As we get closer to Peanut's arrival, I've been looking for ways to involve Riley in prepping for the new baby. We talk all the time about how Momma has a baby in her tummy, and now that we know it's a boy, we talk about "Brother" (As soon as we decide on a name, we'll call him by name instead of brother) I know that as a 2 year old, it's impossible to understand a new baby coming into our house. But we've been practicing! Here are some things we've been doing/plan on doing in the near future.
1. Big Brother Scrapbook-I found this book a few weeks ago and actually just ordered it. It should arrive this week. It's a scrapbook for the Big Brother (BB) to do as we prepare for the new baby. It has pages for the BB to color/draw pictures/glue pictures in. The last page has a spot for BB to add a pic of him and his new brother. I'm excited to get started on this with Riley!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1550746391/ref=ox_ya_os_product
2. I had a brilliant idea today (it does happen sometimes!) Now that we've decided on a theme for the nursery (elephants) I wanted to have Riley create a piece of art to hang in the nursery, something framed and special. Then the great idea went further and I thought I'd purchase a canvas and have him create a painting to hang. I'll keep brainstorming!
3. Something that I've seen families do (though we won't be doing) is to involve the older sibling in choosing the name for the baby. The child is given a list of potential names and is allowed to make the final decision.
4. One article I read-trust me, there have been tons!-suggested having the BB bring the car seat to the hospital and being able to help bring the new baby home. That way he's not just waiting at home for the new interloper to show up and throw his life into disarray. He's helping and involved.
5. As we go garage saleing, which is a favorite past time of ours, Riley helps me choose clothes for Peanut.
It's a short list but I'm sure I'll think of more as we get closer. But it's a start in making the transition from a family of 3 to a family of 4!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
You know you live with a 2 year old when...
About a month ago, my Mom was in town and she was helping me prepare pizza dough for Riley's birthday. She asked me where my rolling pin was and I went to the cabinet where it should have resided. Long story short, the said cooking utensil ended up MIA for about 4 weeks-my expensive Food Network rolling pin, endorsed by Paula Dean and Bobby Flay, that we received as a wedding gift. It showed up behind my couch yesterday-one guess how it got there!
Needless to say, that story inspired me to create this list.
You know you live with a 2 year old when...
1. rolling pin. couch. end of story.
2. You find random sippy cup at the bottom of the toy box, full of what was once milk, now cottage cheese.
3. There is a candy jar sitting on the back of your toilet-for potty training duh!
4. You can't walk 6 inches without stepping on hot wheels. Or legos. Or tractors.
5. You have tiny fingerprints all over the doors, windows, stove, mirrors. Basically any reflective surface in the house.
6. When other children (who do not belong to you) misbehave, you feel the STRONG urge to yell "Momma said NO!"
7. Toys manage to find a way into your bedroom...I'm pretty sure they walk in there of their own accord at night.
8. In my expensive Coach purse, you'll always find the following: baby wipes, hot wheels, crayons, teddy grahams, some elmo toys, hand sanitizer, baby tylenol, baby motrin and an elmo notebook. I feel like I'm break some unwritten law by carrying all of these stain magnets in a Coach purse.
9. The sink is always full of sippy cups, Take and Toss dishes and snack traps, half of which have been chewed on by my garbage disposal at some point.
10. You have diapers and wipes stashed around the house on the off chance that said offspring will need a change and you'll only have a microsecond to hold him down (in the middle of play/exploring) before he protests strongly enough to make the neighbors think you may be beating/scalding him.
Needless to say, that story inspired me to create this list.
You know you live with a 2 year old when...
1. rolling pin. couch. end of story.
2. You find random sippy cup at the bottom of the toy box, full of what was once milk, now cottage cheese.
3. There is a candy jar sitting on the back of your toilet-for potty training duh!
4. You can't walk 6 inches without stepping on hot wheels. Or legos. Or tractors.
5. You have tiny fingerprints all over the doors, windows, stove, mirrors. Basically any reflective surface in the house.
