So, for the longest time Erik absolutely refused to wear a bandaid. He was cry and cry and pull and pull on the bandaid until it came off - like it frightened him or something. So, I introduced Erik to Sesame Street bandaids in hopes that if there were a real need to wear a bandaid we could do so civilally.
Well, I accomplished the mission of being able to wear a bandaid and in the process created a bandaid monster. Erik skinned his finger last week, and he has insisted on wearing a bandaid at all times as his finger has been healing (we managed to 16 hours without a bandaid once in the past week and a half). However, since the incident, there have been a number of incidents where he has stood there and cried and cried because a certain Sesame Street friend (usually cookie monster) was out or not available in the size needed. We have also had a number of incidents where he also stood there and cried and cried because he doesn't want to wash the hand with a bandaid (I am sure his school teachers are loving me for that). He will obey you to the point of putting soap on it, but he won't rinse it. So you must grab his hand, force it under the water, and rinse off the soap. Then through sobs you must dry the hand to show him that the bandaid has not, in fact, been washed off.
Good Grief, Charlie Brown!
He is still the cutest boy ever.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Pregnancy Update - What a Crazy Ride
My goodness, things have been crazy.
My pregnancy was progressing along fairly uneventfully through the fall. I always felt tender right around my bellybutton, but didn't really think anything of it.
Then Christmas rolled around, and there were a number of family members that came to stay with us pre-Christmas, Todd's grandfather passed away from pancreatic cancer, and Todd's family all came for Christmas (fortunately Lori was hosting instead of me). On Christmas Eve, I kept getting shooting pains in my stomach, again right around and above my belly button. I knew it wasn't the baby, so I wasn't too worried. By midnight Christmas Eve (when we got back from Huntsville), I was so nauseated and in so much pain.
Things backed off again, and I was able to open presents with the family, but by noon, I was back in bed again. I missed the big family Christmas dinner (Todd was the hero and stepped in and cooked everything I was supposed to).
This "getting a little better" and the "having a really bad day(s)" cycle continued on. I saw my OB, and she told me to get a consult with my gastro. He was out of town a good bit of the beginning of January, but squeezed me in on 1/4/10. He told me he wanted an ultrasound of my gall bladder. My ultrasound was on the 6th, and by then I was in so much pain I could hardly walk. I managed through my appointment (I think the tech thought I was going to die - she kept asking "Are you sure you are supposed to go home after this?"), and drove home. The tech felt sure there were no gallstones but couldn't tell me little else. She sent the films over to my gastro (who was out of town until the 12th) and told me to wait for his direction. She also said that she thought I had colitis or some other inflamation of the bowel (she said intestines don't normally show up on that kind of sonogram, but mine was so inflamed that it had pushed up into the screen).
By the afternoon of the 6th, I was vomitting and running a fever. My gastro's partner didn't really want to do too much with me (not that she was being ugly; she didn't want to ruin any progress I had made with him), and she told me to call my OB about the fever and perhaps some nausea medicine. My OB became concerned about the fever and sent me to the ER (she thought perhaps I had appendicitis or pancreatitis). So, Nana and Aunt LeeLee (Lori) came to Erik's rescue, and Todd and I went to the ER.
The ER decided it wasn't appendicitis or a bladder infection. They were concerned about my pulse which was high (probably due to dehydration and pain). They ran 2 IV bags of fluids at full speed (talk about getting chills). Then they admitted me on the OB floor. The fever came and went for most of the night and broke early in the morning. The cause of the fever is still unknown.
The OB unit gave me lots more fluids by IV and got me on clear liquids in hopes to settle down my stomach. They checked the baby, who seemed completely unaware of the drama. Yeah! I was in a lot of pain (no pain meds when you are pregnant), but I really enjoyed getting to hear the babies heartbeats a couple of times while I was there.
