First boo-boo

It's inevitable now that Camron's mobile.....and I feel so terrible. But his first boo-boo was not self inflicted. It was Mommy inflicted. Sorta.

While taking a bath in the kitchen sink last week, the little naked baby started wiggling around, trying to get free of Mommy's hold. Warning: Babies are slippery when wet (and naked). He got loose and bumped his head on the faucet.

FYI it was all better by the next evening, however I do take the blame for Camron's first shiner! :(

7 months and counting.....

Summer is winding down and Camron is winding up! He is now just over 7 months old and in the past month he has learned how to sit up, say da-da and ma-ma, and just started crawling. It's not perfect but I'm sure in another week he will have mastered it. He's getting his stuff together so he can show his new baby cousin Zack (tbb 1/29/10) how to do it all!

He's so expressive and vocal that we just get a kick out of it. In fact, that's how he first said real words....."blah blah blah da-da".....and then a few days later while crying..... "wah wah wah ma-ma". Now he carries on conversations with himself in his jumperoo.

Dinners are becoming more delicious. He has tried all the Stage 1 foods like peaches, applesauce, bananas, plums, pears, carrots, peas, green beans, squash and sweet potatoes, and is now on Stage 2. He likes Hawaiian Delight Peach Banana Granola, but not so fond of turkey or macaroni and cheese with vegetables.

Had a little run in with a viral rash a few weeks ago.....looked like little pin pricks all over his body. I thought it was a reaction to pears. But the doc said viral. 'Tis the season.....here we go!

We're looking forward to Halloween. Aunt Maura got him his costume last year before he was even born. He's going to be a pumpkin! Although we will probably not be out to TOT (Trick or Treat!) we will definitely be getting pictures taken and visiting family.....maybe even having a little Halloween party with Jaron and his friends.

6 months old!

Well Camron is now 6months old. We celebrated by going to get pictures taken. He's such a smiley baby. It makes me feel like I'm doing such a good job, to hear so many people tell me what a happy baby he is :) I'm glad we make him happy!

It's finally been summer this week....after 2 months of 60 degree weather and rain every other day, this week has been HOT and SUNNY! I love it. Camron is sleeping in his diaper with a fan in his room, and today Daddy blew up the pool so he could swim. He was a little startled at first, since the water was cold, but after a few minutes of sitting naked in the water, he started splashing around. Then I layed him on his belly (and held onto him so he didn't put is face down in the water) and he loved it! Hope this weather sticks around for a while, he's not gonna be to happy when we can't go outside!

Camron May, Roll on down!!!

At the end of this week, Camron will be 6 months old. Time flies, and things are happening quickly! For the last few weeks, he has been practicing his rolls. A little hesitant at first, he went from back to belly. He did the first roll at the babysitters house :( But then a few days later, he rolled for me too. Then about a week later he was rolling all over the room from back to belly then belly to back, as if he knew that if he kept going he would make it somewhere!

He's also enjoying his puppy Roody's company very much. Whenever Roody crossed his path, he giggles up a storm. When Roo comes over to sniff out what was for snack, Camron pets him and pulls on his ears. Roody doesn't care one bit, although I am always careful and watching closely. Roody even likes to lay next to Camo when he's playing on the floor now :)

We also finished all of the vegetables for dinner. Peas, squash and carrots, all yummy! Now we're trying out the fruits, starting with applesauce. It took a few extra bites to start liking that, I think it may be a little bitter compared to the veggies, but still a yummy! (I've been keeping track of yummies vs. yuckies). I also tried to give him a little juice today in his sippy cup....he was willing to hold the cup by the handles, and he knew how to get it from his mouth, but still needs to work on tipping it up. So I helped, but then that must have tasted too bitter too...maybe we'll wait a little longer :)

Yesterday we went to Jillian and Shane's wedding, it was Camron's first formal event! Since his Daddy and I were both in the wedding party wearing a black polo and khaki's and a black dress, I tried to find something he could wear that would match us. How lucky, I found a black onesie with the tuxedo print on it! He looked so adorable "all dressed up" !

I'm taking him to get new pictures done next weekend on his 6 month birthday. I can't believe it's been 6 months already.....

Food is fun!

Camron is eating well from his spoon. When he was four months old, he started eating rice infant cereal for breakfast and dinner. Then a week later, he tried something new for breakfast ~ oatmeal with bananas infant cereal....not too fond of that. So we tried regular oatmeal infant cereal for a few days, didn't really like it still. Now for breakfast, he is eating rice with mixed fruit flavor infant cereal. YUM-IE! He loves it.

Once we got breakfast down, I started switching up the dinners with some Step 1 babyfood. He always starts with a little rice cereal, just in case the second part isn't so great. At four and a half months old, he tried bananas. I wish I had the video camera out that day, he puckered up and then made the gagging face. I only made him suffer about 4 or 5 bites of that. The next day he didn't like it any better. So I waited for the 5 month milestone before trying the next flavor. Green beans! He loved the green beans, no yuckie faces at all! Yesterday we cracked open the sweet potatoes. Sorry Grandma but the sweet potatoes are a hit! As a matter of fact, he likes them so much that he ate over half the container for dinner tonite AND now he opens his mouth into the little bird lips again for the next bite!!!! The bird lips are so cute, they remind me of when he was a newborn :) I can't wait to try the next food!

