2 shots and one finger prick.. she wasn't a fan of the shots, but I told her 3 shots, so she was happy...oh, and she has grown almost 3 inches since Christmas... she's eating like crazy, so I knew there was a growth spurt going on!), a dental appointment (we haven't been in a while because our dental insurance changed then was cancelled, but I chose the only pediatric dentist our new insurance covers and it was a GREAT choice... no cavities, good teeth, bottom teeth are moving up so she might get some loose teeth soon, a little crowded, but we'll watch it), and an eye exam (she is borderline for glasses, so we have to take her back in about 9-10 months to be checked again to see if they got better or worse).
I have a mental picture of what she will look like when her big top teeth come in... it's pretty funny. The dentist showed me her x-rays which showed her baby teeth of course but also the big teeth underneath, which was really neat. You can see her bottom adult teeth moving up in preparation for pushing out those babies. And you could see the huge chompers she'll have up top. Poor kid. I had horribly big buck teeth when I was little.
Now that summer is coming to a close, I'm trying to fit in all of the things we didn't do earlier in the summer because we were taking advantage of swimming and laying around doing nothing!
We've been trying to do fun family things every week. And we have a major budget, so we do pretty good. We went to the NASCAR Speedpark at the St. Louis Outlet mall last night. Tiny Dancer, Little Monster and I rode a little ride together, then Daddy and Tiny Dancer did the go-carts. She loved it!
And last week, we went to the Drive-In which was absolutely amazing... just such a good time together.
Little Monster had a doctor appointment and dentist appointment when big sis did too. She had a finger prick at the doctor and got her teeth brushed at the dentist - she's one brave little 2 year old. The Baby has his 9 month doctor appointment this Friday and Dad is OFF so we are hitting up the zoo after followed by another bout at the Drive-In.
We can't get enough drive-in movies - $6 for our family to get in for 2 movies CANNOT be beat! :)
I have a mental picture of what she will look like when her big top teeth come in... it's pretty funny. The dentist showed me her x-rays which showed her baby teeth of course but also the big teeth underneath, which was really neat. You can see her bottom adult teeth moving up in preparation for pushing out those babies. And you could see the huge chompers she'll have up top. Poor kid. I had horribly big buck teeth when I was little.
Now that summer is coming to a close, I'm trying to fit in all of the things we didn't do earlier in the summer because we were taking advantage of swimming and laying around doing nothing!
We've been trying to do fun family things every week. And we have a major budget, so we do pretty good. We went to the NASCAR Speedpark at the St. Louis Outlet mall last night. Tiny Dancer, Little Monster and I rode a little ride together, then Daddy and Tiny Dancer did the go-carts. She loved it!
And last week, we went to the Drive-In which was absolutely amazing... just such a good time together.
Little Monster had a doctor appointment and dentist appointment when big sis did too. She had a finger prick at the doctor and got her teeth brushed at the dentist - she's one brave little 2 year old. The Baby has his 9 month doctor appointment this Friday and Dad is OFF so we are hitting up the zoo after followed by another bout at the Drive-In.
We can't get enough drive-in movies - $6 for our family to get in for 2 movies CANNOT be beat! :)
Friday, July 12, 2013
Tiny Dancer's 5 Year Questions
Tiny Dancer - 5 years old - 20 questions (2013)
1. What is your favorite color? Pink and purple
2. What is your favorite toy? Dress-up stuff
3. What is your favorite fruit? Peaches
4. What is your favorite tv show? My Little Pony
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Mac & cheese
6. What is your favorite outfit? My long white dress
7. What is your favorite game? Pin the tail on the donkey
8. What is your favorite snack? Fruit snacks
9. What is your favorite animal? Horse
10. What is your favorite song? My God Is Not Dead
11. What is your favorite book? Spring is Here!
12. Who is your best friend? my cousin (A)
13. What is your favorite cereal? Honey Nut Cheerios
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play on the swings.
15. What is your favorite drink? Milk
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My blankie
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Honey Nut Cheerios
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Cookies
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A pet doctor
1. What is your favorite color? Pink and purple
2. What is your favorite toy? Dress-up stuff
3. What is your favorite fruit? Peaches
4. What is your favorite tv show? My Little Pony
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Mac & cheese
6. What is your favorite outfit? My long white dress
7. What is your favorite game? Pin the tail on the donkey
8. What is your favorite snack? Fruit snacks
9. What is your favorite animal? Horse
10. What is your favorite song? My God Is Not Dead
11. What is your favorite book? Spring is Here!
12. Who is your best friend? my cousin (A)
13. What is your favorite cereal? Honey Nut Cheerios
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play on the swings.
15. What is your favorite drink? Milk
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My blankie
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Honey Nut Cheerios
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Cookies
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A pet doctor
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Birthday Catch-Up
The past 2 weeks have been so crazy! We celebrated Tiny Dancer's 5th birthday, then the girls' combined birthday parties, then our 7 year wedding anniversary followed by Little Monster's 2nd birthday. Whew! The Baby's birthday should be much easier. :)
Tiny Dancer turned 5 on Monday, June 24th. I was babysitting that day, so when the girls got there, we had an "Tiny Dancer Day." She chose to watch a movie, bake some cookies, play some games and watch another movie. That night, I made homemade pancakes for dinner and we had some family/friends over to celebrate. We put some candles in her pancakes and sang happy birthday to her, and ended the night with some dessert at Chill Out, the girls' favorite ice cream place. She loved being "spoiled" for the day... we let her decide what we did and let her do whatever she wanted (within reason, of course...).
On Saturday, June 29th, we had the girls' birthday party. Tiny Dancer wanted a Tangled theme, where everyone wears pajamas and watches a "drive-in" movie. My mom went overboard and made it pretty exciting. Separate post, with pictures, to come later. The girls' ended up with tons of toys and movies and other goodies and we had a blast with all of our friends. It was such a great time!