6. When other children (who do not belong to you) misbehave, you feel the STRONG urge to yell "Momma said NO!"
7. Toys manage to find a way into your bedroom...I'm pretty sure they walk in there of their own accord at night.
8. In my expensive Coach purse, you'll always find the following: baby wipes, hot wheels, crayons, teddy grahams, some elmo toys, hand sanitizer, baby tylenol, baby motrin and an elmo notebook. I feel like I'm break some unwritten law by carrying all of these stain magnets in a Coach purse.
9. The sink is always full of sippy cups, Take and Toss dishes and snack traps, half of which have been chewed on by my garbage disposal at some point.
10. You have diapers and wipes stashed around the house on the off chance that said offspring will need a change and you'll only have a microsecond to hold him down (in the middle of play/exploring) before he protests strongly enough to make the neighbors think you may be beating/scalding him.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Elmo was a hit!
Saturday was R's party and it went off with only a small hitch, one that I had no control over-the weather. Last year for his 1st birthday, we were able to have it outside, preventing an overcrowding of guests in my house. After watching the weather diligently for a week and a half, it looked as though the weather wasn't going to pull through for me again this year. I moved the time back a bit, hoping that it would warm up a bit and the rain would hold off. Of course, the rain held off until exactly an hour before his party was scheduled to begin! So we moved everything inside and still had a pleasant time.
His cupcake tower
Fishbowls all filled!
The fruit Elmo (I wish I knew how to rotate pictures!!)
The paper lanterns
Happy Birthday Monkey! Blow!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Elmopalooza 2.0
Finished up some work on R's party yesterday after a much needed/mildly expensive trip to Hobby Lobby. (That store is seriously like my own personal crack) Here's what I've been up to!
I took fishbowl vases that I found at the dollar store and glued rickrack around the top to give then some extra "Omph"
I also found some "Happy Birthday" ribbon for one vase
HERE'S HOW THEY TURNED OUT!
I'll use them for holding treats. Two will be for Goldfish crackers, one for Elmo crackers, and one for the chocolate pretzel rods.
I was super excited when I found these Elmo crackers at the grocery store!
My sister, Alyse also lucked out one day and found a ton of Elmo stuff at Acme, which is a store we don't have in our neck of the woods. What can I say, his Auntie Lysee spoils him rotten! Here's a small sampling:
I store bought "2" toothpicks for the tops of the cupcakes, but I discovered that I have Elmo stickers that fit over top of the number 2 perfectly. I may cover one side of the pick with a sticker to keep it within the theme.
We are 2 weeks and counting until the big day! I've still got some tricks up my sleeve and I'm PRAYING that it doesn't rain because I'd really like to hold his party outside. My house just isn't big enough for everyone! Now that I've finished up the fun stuff, I should really start the not-so-fun cleaning part...which would involve me getting off Facebook and stopping blogging. <sigh>
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Baby #2 and It's Complicated.
It looks like our family will be expanding by another member this year! I found out in February that I was pregnant again and a mix of emotions followed shortly after! First, this baby was a bit of a surprise. We weren't exactly trying, but I guess we weren't NOT trying either, so surprise! I took the first test at work and it came back positive right away. Now, when I suspected I was pregnant with Riley, I took 8 tests. That's right, 8. When I got the first positive with him it was so faint that I couldn't believe that it could possibly be true...even that I might be imagining it! So when this one came back bright blue right away, there was not much doubt in my mind (though I did take 2 more tests just to be sure). :o)
I quickly made the choice to switch doctors as well when I discovered I was pregnant again. My previous OB had, let's just say, not the nicest bedside manner. When I ended up in the hospital in the middle of the night with Riley thinking I was losing him, all that doctor said to me was "well, there's nothing I can do if you're going to lose it, so just go home. Now I know this is actually true, but I'm by no means a hysterical woman, so it's not like I needed a good slap to the face. Just some empathy would have been nice! So now I see a midwife, who I really like, though she's a tad brusque. But her nurse is AMAZING!