My OB called my gastro's partner for a consult when I was in the hospital. The gastro partner rechecked the sonogram (again the intestine finding is unusual) and she ended up doing a colonoscopy to investigate the cause of the inflamation. I had the colonoscopy and was sent home around 4. The colonoscopy was "unprepared" which means I got to avoid drinking the pretest junk; however, the stuff they did to me during the colonoscopy so they could see put me in terrible (worse) pain for about 3 days.
On the 11th, my gastro called me with the results of all the tests they ran (lots of blood work and lab tests from the colonoscopy) while I was in the hospital. He said that all of the labs (that were in) showed nothing unusual (no thyroid problems, no colitis, no infection, no diverticulits), etc. He said that the colonoscopy showed that my intestines were cramping (spasming) during the entire procedure. He said this constant spasming in addition to IBS has caused all the pain, and since it had been going on unchecked at least since Christmas Eve, it would be sometime before my colon would heal.
So, now I am on a probiotic pill, a perscriptioin laxative (for the IBS & to balance the effects of the antispasm med), fiber pills (for the IBS), and an antispasm medicine that makes me sleepy. I still feel a lot of pressure and bloating in my abdomen and intermittant cramping, but I am making progress. I may have one or two evenings a week when I feel in pain and end up in bed (rather than days and nights). I still don't sleep well, though (laying down on my side seems to make the spasms worse).
We also had our mid-pregnancy sonogram on the 12th. The new baby will be a boy. We are excited. Erik was mad at first (he said he wanted a sister), but once we explained that he would be the big brother and the baby would be the little brother, he was quite happy.
We are now exploring baby names. I would love to name the baby after my grandfather somehow, but we can't really find a name we like that is either one of his names or a take-off of one of his names. I am hoping something comes to me. We have another name currently on the table that incorporates names from my mom's family and Todd's family. So, we'll see.
I hope to be able to post more frequently as things move along. Pray that I stay feeling well enough to function. I have Erik, Todd, a house, a job, and preparing for a new baby to attend too.
I can't wait until spring.
~Chelle
My pregnancy was progressing along fairly uneventfully through the fall. I always felt tender right around my bellybutton, but didn't really think anything of it.
Then Christmas rolled around, and there were a number of family members that came to stay with us pre-Christmas, Todd's grandfather passed away from pancreatic cancer, and Todd's family all came for Christmas (fortunately Lori was hosting instead of me). On Christmas Eve, I kept getting shooting pains in my stomach, again right around and above my belly button. I knew it wasn't the baby, so I wasn't too worried. By midnight Christmas Eve (when we got back from Huntsville), I was so nauseated and in so much pain.
Things backed off again, and I was able to open presents with the family, but by noon, I was back in bed again. I missed the big family Christmas dinner (Todd was the hero and stepped in and cooked everything I was supposed to).
This "getting a little better" and the "having a really bad day(s)" cycle continued on. I saw my OB, and she told me to get a consult with my gastro. He was out of town a good bit of the beginning of January, but squeezed me in on 1/4/10. He told me he wanted an ultrasound of my gall bladder. My ultrasound was on the 6th, and by then I was in so much pain I could hardly walk. I managed through my appointment (I think the tech thought I was going to die - she kept asking "Are you sure you are supposed to go home after this?"), and drove home. The tech felt sure there were no gallstones but couldn't tell me little else. She sent the films over to my gastro (who was out of town until the 12th) and told me to wait for his direction. She also said that she thought I had colitis or some other inflamation of the bowel (she said intestines don't normally show up on that kind of sonogram, but mine was so inflamed that it had pushed up into the screen).
By the afternoon of the 6th, I was vomitting and running a fever. My gastro's partner didn't really want to do too much with me (not that she was being ugly; she didn't want to ruin any progress I had made with him), and she told me to call my OB about the fever and perhaps some nausea medicine. My OB became concerned about the fever and sent me to the ER (she thought perhaps I had appendicitis or pancreatitis). So, Nana and Aunt LeeLee (Lori) came to Erik's rescue, and Todd and I went to the ER.