Monday, July 1st was our 7 year anniversary. I can't believe we've been married for 7 years! It doesn't seem possible... Tiny Dancer had a softball game that night, but my husband's parents volunteered to watch the kids so we could at least grab a bite to eat alone. We went to Applebee's (because, well, we just didn't have a lot of time and we were far from dressed up!). It was weird, but nice to be alone.
Friday, July 5th was Little Monster's 2nd birthday. We celebrated by going to Raging Rivers. It was me and my 3 kids (yes, I was alone, no, I'm not crazy, yes, it was fine, but no, I'll never do it again!), 2 of my sisters, and a few of our friends, plus all of their kids. This was great because the kids were able to play together, but the babies made it a little difficult, at least mine did, only because it's not like he could do much and I had to hold him the whole time (or someone did). While they were taking a nap, I was able to take Tiny Dancer down a big slide (she hated it) and the girls on the lazy river a few times (they both loved it). All in all, it was a great day! But when we got home, we were all so tired we didn't do much.
However, yesterday, the 6th, we got up and packed a picnic and took the kids to the park for a while, followed by a free movie at the theater in the afternoon. We all had a blast. Free family fun days - can't beat 'em!
Tiny Dancer turned 5 on Monday, June 24th. I was babysitting that day, so when the girls got there, we had an "Tiny Dancer Day." She chose to watch a movie, bake some cookies, play some games and watch another movie. That night, I made homemade pancakes for dinner and we had some family/friends over to celebrate. We put some candles in her pancakes and sang happy birthday to her, and ended the night with some dessert at Chill Out, the girls' favorite ice cream place. She loved being "spoiled" for the day... we let her decide what we did and let her do whatever she wanted (within reason, of course...).
On Saturday, June 29th, we had the girls' birthday party. Tiny Dancer wanted a Tangled theme, where everyone wears pajamas and watches a "drive-in" movie. My mom went overboard and made it pretty exciting. Separate post, with pictures, to come later. The girls' ended up with tons of toys and movies and other goodies and we had a blast with all of our friends. It was such a great time!
Monday, July 1st was our 7 year anniversary. I can't believe we've been married for 7 years! It doesn't seem possible... Tiny Dancer had a softball game that night, but my husband's parents volunteered to watch the kids so we could at least grab a bite to eat alone. We went to Applebee's (because, well, we just didn't have a lot of time and we were far from dressed up!). It was weird, but nice to be alone.
Friday, July 5th was Little Monster's 2nd birthday. We celebrated by going to Raging Rivers. It was me and my 3 kids (yes, I was alone, no, I'm not crazy, yes, it was fine, but no, I'll never do it again!), 2 of my sisters, and a few of our friends, plus all of their kids. This was great because the kids were able to play together, but the babies made it a little difficult, at least mine did, only because it's not like he could do much and I had to hold him the whole time (or someone did). While they were taking a nap, I was able to take Tiny Dancer down a big slide (she hated it) and the girls on the lazy river a few times (they both loved it). All in all, it was a great day! But when we got home, we were all so tired we didn't do much.
However, yesterday, the 6th, we got up and packed a picnic and took the kids to the park for a while, followed by a free movie at the theater in the afternoon. We all had a blast. Free family fun days - can't beat 'em!
Friday, June 21, 2013
This time, 5 years ago, I was sitting in a hospital bed in St. Mary's - getting news that our baby girl was breech. I was also told they were going to try to keep me pregnant for 2 weeks, to get to that 36 week mark, and oh, yeah.... "You can't get out of bed. At all." What a trip!
Yeah, I couldn't even get up to go to the bathroom (bed pans = gross). And showers were out of the question.
When my water broke, we initially went to St. Anthony's in Alton. They couldn't really determine if it was my water or not, but when it officially broke there, there was no denying it was in fact my water. I kept getting up to go to the bathroom and move around and stuff while we waited for my doctor to show up and sign off on sending me over to a hospital with a NICU.
When I talked to my doctor, she acted like I'd get over there and they'd let me labor on my own and deliver my baby within the next 24 hours. She went ahead and gave me a steroid shot though to try to help the baby's lungs develop quickly.
A horribly awful ambulance ride later (my husband couldn't ride with me, I was flat on my back, contracting, my acid reflux off the charts, feeling like puking... oh, and it was the day of the Susan G. Komen race so... every road in downtown St. Louis was blocked off).
Once the St. Mary's expert doctors got in there, we found out we would NOT be delivering right away - not for 2 weeks, if they could help it. They explained they'd give me another steroid shot the next day and an amniocentesis the day after (I flipped out, no needles near my belly please! They don't do the test that way if you've already had your water broke... they just.... well, you are still leaking fluid the whole time...). The amnio would see how developed her lungs were and that could give them a better idea of how long I needed to stay pregnant and let the baby develop.
I know most women that have had a baby know the "rule" doctor's use when you're in labor - they won't let you go more than 24 hours after your water has broke. So if it breaks and 24 hours later still no baby, immediate c-section. That really is only necessary for women that are actually in labor. If you aren't (which I wasn't, really), they can keep you pregnant for a long time. You just have to have your vitals checked every hour to ensure you aren't going getting an infection and also they check the amniotic fluid to make sure it's clear. If all of those things are fine, you can stay pregnant.
Most of these women don't have to stay confined to bed. I did because.... our baby was breech! Breech babies without the cushion of amniotic fluid are more likely to end up with a compressed cord.
I only stayed pregnant for 4 days. Procardia to keep the contractions at bay only worked that long for me. The amnio showed her lungs were underdeveloped, but when she was born, she was fine and didn't need anything other than some blasts of oxygen right away. She never had any sort of breathing help in the NICU (thank you Jesus!).
I was always really mad at my body. I had 2 miscarriages before Tiny Dancer. She was born 6 weeks early. I never could breast feed her that great. I had 3 miscarriages after her. It seemed like my mom was just born to have babies without epidurals. My body was crap. At least, that's what I thought.
I did have a septum in my uterus, which is essentially a birth defect. Nothing we could have done to stop it from happening. But my body? Actually did MORE than it should have. It protected Tiny Dancer for 34 weeks. She was a healthy 5 pounds 5 ounces for 6 weeks early. She breathed on her own. My body kept her in there for 4 days, just enough time to let those steroid shots do their magic.