Now to the complicated part-my first pregnancy was by no means easy. I was on bed rest twice at one point, and had to quit working 3 weeks before Riley was born due to my blood pressure. There was a LOT of morning sickness involved, a trip to the ER at 3am and some bleeding. So when I found out I was pregnant I was hoping maybe this time it would go a little smoother-wrong! I was 4 weeks along when I took the pregnancy test. The morning sickness started exactly a week later. Now, when I say sick, I mean sick. There are some days when I get sick 2-3 times a day. I can't eat anything with onions, tomato sauce or pizza sauce in it. I've been living on rice cakes, lemon drops and mint chocolate chip ice cream for almost 8 weeks now, with no relief in sight. I've also had bleeding. The first bout happened when I was about 6 weeks along. My midwife suspected my placenta was lying low again, which I had with Riley. I had an ultrasound at 8 weeks to double check my due date and it was discovered I was pregnant with twins. At some point I did lose one baby. So it looks like my problems may have been from that, not my placenta. After I found out I had lost one baby, I spent a lot of time researching "Vanishing twin" syndrome. It actually occurs in about 85% of women, though they may never know that there had actually been 2 babies at one point. My midwife assured me that it's very common and there had probably been something developmentally wrong with the one baby that would have made it impossible for it to survive outside the womb. It's nature's way of taking care of the sick and weak I guess. I had a second ultrasound at 11 weeks to double check the healthy baby and it's developing right on track. It's heart beat is strong-165bpm-and always moving. They did show me where the other baby had been. All that was left was an empty yolk sac. A lot of people have asked me if I'm sad that I lost one baby...and honestly, I'm not. It passed before I knew it was there, so it's not like I was 7 months pregnant when it passed. Also, there was most likely something genetically wrong with it. So my body saved that poor baby what most likely would have been months of pain and suffering due to genetic issues.
So I'll move on and be thankful that I have one healthy baby still in there thriving (and making me incredibly sick!)
Now, when it comes to my due date, that's a matter of some consideration. My original date was November 13 (we were really hoping for an 11-11-11 baby!) then at my first ultrasound, the U/S tech moved it to Nov. 7 according to the baby's measurements. At my second U/S, the tech moved it again to Nov. 6. I go next week to see my midwife and hopefully we'll settle on a date then. The big problem with settling on a date is that I've already been told I will have to have another c-section. Since Riley was born by section, they won't even let me try to labor since we live in a rural area and the surrounding hospitals are not rated high enough trauma levels. I was hoping to at least try a natural delivery-I feel like God gave me these child-bearing hips for some reason!!! But after she explained the risks (there are many) I've come to terms with another c-section. I actually had a really good experience with my first section, plus my baby didn't have that awful come head! So, I'm on board! They want to be able to get my due date set so I don't go into labor before my c-section is scheduled!
Welcome to our happy little surprise!
I quickly made the choice to switch doctors as well when I discovered I was pregnant again. My previous OB had, let's just say, not the nicest bedside manner. When I ended up in the hospital in the middle of the night with Riley thinking I was losing him, all that doctor said to me was "well, there's nothing I can do if you're going to lose it, so just go home. Now I know this is actually true, but I'm by no means a hysterical woman, so it's not like I needed a good slap to the face. Just some empathy would have been nice! So now I see a midwife, who I really like, though she's a tad brusque. But her nurse is AMAZING!
Now to the complicated part-my first pregnancy was by no means easy. I was on bed rest twice at one point, and had to quit working 3 weeks before Riley was born due to my blood pressure. There was a LOT of morning sickness involved, a trip to the ER at 3am and some bleeding. So when I found out I was pregnant I was hoping maybe this time it would go a little smoother-wrong! I was 4 weeks along when I took the pregnancy test. The morning sickness started exactly a week later. Now, when I say sick, I mean sick. There are some days when I get sick 2-3 times a day. I can't eat anything with onions, tomato sauce or pizza sauce in it. I've been living on rice cakes, lemon drops and mint chocolate chip ice cream for almost 8 weeks now, with no relief in sight. I've also had bleeding. The first bout happened when I was about 6 weeks along. My midwife suspected my placenta was lying low again, which I had with Riley. I had an ultrasound at 8 weeks to double check my due date and it was discovered I was pregnant with twins. At some point I did lose one baby. So it looks like my problems may have been from that, not my placenta. After I found out I had lost one baby, I spent a lot of time researching "Vanishing twin" syndrome. It actually occurs in about 85% of women, though they may never know that there had actually been 2 babies at one point. My midwife assured me that it's very common and there had probably been something developmentally wrong with the one baby that would have made it impossible for it to survive outside the womb. It's nature's way of taking care of the sick and weak I guess. I had a second ultrasound at 11 weeks to double check the healthy baby and it's developing right on track. It's heart beat is strong-165bpm-and always moving. They did show me where the other baby had been. All that was left was an empty yolk sac. A lot of people have asked me if I'm sad that I lost one baby...and honestly, I'm not. It passed before I knew it was there, so it's not like I was 7 months pregnant when it passed. Also, there was most likely something genetically wrong with it. So my body saved that poor baby what most likely would have been months of pain and suffering due to genetic issues.