The ER decided it wasn't appendicitis or a bladder infection. They were concerned about my pulse which was high (probably due to dehydration and pain). They ran 2 IV bags of fluids at full speed (talk about getting chills). Then they admitted me on the OB floor. The fever came and went for most of the night and broke early in the morning. The cause of the fever is still unknown.
The OB unit gave me lots more fluids by IV and got me on clear liquids in hopes to settle down my stomach. They checked the baby, who seemed completely unaware of the drama. Yeah! I was in a lot of pain (no pain meds when you are pregnant), but I really enjoyed getting to hear the babies heartbeats a couple of times while I was there.
My OB called my gastro's partner for a consult when I was in the hospital. The gastro partner rechecked the sonogram (again the intestine finding is unusual) and she ended up doing a colonoscopy to investigate the cause of the inflamation. I had the colonoscopy and was sent home around 4. The colonoscopy was "unprepared" which means I got to avoid drinking the pretest junk; however, the stuff they did to me during the colonoscopy so they could see put me in terrible (worse) pain for about 3 days.
On the 11th, my gastro called me with the results of all the tests they ran (lots of blood work and lab tests from the colonoscopy) while I was in the hospital. He said that all of the labs (that were in) showed nothing unusual (no thyroid problems, no colitis, no infection, no diverticulits), etc. He said that the colonoscopy showed that my intestines were cramping (spasming) during the entire procedure. He said this constant spasming in addition to IBS has caused all the pain, and since it had been going on unchecked at least since Christmas Eve, it would be sometime before my colon would heal.
So, now I am on a probiotic pill, a perscriptioin laxative (for the IBS & to balance the effects of the antispasm med), fiber pills (for the IBS), and an antispasm medicine that makes me sleepy. I still feel a lot of pressure and bloating in my abdomen and intermittant cramping, but I am making progress. I may have one or two evenings a week when I feel in pain and end up in bed (rather than days and nights). I still don't sleep well, though (laying down on my side seems to make the spasms worse).
We also had our mid-pregnancy sonogram on the 12th. The new baby will be a boy. We are excited. Erik was mad at first (he said he wanted a sister), but once we explained that he would be the big brother and the baby would be the little brother, he was quite happy.
We are now exploring baby names. I would love to name the baby after my grandfather somehow, but we can't really find a name we like that is either one of his names or a take-off of one of his names. I am hoping something comes to me. We have another name currently on the table that incorporates names from my mom's family and Todd's family. So, we'll see.
I hope to be able to post more frequently as things move along. Pray that I stay feeling well enough to function. I have Erik, Todd, a house, a job, and preparing for a new baby to attend too.
I can't wait until spring.
~Chelle
Monday, December 7, 2009
Fantabulously Frugual Giveaway
http://www.fantabulouslyfrugal.com/2009/11/you-deserve-best-giveaway.html
Sounds pretty cool - check it out.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Pictures
This is Erik in his Halloween costume. He is so proud to be dressed as "Winnie Pooh" and to be carrying a flashlight.
Erik and I while we trick-or-treated at our neighbors' houses.
Our 2009 Race for the Cure SEBC team.
Erik likes to make a mess coloring and cutting paper in the office while I work from home.
Erik loves to drive his car. It was a hand-me-down from my boss's son. We are very thankful. Unfortunately, the granddaddy-long-legs spiders are very fond of it, too. It always seems like the car has at least 6 or 7 spiders.More pictures to come later.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
The Pokey Little Puppy
Erik loves reading the Poky Little Puppy.
I loved that book as a kid.
Tonight when I was reading it to Erik, I thought about how funny it can be that your perspective changes so much about children's books when you become an adult. As a kid, I identified with the Poky puppy. Now as a mom, I identify with the mother puppy, too - especially when the puppies have behaved badly and the book reads, "but their mother was greatly displeased."
The other thing about that book & Erik that tickles me is the line the mother says, when the puppies change their ways and fill the hole they have dug when they believe their mother is asleep. She says, "What good little puppies!"
Erik reads that line for me, and he uses a cute, high pitched little voice that makes me want to giggle out loud (I can't of course - it would ruin the moment).