My specialist at Wash U told me she had never had a patient with a septate uterus deliver a baby - they mostly have miscarriages or even 2nd trimester losses. Now, I know my body did everything it could to keep that little baby safe. And I was able to carry 2 more babies all the way to 39-40 weeks and nurse them just fine.
So this is a public apology to my body: I'm sorry I was a jerk to you after Tiny Dancer was born. You did the best you could, better than most. Thanks for taking care of my babies.
Now I'm off to plan a 5th birthday party - can it even be possible?! My little miracle turns 5 on Monday! :)
Yeah, I couldn't even get up to go to the bathroom (bed pans = gross). And showers were out of the question.
When my water broke, we initially went to St. Anthony's in Alton. They couldn't really determine if it was my water or not, but when it officially broke there, there was no denying it was in fact my water. I kept getting up to go to the bathroom and move around and stuff while we waited for my doctor to show up and sign off on sending me over to a hospital with a NICU.
When I talked to my doctor, she acted like I'd get over there and they'd let me labor on my own and deliver my baby within the next 24 hours. She went ahead and gave me a steroid shot though to try to help the baby's lungs develop quickly.
A horribly awful ambulance ride later (my husband couldn't ride with me, I was flat on my back, contracting, my acid reflux off the charts, feeling like puking... oh, and it was the day of the Susan G. Komen race so... every road in downtown St. Louis was blocked off).
Once the St. Mary's expert doctors got in there, we found out we would NOT be delivering right away - not for 2 weeks, if they could help it. They explained they'd give me another steroid shot the next day and an amniocentesis the day after (I flipped out, no needles near my belly please! They don't do the test that way if you've already had your water broke... they just.... well, you are still leaking fluid the whole time...). The amnio would see how developed her lungs were and that could give them a better idea of how long I needed to stay pregnant and let the baby develop.
I know most women that have had a baby know the "rule" doctor's use when you're in labor - they won't let you go more than 24 hours after your water has broke. So if it breaks and 24 hours later still no baby, immediate c-section. That really is only necessary for women that are actually in labor. If you aren't (which I wasn't, really), they can keep you pregnant for a long time. You just have to have your vitals checked every hour to ensure you aren't going getting an infection and also they check the amniotic fluid to make sure it's clear. If all of those things are fine, you can stay pregnant.
Most of these women don't have to stay confined to bed. I did because.... our baby was breech! Breech babies without the cushion of amniotic fluid are more likely to end up with a compressed cord.
I only stayed pregnant for 4 days. Procardia to keep the contractions at bay only worked that long for me. The amnio showed her lungs were underdeveloped, but when she was born, she was fine and didn't need anything other than some blasts of oxygen right away. She never had any sort of breathing help in the NICU (thank you Jesus!).
I was always really mad at my body. I had 2 miscarriages before Tiny Dancer. She was born 6 weeks early. I never could breast feed her that great. I had 3 miscarriages after her. It seemed like my mom was just born to have babies without epidurals. My body was crap. At least, that's what I thought.
I did have a septum in my uterus, which is essentially a birth defect. Nothing we could have done to stop it from happening. But my body? Actually did MORE than it should have. It protected Tiny Dancer for 34 weeks. She was a healthy 5 pounds 5 ounces for 6 weeks early. She breathed on her own. My body kept her in there for 4 days, just enough time to let those steroid shots do their magic.
My specialist at Wash U told me she had never had a patient with a septate uterus deliver a baby - they mostly have miscarriages or even 2nd trimester losses. Now, I know my body did everything it could to keep that little baby safe. And I was able to carry 2 more babies all the way to 39-40 weeks and nurse them just fine.
So this is a public apology to my body: I'm sorry I was a jerk to you after Tiny Dancer was born. You did the best you could, better than most. Thanks for taking care of my babies.
Now I'm off to plan a 5th birthday party - can it even be possible?! My little miracle turns 5 on Monday! :)
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
The Baby is 6 Months Old!
Where in the world does the time go?! He is 6 months today... half of a year of his life has already passed by. Since he's my last, the milestones are really hard to swallow, so to speak. I want time to slow down with these kids!
He went to the doctor on Monday, along with Little Monster. Little Monster had been having some food/digestion issues for about a week, and I was just nervous that something more serious was going on (it wasn't, she is teething and all symptoms point back to that as the culprit). The Baby went because he developed a runny nose and yucky cough over the weekend. After Tiny Dancer's hospitalization at 7 months over the croup, I tend to get nervous about any cough the kids get.
The Baby is also teething and probably just has a minor cold. Although he is acting better (not so whiny and not sleeping), he has a very runny nose and his cough is still enough to make me jump up several times throughout the night to check on him. Hopefully, this passes soon!
This adorable little guy (picture from my littlest sister's wedding April 13th) is weighing in at 15 pounds 10 ounces. He's starting to get chunky cheeks and even chunkier thighs. I love squishy, fat, baby thighs! He is sleeping through the night MOST nights, however, if he does wake, it's usually just once, he eats and then goes right back to sleep. He's still the easy going baby. He is seriously such a sweetie. He's rolling all over the living room. He doesn't seem like he's in too much of a hurry to get up on all fours or crawl, which mommy is just fine with! He's been eating real foods every day, bananas, then peas so far. Hoping to try avocados next week. The girls never liked them, so I'm hoping he will (I love them!).
He goes for his 6 month check-up with the pediatrician next Friday morning. His eczema is really flaring up on his face today (which I hope is not from the peas!) and he will sometimes whine and scratch at his face, so we have to keep it moisturized and use hydrocortisone. Those things can usually keep it at bay, so it isn't so bad. He is chewing on everything, so I hope he isn't a slow teether and those teeth come through fast. Have I mentioned I HATE teething?! I hope he teethes like Little Monster and not Tiny Dancer, as Little Monster was a much smooth teether. This teething business makes me happy this is our last. :)
He went to the doctor on Monday, along with Little Monster. Little Monster had been having some food/digestion issues for about a week, and I was just nervous that something more serious was going on (it wasn't, she is teething and all symptoms point back to that as the culprit). The Baby went because he developed a runny nose and yucky cough over the weekend. After Tiny Dancer's hospitalization at 7 months over the croup, I tend to get nervous about any cough the kids get.