Baptism

Camron and his cousin Lucky were baptized at Elmwood Avenue Presbyterian Church today. His godparents are Uncle Jake and Aunt Jennette. I wish I could have picked two godmothers, because Aunt Lizzie is Camron's favorite (I think!) but we ended up going with one from Mommy's side and one from Daddy's side. Lucky's godparents are me and his Dad's friend, Chip. They behaved well in church, Camron actually fell asleep during the sermon and stayed sleeping through the water poured on his head. Lots of family came to see them, even Aunt Maura and Uncle John from Florida! He even managed to keep his outfit clean (a white polo onesie and a pair of khaki camoflauge pants, with a bib that said "Thank Heaven for Little Boys"). He got a very precious Teddy Bear Bible from Grandma Maryann. It has cute little bible stories with pictures.....I think Camron will love it.

Tomorrow we are going to Uncle John and Aunt Rhonda's house for a picnic, next Saturday we are having a baptism picnic at Jennette's house. Lots more time to spend with our favorite family members :)

Month 5

Mommy's boy turned 5 months old this week. I am now really glad that he was born in the colder months....because now that he is a little more observant and active, it's so nice to be able to go outside and do things! He enjoys walks in his stroller, swinging in the baby swings at the playground, hanging out on the front porch in his walker or sitting on Mommy and Daddy's laps....

We weighed him at home last week, he was at 18.5 pounds! Our chunky monkey needs a new car seat soon, his infant carrier maxes out at 22 pounds! I've been searching craigslist and yard sales to find a nice used one, rather than spend $60 or more on a new one! It also seems that he grew through the 3-6 month sizes in about 2 or 3 weeks! Thank goodness that it's summer and the pants are supposed to be short. The waste fits fine but the pants look more like capris. Good think everyone has been giving me so many of their baby boy clothes! Takes the fun out of shopping sometimes, but sure does save on the pocketbook!

His baptism is coming up next Saturday (July 25th). Aunt Maura and Uncle John will finally be here to visit, so we plan on spending the weekend with them! It's been a busy summer. But it's so fun to share all the fun with my baby boy :)

First 4th of July!

It's been a while! And my little boy is getting bigger, cuter, more active and experiencing more things!

We celebrated our first 4th of July holiday this past weekend. A few picnics, met lots of new family including my Uncle John, Aunt Rhonda, Uncle Mark, Aunt Barb, and cousins Paula and Kirstie. After a few sparklers, we watched fireworks at "Boom over the Bay" and he stayed awake for most of it! I think he's gonna love fireworks just like his mommy.

Today we brought out a new toy, the walker. He really loves playing in that thing! This is the most enthusiasm I've seen yet from any of the baby stuff he has. I also brought out the high-chair recently, so it's time to start putting away some of the others I think.....the swing, the bouncy seat....if you walk into my house right now, you would think I have 10 babies!

Camron the Outdoorsman

The heat is on! Summer is in full force this week and I think I need an air conditioner! Then again, that might be a waste, since Camron is not anywhere near content playing in the house. He wants to be outside on the front porch, in his swing or on my lap, doesn't matter as long as he can see what's going on.

I don't blame him. We have some goofy looking people in our neighborhood. Plus, this weather is a big improvement over the 30 degrees he came home from the hospital in 4 and a 1/2 months ago! He's gonna be a Daddy's boy once he's mobile...in another month or so he can get in that backpack and walk with Daddy. He's gonna love it. And now that we have a video camera, it's going to be fun making home movies too!

Meanwhile, I'm still playing catch up around the house when I can. When I get out of work, I go pick Camron up from the babysitter's house and we come home, he eats dinner.....then we play for a while or sit on the porch.....and about the time he goes to bed is when we eat dinner. Then it's clean up time. Baby toys everywhere, bottles to wash, blogs to catch up on....see, it's called Mommy May's Mayhem for a reason! Something tells me this is still pretty close to just the beginning :)

4 months old!

My 15 pound 11 ouncer is now eating rice cereal! And he likes it...his face is so cute when he tries to decide what the heck it is that I just spooned into his mouth. But he opens his mouth for more when he sees the spoon coming, and he keeps most of it in to swallow! In about a week or so we will move on to a multi-grain cereal, maybe an oatmeal, and in about a month or so we will start on the fruits and veggies!

He also got his second round of vaccines when we were at the doctor Monday....and I think he is starting to show signs of teething. Lots of slobber and a bit more whining!

His bib says "It's all about me", isn't that the truth!

Sleeping

I think so far that 4 months old is my favorite age :) Altough I will always miss Camron being tiny, I love the new things he can do.

And best of all, he finally slept through the nite last Thursday. I was so excited! The next two nights were a little shaky, but being the weekend, we were up a little bit later anyways, so it was almost like making it the whole nite again!