If you are the mom of a little one, it is definitely worth the money to by The Poky Little Puppy (it is a Golden Book so it is fairly cheap).
I loved that book as a kid.
Tonight when I was reading it to Erik, I thought about how funny it can be that your perspective changes so much about children's books when you become an adult. As a kid, I identified with the Poky puppy. Now as a mom, I identify with the mother puppy, too - especially when the puppies have behaved badly and the book reads, "but their mother was greatly displeased."
The other thing about that book & Erik that tickles me is the line the mother says, when the puppies change their ways and fill the hole they have dug when they believe their mother is asleep. She says, "What good little puppies!"
Erik reads that line for me, and he uses a cute, high pitched little voice that makes me want to giggle out loud (I can't of course - it would ruin the moment).
If you are the mom of a little one, it is definitely worth the money to by The Poky Little Puppy (it is a Golden Book so it is fairly cheap).
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Just things happening
I am 9 1/2 weeks along now. I got to looking at the calendar yesterday. I think we will be able to find out the sex of the baby in the week or two after New Years. That will be an exciting time to find out. A nice suprise after all the holidays are done.
Well, the nasuea continues. If things go like they did with Erik, it should be dying down around week 13. So, not too much further.
Erik had such a good time at Halloween. He loved his Winnie the Pooh costume (thanks Vicki). He wore his costume again today. We ordered pizza for dinner tonight. I am pretty sure the pizza guy was amuzed by my little guy in his Halloween costume a full week after Halloween.
Erik has been doing so good potty training. He hasn't pooped in the potty yet, but he has been staying dry - until yesterday. Yesterday and today, he wet in his pull-up all day long. When I asked him why, he just said he didn't want to go potty. He stays perfectly dry at school. But at home, all bets are off. He needs some motivation, but I don't know what.
My hips are already starting to ache at night when I sleep. This didn't happen with Erik until like week 20, but this is starting early. The doctor said things would happen earlier this pregnancy, but wow.
I have a bunch of pictures to upload. I have to get to those.
I had a feeling bad day today. I just felt like everything took way more effort than I had. This morning, I folded a bunch of laundry and then took a shower. By the time I got out, I didn't have energy left. So, I slipped on some clothes and Erik and I crawled in my bed and watched a PBS tv show until my energy came back a little bit. Then we cleaned some more and made lunch. Beef and bean burrito leftovers, yum and oh so easy.
I used to love to drink soda, but since this pregnancy, soda except maybe Sprite doesn't really taste good to me. However, I still kind of miss it. So, I have been mixing juice with Perie sparkling mineral water. It is so good. It gives the juice just a little kick, and it is helping me to drink more (I have been having trouble drinking enough due to nausea - which is super bad for IBS).
On Wednesday, I will be 10 weeks pregnant. That means I have completed 1/4 of the pregnancy. That is pretty cool.
Well, it is getting late, and I can't think of much else for now. So...
For anyone who is interested the beef and bean burrito recipe is as follows:
Beef and Bean Burritos
1 lb lean ground beef
1 can of refried beans
1 small can of tomato sauce - I think it is an 8 oz can.
taco seasoning
Tortillas
Shredded Cheese (any flavor, mazzorella, cheddar, colby, or a mexican blend is great)
Salsa (optional)
Sour cream (optional)
Brown the beef, drain, and put in a sauce pan. Turn saucepan on medium low.
Add beans. Once they start to heat up and get melty add as much tomato sauce as needed to get the desired consistency. I usually add about 3/4 of a can. Then add taco seasoning. I buy taco seasoning in the big containers instead of the envelope. I usually use just under an 1/8 of a cup. If you were using an envelope, I would use 1/4 to 1/2 of an envelope. Heat and stir until everything is hot through and well incorporated. Put burrito mixture in a totilla with cheese and roll up. Serve topped with salsa and sour cream, if desired. Todd skips this part and picks it up and eats it like a taco or quesadilla.