The Baby is also teething and probably just has a minor cold. Although he is acting better (not so whiny and not sleeping), he has a very runny nose and his cough is still enough to make me jump up several times throughout the night to check on him. Hopefully, this passes soon!
This adorable little guy (picture from my littlest sister's wedding April 13th) is weighing in at 15 pounds 10 ounces. He's starting to get chunky cheeks and even chunkier thighs. I love squishy, fat, baby thighs! He is sleeping through the night MOST nights, however, if he does wake, it's usually just once, he eats and then goes right back to sleep. He's still the easy going baby. He is seriously such a sweetie. He's rolling all over the living room. He doesn't seem like he's in too much of a hurry to get up on all fours or crawl, which mommy is just fine with! He's been eating real foods every day, bananas, then peas so far. Hoping to try avocados next week. The girls never liked them, so I'm hoping he will (I love them!).
He goes for his 6 month check-up with the pediatrician next Friday morning. His eczema is really flaring up on his face today (which I hope is not from the peas!) and he will sometimes whine and scratch at his face, so we have to keep it moisturized and use hydrocortisone. Those things can usually keep it at bay, so it isn't so bad. He is chewing on everything, so I hope he isn't a slow teether and those teeth come through fast. Have I mentioned I HATE teething?! I hope he teethes like Little Monster and not Tiny Dancer, as Little Monster was a much smooth teether. This teething business makes me happy this is our last. :)
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Easter
I'm behind on updating, but I'm trying to catch up!
Easter was a busy, but fun weekend. The weekend before Easter, our nieces and my brother-in-law were in town, so we got to enjoy time with them that week. Tiny Dancer is obsessed with her cousin, A, so it was just about Tiny Dancer's best week ever. We also celebrated with my parents that weekend.
Easter weekend, on Saturday, the Easter Bunny visited our house! Since Dad was leading worship and I had to be at church early also for the nursery, my sister volunteered to keep the girls Saturday night and get them ready for Sunday morning church, so we requested the Bunny come to our house a day early so we could enjoy our time together.
We always leave our empty baskets by the front door. So, when we woke up Saturday morning, the baskets were gone, but the Bunny left a note telling the girls to look for some Easter eggs with treats hidden around the living room. Once they get those collected, Tiny Dancer found the "golden egg" which had another note in it: to look for some bigger eggs in Mom & Dad's room. These eggs had little plastic animal figurines in them - the girls love these things. The Bunny left another note telling the kids to look in The Baby's room for their hidden baskets. They found them - full of some treats, snacks, little toys, and a shirt. The last note said there was a giant egg hidden in the bathroom. Tiny Dancer found it in the bathtub. It had "Rise of the Guardians" DVD in it. She was so excited because 1) she really wanted that movie and 2) she said she was hoping the Easter Bunny would leave a giant egg with a treat in it for her. She comes up with some crazy stuff - I bet it took that Easter Bunny a long time to find a giant egg!
After that, we met the Naylors at Steak N Shake for lunch and went to the mall on a whim to see the Easter Bunny.
The husband and I were at church that night, so the girls stayed with my parents and then went to their aunt's to spend the night. The next morning, Dad, The Baby and I got up and ready for Easter morning. Once church was over (the girls showed up with fabulous hair, courtesy of their hair stylist aunt), we went to my grandma's house and had an Easter egg hunt and enjoyed time with family. We ended the day watching Rise of the Guardians (for like the 3rd time by then). I love holidays with my family - they mean so much to me! How good is this picture?! The girls looked gorgeous with their hair and their beautiful dresses. Tiny Dancer's dress was so perfectly "her" - frilly and prissy! And The Baby with his (huge) tie - ha! A little big, but I wanted him to wear a tie and you wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find baby boy dress clothes!
Easter was a busy, but fun weekend. The weekend before Easter, our nieces and my brother-in-law were in town, so we got to enjoy time with them that week. Tiny Dancer is obsessed with her cousin, A, so it was just about Tiny Dancer's best week ever. We also celebrated with my parents that weekend.
Easter weekend, on Saturday, the Easter Bunny visited our house! Since Dad was leading worship and I had to be at church early also for the nursery, my sister volunteered to keep the girls Saturday night and get them ready for Sunday morning church, so we requested the Bunny come to our house a day early so we could enjoy our time together.
We always leave our empty baskets by the front door. So, when we woke up Saturday morning, the baskets were gone, but the Bunny left a note telling the girls to look for some Easter eggs with treats hidden around the living room. Once they get those collected, Tiny Dancer found the "golden egg" which had another note in it: to look for some bigger eggs in Mom & Dad's room. These eggs had little plastic animal figurines in them - the girls love these things. The Bunny left another note telling the kids to look in The Baby's room for their hidden baskets. They found them - full of some treats, snacks, little toys, and a shirt. The last note said there was a giant egg hidden in the bathroom. Tiny Dancer found it in the bathtub. It had "Rise of the Guardians" DVD in it. She was so excited because 1) she really wanted that movie and 2) she said she was hoping the Easter Bunny would leave a giant egg with a treat in it for her. She comes up with some crazy stuff - I bet it took that Easter Bunny a long time to find a giant egg!
After that, we met the Naylors at Steak N Shake for lunch and went to the mall on a whim to see the Easter Bunny.
The husband and I were at church that night, so the girls stayed with my parents and then went to their aunt's to spend the night. The next morning, Dad, The Baby and I got up and ready for Easter morning. Once church was over (the girls showed up with fabulous hair, courtesy of their hair stylist aunt), we went to my grandma's house and had an Easter egg hunt and enjoyed time with family. We ended the day watching Rise of the Guardians (for like the 3rd time by then). I love holidays with my family - they mean so much to me! How good is this picture?! The girls looked gorgeous with their hair and their beautiful dresses. Tiny Dancer's dress was so perfectly "her" - frilly and prissy! And The Baby with his (huge) tie - ha! A little big, but I wanted him to wear a tie and you wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find baby boy dress clothes!