So I'll move on and be thankful that I have one healthy baby still in there thriving (and making me incredibly sick!)
Now, when it comes to my due date, that's a matter of some consideration. My original date was November 13 (we were really hoping for an 11-11-11 baby!) then at my first ultrasound, the U/S tech moved it to Nov. 7 according to the baby's measurements. At my second U/S, the tech moved it again to Nov. 6. I go next week to see my midwife and hopefully we'll settle on a date then. The big problem with settling on a date is that I've already been told I will have to have another c-section. Since Riley was born by section, they won't even let me try to labor since we live in a rural area and the surrounding hospitals are not rated high enough trauma levels. I was hoping to at least try a natural delivery-I feel like God gave me these child-bearing hips for some reason!!! But after she explained the risks (there are many) I've come to terms with another c-section. I actually had a really good experience with my first section, plus my baby didn't have that awful come head! So, I'm on board! They want to be able to get my due date set so I don't go into labor before my c-section is scheduled!
Welcome to our happy little surprise!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
A new milestone...
It's been a crazy, crazy week in our household. Monday and Tuesday were spent dodging flooding in Findlay and at home (we had a couple of inches in our basement). Wednesday started pretty normally-until Riley projectile vomited all over the dinner table. Thursday and Friday were spent trying to get his fever to drop below 101 (and that was on Tylenol and Motrin!) It finally started dropping on Saturday, though he's still not 100%...
On Wednesday, I got some surprising and exciting news of my own. (more on that in the next few weeks...)
Today-Sunday-Phil is going to pick up Riley's toddler bed from Once Upon a Child. I think he's ready to move, he seems to be having a hard time sleeping in the crib nowadays. He seems cramped and is always kicking the wall and bars. Plus there's always a random limb sticking through the bars. He's also reached the weight limit on his crib. He's pushing 40 pounds now (at least that's what our home scale says and I'm disinclined to believe it. We'll see when he goes for his 2 year check up in May) Who knew that at 21 months, my son would outgrow his crib! I must admit, I'm sick to my stomach about him moving to a toddler bed. Now he'll have free reign at night!! What if he doesn't stay in bed? What if he's up playing all night! I know at night he'll probably be tired enough (especially on school days) to just crash where he is. But what about on weekends when he fights naps...I'M FREAKING OUT!!
(ok, ok, bring it down a notch...)
Needless to say, I've got some issues to work out. We'll probably put it up tonight (after nap) so he can sleep in it tonight. I'll post more tomorrow after what is looking like a sleep deprived night...<sigh>
On Wednesday, I got some surprising and exciting news of my own. (more on that in the next few weeks...)
Today-Sunday-Phil is going to pick up Riley's toddler bed from Once Upon a Child. I think he's ready to move, he seems to be having a hard time sleeping in the crib nowadays. He seems cramped and is always kicking the wall and bars. Plus there's always a random limb sticking through the bars. He's also reached the weight limit on his crib. He's pushing 40 pounds now (at least that's what our home scale says and I'm disinclined to believe it. We'll see when he goes for his 2 year check up in May) Who knew that at 21 months, my son would outgrow his crib! I must admit, I'm sick to my stomach about him moving to a toddler bed. Now he'll have free reign at night!! What if he doesn't stay in bed? What if he's up playing all night! I know at night he'll probably be tired enough (especially on school days) to just crash where he is. But what about on weekends when he fights naps...I'M FREAKING OUT!!
(ok, ok, bring it down a notch...)
Needless to say, I've got some issues to work out. We'll probably put it up tonight (after nap) so he can sleep in it tonight. I'll post more tomorrow after what is looking like a sleep deprived night...<sigh>
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