This amount of food would probably make enough for us (Todd, Erik, and I) to eat this dish at least once. You can cut down the amounts to make less, but I figure that I have open cans of stuff so I might as well make an entire batch.
This dish can be served with baby carrots/other raw veggies and salad dressing for an easy meal. Erik and I like to eat cinnamon applesauce with it for dessert.
Well, the nasuea continues. If things go like they did with Erik, it should be dying down around week 13. So, not too much further.
Erik had such a good time at Halloween. He loved his Winnie the Pooh costume (thanks Vicki). He wore his costume again today. We ordered pizza for dinner tonight. I am pretty sure the pizza guy was amuzed by my little guy in his Halloween costume a full week after Halloween.
Erik has been doing so good potty training. He hasn't pooped in the potty yet, but he has been staying dry - until yesterday. Yesterday and today, he wet in his pull-up all day long. When I asked him why, he just said he didn't want to go potty. He stays perfectly dry at school. But at home, all bets are off. He needs some motivation, but I don't know what.
My hips are already starting to ache at night when I sleep. This didn't happen with Erik until like week 20, but this is starting early. The doctor said things would happen earlier this pregnancy, but wow.
I have a bunch of pictures to upload. I have to get to those.
I had a feeling bad day today. I just felt like everything took way more effort than I had. This morning, I folded a bunch of laundry and then took a shower. By the time I got out, I didn't have energy left. So, I slipped on some clothes and Erik and I crawled in my bed and watched a PBS tv show until my energy came back a little bit. Then we cleaned some more and made lunch. Beef and bean burrito leftovers, yum and oh so easy.
I used to love to drink soda, but since this pregnancy, soda except maybe Sprite doesn't really taste good to me. However, I still kind of miss it. So, I have been mixing juice with Perie sparkling mineral water. It is so good. It gives the juice just a little kick, and it is helping me to drink more (I have been having trouble drinking enough due to nausea - which is super bad for IBS).
On Wednesday, I will be 10 weeks pregnant. That means I have completed 1/4 of the pregnancy. That is pretty cool.
Well, it is getting late, and I can't think of much else for now. So...
For anyone who is interested the beef and bean burrito recipe is as follows:
Beef and Bean Burritos
1 lb lean ground beef
1 can of refried beans
1 small can of tomato sauce - I think it is an 8 oz can.
taco seasoning
Tortillas
Shredded Cheese (any flavor, mazzorella, cheddar, colby, or a mexican blend is great)
Salsa (optional)
Sour cream (optional)
Brown the beef, drain, and put in a sauce pan. Turn saucepan on medium low.
Add beans. Once they start to heat up and get melty add as much tomato sauce as needed to get the desired consistency. I usually add about 3/4 of a can. Then add taco seasoning. I buy taco seasoning in the big containers instead of the envelope. I usually use just under an 1/8 of a cup. If you were using an envelope, I would use 1/4 to 1/2 of an envelope. Heat and stir until everything is hot through and well incorporated. Put burrito mixture in a totilla with cheese and roll up. Serve topped with salsa and sour cream, if desired. Todd skips this part and picks it up and eats it like a taco or quesadilla.
This amount of food would probably make enough for us (Todd, Erik, and I) to eat this dish at least once. You can cut down the amounts to make less, but I figure that I have open cans of stuff so I might as well make an entire batch.
This dish can be served with baby carrots/other raw veggies and salad dressing for an easy meal. Erik and I like to eat cinnamon applesauce with it for dessert.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
New Baby
I am expecting another baby on June 9th. That means I am 6 weeks and 6 days along. I have been nauseated since about the 6th of October. The doctor said things are looking good.
Todd and I are so excited. We told Erik today. He will tell you he is going to have a brother, a sister, a baby. If you say to him, "you are going to have a brother or sister?", he says brightly, "yes."
Exciting times.
Todd and I are so excited. We told Erik today. He will tell you he is going to have a brother, a sister, a baby. If you say to him, "you are going to have a brother or sister?", he says brightly, "yes."
Exciting times.
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