Monday, April 22, 2013
April Update
We are nearing the end of the school year. This is exciting because we love summers! My parents have a pool and live 2 streets away. My sister is looking into buying a house, also with a pool, and will live in the same town. We love playing in the pool! And my parents bought the kids a zoo membership for Easter, so we get to have fun at the zoo while paying little to no money (always a plus!). Here's an update on the kids:
Tiny Dancer:
She has kindergarten registration on May 7th. I'm sad and excited for this chapter in her life. She is a super smart girl, but I'm really trying to work with her on sight words and lower case letters. She gets bored easily and doesn't really want to try... I'm hoping once we start challenging her, she won't be as bored as quickly. She's currently trying to earn a new Fresh Beat Band game for her LeapPad with a whining/complaining reward chart. For every sticker she earns from not complaining or whining, she earns 25 cents toward this game. It seems to be taking her quite some time to earn the whole $7.50 for the game, but I have noticed a change in her attitude overall. She's an excellent helper, helping babies, holding them, feeding them, etc. She is very fond of cuddling with The Baby. If he's having a hard time napping and she's home, he lays down with her and is out in no time. It's so sweet and I'm excited to see how their relationship develops over the next year.
Little Monster:
She is nearing the 2 year mark. Although she doesn't speak as many words as big sis did at this age, she is extremely smart, fearless and an excellent problem solver. She plays well on her own and she's an amazing sleeper! She hardly ever cries when it's bedtime and her transition from crib to toddler bed (in a whole new room) was practically seamless. She's told me twice now that she has to go potty and she's went on the potty chair. Other times, she doesn't care at all when we try to push it. She is working on her colors and she's very good at animal sounds and body parts. She learns several new words a day. She loves dancing and singing, especially to The Fresh Beat Band or Elmo or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She's also really good with the babies, although when she tries to "help" it's not really as helpful as she wants. ;)
The Baby:
He will be 6 months old next week - this is just crazy! I can't believe 6 months went by so quickly! He is such a sweet, quiet boy. He is an easy sleeper (like Little Monster). We just weaned him from the swaddle, but I don't even know if I'd call it weaning because one night I just didn't do it and he never fussed. We wrap up his legs to keep him warm, but he sleeps great. He hardly even moves in his crib. And he's sleeping most nights through the night - amazing for me. I have been so tired lately; I really needed this! He rolls over, though not very often. He's so laid back and he doesn't really need to roll over to get anything. He does like playing with toys, so that's usually the only reason he will roll over - to get a closer look at a toy or to grab one. We've given him cereal a few times, but I'm just about to start fruits and vegetables. We do have to really watch him for food allergies since it runs in the family now. :-/ We are hoping and praying he won't have any issues at all. He does have some pretty bad eczema patches, especially on his face, and eczema CAN go along with food allergies, although it can be an issue on its own. He's not in any hurry to sit up or crawl around... like I said, he's as laid back as they come. He's by far my easiest baby. I'm still so amazed that he is here - since we were actively trying to NOT have a baby, it's still kind of weird that he's here! I honestly just love this kid SO MUCH. The fact that he looks identical to the love of my life just means he'll probably be spoiled. My dad is the baby of 3 with 2 older sisters and my grandma would still peel his tomatoes when he was an adult... yep, that'll be me!
Tiny Dancer:
She has kindergarten registration on May 7th. I'm sad and excited for this chapter in her life. She is a super smart girl, but I'm really trying to work with her on sight words and lower case letters. She gets bored easily and doesn't really want to try... I'm hoping once we start challenging her, she won't be as bored as quickly. She's currently trying to earn a new Fresh Beat Band game for her LeapPad with a whining/complaining reward chart. For every sticker she earns from not complaining or whining, she earns 25 cents toward this game. It seems to be taking her quite some time to earn the whole $7.50 for the game, but I have noticed a change in her attitude overall. She's an excellent helper, helping babies, holding them, feeding them, etc. She is very fond of cuddling with The Baby. If he's having a hard time napping and she's home, he lays down with her and is out in no time. It's so sweet and I'm excited to see how their relationship develops over the next year.
Little Monster:
She is nearing the 2 year mark. Although she doesn't speak as many words as big sis did at this age, she is extremely smart, fearless and an excellent problem solver. She plays well on her own and she's an amazing sleeper! She hardly ever cries when it's bedtime and her transition from crib to toddler bed (in a whole new room) was practically seamless. She's told me twice now that she has to go potty and she's went on the potty chair. Other times, she doesn't care at all when we try to push it. She is working on her colors and she's very good at animal sounds and body parts. She learns several new words a day. She loves dancing and singing, especially to The Fresh Beat Band or Elmo or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She's also really good with the babies, although when she tries to "help" it's not really as helpful as she wants. ;)
The Baby:
He will be 6 months old next week - this is just crazy! I can't believe 6 months went by so quickly! He is such a sweet, quiet boy. He is an easy sleeper (like Little Monster). We just weaned him from the swaddle, but I don't even know if I'd call it weaning because one night I just didn't do it and he never fussed. We wrap up his legs to keep him warm, but he sleeps great. He hardly even moves in his crib. And he's sleeping most nights through the night - amazing for me. I have been so tired lately; I really needed this! He rolls over, though not very often. He's so laid back and he doesn't really need to roll over to get anything. He does like playing with toys, so that's usually the only reason he will roll over - to get a closer look at a toy or to grab one. We've given him cereal a few times, but I'm just about to start fruits and vegetables. We do have to really watch him for food allergies since it runs in the family now. :-/ We are hoping and praying he won't have any issues at all. He does have some pretty bad eczema patches, especially on his face, and eczema CAN go along with food allergies, although it can be an issue on its own. He's not in any hurry to sit up or crawl around... like I said, he's as laid back as they come. He's by far my easiest baby. I'm still so amazed that he is here - since we were actively trying to NOT have a baby, it's still kind of weird that he's here! I honestly just love this kid SO MUCH. The fact that he looks identical to the love of my life just means he'll probably be spoiled. My dad is the baby of 3 with 2 older sisters and my grandma would still peel his tomatoes when he was an adult... yep, that'll be me!
Friday, January 18, 2013
The Baby: 2 months Little Monster: 18 months
We celebrated The Baby turning 2 months and Little Monster turning 18 months in January. I can't believe how big they are getting, so quickly.
The Baby weighed in at 11 pounds, 6 ounces and he's 23 3/4 inches long (25th and 75th percentiles respectively). Little Monster finally tipped the 20 lb mark, weighing in at 22 pounds even and 33 inches tall. She's in the 50th percentile for everything (except her big head, which was in the 75th - she has a good size head, ha!).
Little Monster had to get her last Hep B shot and The Baby had to get 3 shots and 1 oral vaccination. Little Monster was an absolute mess, but the wonderful nurse whisked her away to retrieve a sucker, which made her a very happy girl. (She was not so happy when I threw it away before getting in the car.) The Baby's look of betrayal nearly broke my heart, but I nursed him right away and he was good to go.
I'll never go to a doctor's appointment with both little ones again!
We're getting back into the swing of things after our vacation, and I started babysitting my nephew, L, last week. Today marks the end of 2 weeks watching him - and it really hasn't been too bad. I just do what I need to do with both boys and I feel like all I do is change diapers and feed somebody. Par for the course. In a few years, they'll all be out of diapers. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. :) I can't bear the thought of everyone growing up...
The Baby weighed in at 11 pounds, 6 ounces and he's 23 3/4 inches long (25th and 75th percentiles respectively). Little Monster finally tipped the 20 lb mark, weighing in at 22 pounds even and 33 inches tall. She's in the 50th percentile for everything (except her big head, which was in the 75th - she has a good size head, ha!).
Little Monster had to get her last Hep B shot and The Baby had to get 3 shots and 1 oral vaccination. Little Monster was an absolute mess, but the wonderful nurse whisked her away to retrieve a sucker, which made her a very happy girl. (She was not so happy when I threw it away before getting in the car.) The Baby's look of betrayal nearly broke my heart, but I nursed him right away and he was good to go.
I'll never go to a doctor's appointment with both little ones again!
We're getting back into the swing of things after our vacation, and I started babysitting my nephew, L, last week. Today marks the end of 2 weeks watching him - and it really hasn't been too bad. I just do what I need to do with both boys and I feel like all I do is change diapers and feed somebody. Par for the course. In a few years, they'll all be out of diapers. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. :) I can't bear the thought of everyone growing up...
Thursday, January 3, 2013
We went to Disney World!!! (Part 3)
On Thursday, the 26th, we tried to sleep in and relax. We went shopping at an outlet mall and then Dad and I took the kids to the Universal Studios CityWalk for dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. It was delicious!
When we got back to the house, my throat was getting pretty scratchy and I was really tired, so we tried to relax and not do much. We watched L while everyone else went out for a few hours. I was in bed by 9:00pm. At 11:00pm, I woke up with a bad stomach ache. I noticed I had some itchy bumps on my face and when my underarms started itching, I got up to check myself out in the bathroom. My entire face was covered in hives, as was my chest and stomach. I took a Benadryl and went down to wake up my mom to see how many I could take. I took another and woke Dad up. By this time, my lips were extremely swollen, my hands were bright red and swollen, as was my nose, eyes and ears. My arms, legs and feet had also developed hives by this point. I was so nervous my throat was going to close up. My husband stayed up with me until the hives started going away and I wasn't so itchy.
The next morning when I got up, my face and ears were still slightly swollen and I still had hives from my chest up. We went to Disney's Hollywood Studios as planned, although we only got there right as it opened (as opposed to how early we had been before). The kids had a blast here and we got to do a lot before heading home around 1:30pm. We did Muppet Vision 3-D, met Minnie Mouse, met Lightning McQueen and Mater, rode Toy Story Mania, watched Disney Junior Playhouse Live, watched the Little Mermaid show, met Handy Manny and Jake (and the Neverland Pirates), and ate lunch at Pizza Planet before we left. We tried to ride Star Tours and the Tower of Terror, but the lines were long and I was starting to get very tired and needed another dose of Benadryl.
Dad and I didn't want to leave because it was our last day there, but we had such a good time (even with the possible shellfish allergy). We went home and started packing. We left the next morning for Chattanooga and ended up home by 2:00pm our time Sunday afternoon. It was the best vacation I've ever been on... we are already planning another trip back to stay on the resort for Spring 2014. :)
When we got back to the house, my throat was getting pretty scratchy and I was really tired, so we tried to relax and not do much. We watched L while everyone else went out for a few hours. I was in bed by 9:00pm. At 11:00pm, I woke up with a bad stomach ache. I noticed I had some itchy bumps on my face and when my underarms started itching, I got up to check myself out in the bathroom. My entire face was covered in hives, as was my chest and stomach. I took a Benadryl and went down to wake up my mom to see how many I could take. I took another and woke Dad up. By this time, my lips were extremely swollen, my hands were bright red and swollen, as was my nose, eyes and ears. My arms, legs and feet had also developed hives by this point. I was so nervous my throat was going to close up. My husband stayed up with me until the hives started going away and I wasn't so itchy.
The next morning when I got up, my face and ears were still slightly swollen and I still had hives from my chest up. We went to Disney's Hollywood Studios as planned, although we only got there right as it opened (as opposed to how early we had been before). The kids had a blast here and we got to do a lot before heading home around 1:30pm. We did Muppet Vision 3-D, met Minnie Mouse, met Lightning McQueen and Mater, rode Toy Story Mania, watched Disney Junior Playhouse Live, watched the Little Mermaid show, met Handy Manny and Jake (and the Neverland Pirates), and ate lunch at Pizza Planet before we left. We tried to ride Star Tours and the Tower of Terror, but the lines were long and I was starting to get very tired and needed another dose of Benadryl.
Dad and I didn't want to leave because it was our last day there, but we had such a good time (even with the possible shellfish allergy). We went home and started packing. We left the next morning for Chattanooga and ended up home by 2:00pm our time Sunday afternoon. It was the best vacation I've ever been on... we are already planning another trip back to stay on the resort for Spring 2014. :)
We went to Disney World!!! (Part 2)
On Monday, December 24th, we got up around 7:30am Orlando time and made our way to the Grand Floridian Hotel & Spa where we had advanced dining reservations at 1900 Park Fare for the Supercalifragilistic Breakfast with Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, Tigger and Pooh. It was such a great experience getting to check out the hotel, which was gorgeous, and getting to eat breakfast with the characters.
The chef came out to our table to personally discuss Little Monster's egg allergy. He told us he would make her some Mickey waffles and potatoes without egg and he also told us what she could have off the buffet. Then he personally delivered the food to our table.
Getting that out of the way, the rest of us were able to enjoy our food and start having pictures with the characters. Tiny Dancer absolutely loved it. Little Monster liked them from afar, but not when they got too close to her.
After breakfast, we headed to Downtown Disney, where we met my parents to do a little shopping (or for them, a lot of shopping... they liked buying the girls stuff) and we waited around until Tiny Dancer's appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. She was pretty tired at this point, and she was getting really embarrassed with all of the attention, but after it was over, she loved her hair and the way she looked.
We went back to the house that night and opened presents with the rest of my family. Tiny Dancer got the Brave doll and horse and a Cinderella's castle with little figurines that I would say is probably her favorite gift from all of Christmas.
The next morning, Christmas morning, we were back up early and at Magic Kingdom by 7:00am, where we got to go right in because we had early reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table in the castle. We got to meet Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, Aurora and Snow White. Little Monster absolutely loved the princesses. She wasn't too shy with them at all. And breakfast was amazing! I had steak and eggs which was filet mignon on a chipotle and onion egg frittata. :)
We only stayed until 1:30 that afternoon since it was super crowded by 10:00am. They hit park capacity that day around noon, but we were still able to ride the Carrousel, Mickey's Philarmagic and Journey of the Little Mermaid, as well as meet Merida from Brave!
Back home, we tried to rest and do laundry.
The next morning, my parents, my aunt, my hair stylist sister and her husband, plus my teacher sister and my nephew, L, also came to Magic Kingdom. We met the Princesses (Aurora, Cinderella and Rapunzel) and rode The Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, Mickey's Philarmagic, Journey of the Little Mermaid and were heading for FastPasses to Space Mountain when it started pouring rain. My sister and I had the boys at the Baby Care Center (in the middle of the park) and had to try to make it through the rain and crowded covered areas back to the rest of the family. Most of them were riding Stitch's Great Escape. Once they were out, Tiny Dancer and I headed over to the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor (which was pretty funny and cute). When we came back out, the sun was back out and the rest of our family went home. It was our last day in Magic Kingdom, so we were determined to ride everything else we hadn't yet. Dad rode Space Mountain since he never had. Then we headed over to get FastPasses for Daddy and Tiny Dancer to ride Splash Mountain. Once the sun went down, it got pretty cold. And it had been really hot that day, so Dad and I didn't bring in any jackets. We rode Mad Tea Party and Enchanted Tales with Belle and met Mickey Mouse on our way out around 8:30pm.
The chef came out to our table to personally discuss Little Monster's egg allergy. He told us he would make her some Mickey waffles and potatoes without egg and he also told us what she could have off the buffet. Then he personally delivered the food to our table.
Getting that out of the way, the rest of us were able to enjoy our food and start having pictures with the characters. Tiny Dancer absolutely loved it. Little Monster liked them from afar, but not when they got too close to her.
After breakfast, we headed to Downtown Disney, where we met my parents to do a little shopping (or for them, a lot of shopping... they liked buying the girls stuff) and we waited around until Tiny Dancer's appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. She was pretty tired at this point, and she was getting really embarrassed with all of the attention, but after it was over, she loved her hair and the way she looked.
We went back to the house that night and opened presents with the rest of my family. Tiny Dancer got the Brave doll and horse and a Cinderella's castle with little figurines that I would say is probably her favorite gift from all of Christmas.
The next morning, Christmas morning, we were back up early and at Magic Kingdom by 7:00am, where we got to go right in because we had early reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table in the castle. We got to meet Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, Aurora and Snow White. Little Monster absolutely loved the princesses. She wasn't too shy with them at all. And breakfast was amazing! I had steak and eggs which was filet mignon on a chipotle and onion egg frittata. :)
We only stayed until 1:30 that afternoon since it was super crowded by 10:00am. They hit park capacity that day around noon, but we were still able to ride the Carrousel, Mickey's Philarmagic and Journey of the Little Mermaid, as well as meet Merida from Brave!
Back home, we tried to rest and do laundry.
The next morning, my parents, my aunt, my hair stylist sister and her husband, plus my teacher sister and my nephew, L, also came to Magic Kingdom. We met the Princesses (Aurora, Cinderella and Rapunzel) and rode The Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, Mickey's Philarmagic, Journey of the Little Mermaid and were heading for FastPasses to Space Mountain when it started pouring rain. My sister and I had the boys at the Baby Care Center (in the middle of the park) and had to try to make it through the rain and crowded covered areas back to the rest of the family. Most of them were riding Stitch's Great Escape. Once they were out, Tiny Dancer and I headed over to the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor (which was pretty funny and cute). When we came back out, the sun was back out and the rest of our family went home. It was our last day in Magic Kingdom, so we were determined to ride everything else we hadn't yet. Dad rode Space Mountain since he never had. Then we headed over to get FastPasses for Daddy and Tiny Dancer to ride Splash Mountain. Once the sun went down, it got pretty cold. And it had been really hot that day, so Dad and I didn't bring in any jackets. We rode Mad Tea Party and Enchanted Tales with Belle and met Mickey Mouse on our way out around 8:30pm.
We went to Disney World!!! (Part 1)
We survived our first vacation as a family of 5! I was completely worried about how it would go with The Baby and Little Monster. Little Monster is, well a little monster... she is at her difficult stage and I wasn't sure how she was going to act while we were there. But all 3 kids were absolutely amazing!
For the drive down, Tiny Dancer rode with my parents in their truck. This way we could stow-n-go our back seats and pack everything in there. We left Friday night for Nashville and that 5 hour trip (which took about 6 1/2 or so) went really well. We stopped to eat and The Baby ate twice during that time. The next morning, we woke up early and left for Orlando. That 11 hour trip took us about 14 hours. YIKES. We had to stop to feed The Baby several times, but every time we would stop to eat, we'd have to get Little Monster out of her car seat and finish feeding her before leaving again. She is rear facing and I have a major fear of children eating in the car.
We got to Orlando Saturday evening around 7:30. The place was great! It was in a gated community called Emerald Island Resort and it was a big enough house for the whole clan. According to what I saw, it was 6 miles from Disney World. Going to bed that night was so hard - I was so excited for the next day!
We got up at 5:45am Orlando time to get ready. I dressed the kids in their matching Mickey and Minnie outfits and we were out the door at 6:35am. It took us 15 minutes from leaving our driveway to parking our car in the Magic Kingdom parking lot. We were outside the gates to the ferry boat/monorail by 7:00am. It was really chilly that morning! The kids had jackets and coats and hats on that day. It was really exciting when they opened the gates because everyone cheered. We headed over to the ferry boat, but once we were boarded they told us there was too much fog, so we all had to get on the monorail. Once we got over to Magic Kingdom and inside the park, we were ready to go! We rode several rides right away without any lines. Our first ride of the trip was The Haunted Mansion. This ride we were a little nervous about Tiny Dancer riding. She loves Ghostbusters, but I'm always afraid of something causing her nightmares, which she has a lot. We all decided to ride that one - all 5 of us were able to.
We brought two strollers: a simple umbrella stroller for Tiny Dancer and our bigger, nicer stroller which isn't too heavy and is easy to fold up for Little Monster. That one has storage underneath we were able to use plus a tray and cup holder. I used the Moby wrap for The Baby, which was absolutely amazing. I can't say enough good things about it. I would wrap him and we would get on the rides just like that.
That first morning, we rode The Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, It's a Small World, and Journey of the Little Mermaid (a new one!) all without any lines. We rode Dumbo with about a 15 minute wait and then did a little shopping before heading to the Baby Care Center to feed and change The Baby (who slept the whole time wrapped up). We ended up leaving around 2:00pm to head back to the house for a nap for the girls as they were about to crash. We went back to Magic Kingdom around 6:00pm and we rode Magic Carpets of Aladdin and Pirates of the Caribbean without any wait. We got FastPasses for Dad and Tiny Dancer to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Tiny Dancer's first roller coaster! She didn't like it! We watched the Main Street Electrical Parade and part of the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular, along with the fireworks, which were going off as we made our way out of the park with 3 sleeping kids. It was great!
For the drive down, Tiny Dancer rode with my parents in their truck. This way we could stow-n-go our back seats and pack everything in there. We left Friday night for Nashville and that 5 hour trip (which took about 6 1/2 or so) went really well. We stopped to eat and The Baby ate twice during that time. The next morning, we woke up early and left for Orlando. That 11 hour trip took us about 14 hours. YIKES. We had to stop to feed The Baby several times, but every time we would stop to eat, we'd have to get Little Monster out of her car seat and finish feeding her before leaving again. She is rear facing and I have a major fear of children eating in the car.
We got to Orlando Saturday evening around 7:30. The place was great! It was in a gated community called Emerald Island Resort and it was a big enough house for the whole clan. According to what I saw, it was 6 miles from Disney World. Going to bed that night was so hard - I was so excited for the next day!
We got up at 5:45am Orlando time to get ready. I dressed the kids in their matching Mickey and Minnie outfits and we were out the door at 6:35am. It took us 15 minutes from leaving our driveway to parking our car in the Magic Kingdom parking lot. We were outside the gates to the ferry boat/monorail by 7:00am. It was really chilly that morning! The kids had jackets and coats and hats on that day. It was really exciting when they opened the gates because everyone cheered. We headed over to the ferry boat, but once we were boarded they told us there was too much fog, so we all had to get on the monorail. Once we got over to Magic Kingdom and inside the park, we were ready to go! We rode several rides right away without any lines. Our first ride of the trip was The Haunted Mansion. This ride we were a little nervous about Tiny Dancer riding. She loves Ghostbusters, but I'm always afraid of something causing her nightmares, which she has a lot. We all decided to ride that one - all 5 of us were able to.
We brought two strollers: a simple umbrella stroller for Tiny Dancer and our bigger, nicer stroller which isn't too heavy and is easy to fold up for Little Monster. That one has storage underneath we were able to use plus a tray and cup holder. I used the Moby wrap for The Baby, which was absolutely amazing. I can't say enough good things about it. I would wrap him and we would get on the rides just like that.
That first morning, we rode The Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, It's a Small World, and Journey of the Little Mermaid (a new one!) all without any lines. We rode Dumbo with about a 15 minute wait and then did a little shopping before heading to the Baby Care Center to feed and change The Baby (who slept the whole time wrapped up). We ended up leaving around 2:00pm to head back to the house for a nap for the girls as they were about to crash. We went back to Magic Kingdom around 6:00pm and we rode Magic Carpets of Aladdin and Pirates of the Caribbean without any wait. We got FastPasses for Dad and Tiny Dancer to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Tiny Dancer's first roller coaster! She didn't like it! We watched the Main Street Electrical Parade and part of the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular, along with the fireworks, which were going off as we made our way out of the park with 3 sleeping kids. It was great!
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