Tomorrow is a doctor appointment for more vaccinations. I am hoping to discuss with his doctor if we can start "solid foods" yet. According to a flyer I was reading from Gerber, when an infant can sit supported, have good head control, seems hungry still after bottles, etc. etc.....they may be ready to start cereal. Rice comes first, since it is single grain and easy on baby's stomach and then multi-grain cereal, and then the 1st foods. I stocked up on carrots, peas, green beans, squash, sweet potatoes, prunes, bananas, applesauce, pears and peaches today :) A nice variety, because it's about to get messy in here!!!

Getting big

It's hard to believe that just about a year ago I found out I was pregnant. I still remember it like it was yesterday. I wonder if I always will....since he'll be my one and only. Daddy is still recovering from his vasectomy he had done last week. But I'm sure Camron will give me a run for my money!

But one year later, I have an adorable (almost) 4 month old baby boy, who is next to me in his playpen at 7a.m. on a Saturday morning, talking to his giraffes. And laughing at me when I look at him and say hi.

He's a strong boy, he can hold his head up very well now, much improved from the wobbliness we once saw. We got a new toy, it's called a Bumbo. It's kind of a chair made especially for babies that are learning to sit up, it helps support them. Sometimes when Aaron is holding him in a half laying down position, Camo can sit up on his own. So I figure it's time to start the next step. Before we know it he'll be crawling around, and walking.....

He enjoys watching people and things move about in their daily routines. He himself has a routine, I thought the day would never come! Though he's an early riser, he gets up around 6:30a.m every day and plays in his crib for a while, staring at the mobile and eating his hands, while I get ready for work. Then we go to the babysitters house where he plays all morning and watches the bigger kids, takes his nap around noon or 1 p.m., then plays and watches some more til I pick him up. Then we go home, and by 8:30 he's ready for bed - most of the time only waking up once in the middle of the nite. He's also starting to recognize familiar people, of course Mommy and Daddy, also Jaron, Grandma, Uncle Jake and Aunt Lizzie :)

He's just getting too big!

Murphy's Law Continued!!!!

And of course right before I went to bed, Chevy got sprayed by a skunk!

Murphy's Law?

"Anything that can go wrong, will." And that's how my day was.

Someone at work thinks they know more or better than I do. I've only been there 3 years, so what if they have been there 6 months. And now they want me to do things her way, because she is a whine-baby. But I sucked it up.

I come home to a shredded washcloth, chewed by Roody and then another one puked up. I held my breath that Camron would sleep in his carseat until I finished carpet cleaning the living room and dining room. And I sucked it up.

Then I gave Camron a nice cool bath on this long hot day.....got him dressed....and, yes, 2 minutes later he pooped a good one in his diaper.

LOL. What a perfect ending to this day :)

There's one in every bunch

Well, the weather is warming up and it's almost time to start playing outside. I must have jumped the gun a little tho, I had Camron out at one of Jaron's baseball games, and the next day he was all congested.

Too much fresh air? No, Camron either has allergies or another virus, according to the doctor we saw today. He has been coughing again, very hard, and gets pretty stuffy at night. He slept in his crib most of last nite with the vaporizer running, but after his coughing fit at 4:30am, he and I moved to the couch. I'll admit, it's not as bad as the first time he was sick, but I still hate that he's not feeling well.

Yep, I got the sick kid! There's one in every bunch, so I'm told, and I do believe that Camron got that unlucky curse in this house :( The doctor said they don't do allergy testing on kids until they are at least 2, and we will also have to watch for develpment of asthma :(

Too much crap in the air, too much crap in the food...it's impossible to raise a healthy baby!

My first Mother's Day

Today was a special day. I celebrated my first real Mother's Day! I got to sleep in a little while Jaron, Camron and Daddy made me breakfast in bed. Then I got a card from them all that Jaron made and I opened a present that was from Camron (that his babysitter helped him make and sent home with him last week).

I got a Play-Doh mold of his little baby hand, and a photo card with a quote..."Motherhood. All love begins and ends there." ~ Robert Browning, and it says Happy Mothers Day!! Love, Camron

I also got a very pretty necklace from my mother-in-law that is a mother holding a baby, but it is kind of in the shape of a heart.

The most precious part of this day was that I could spend it with my boys. I love them both so much! It's great being a Mommy :)

An Inspiration by formula.....

Well, Camron is doing much better. I can tell he feels better because he's smiling and giggling again. And he's starting to be so content just laying in his playpen and watching the giraffes on the mobile dance around.

Jaron has been having a good time making him laugh. The other day in the car, he was singing him a song that was on the radio and Camron just loved it. Last nite, as Camron was sitting in his bouncy seat, J sat in front of him and pulled the blanket up to Camo's nose and then took it away and said peek-a-boo.....oh my gosh, the smiles they had were adorable!!

Anyways, one of the girls at work who just came back from maternity leave was telling me that her son was on his 4th formula already. Nothing was agreeing with him so far, so they put him on Nutramigen. Odd.....Jennette's baby is on Nutramigen also (after trying 3 formulas). Formula kind of goes in steps....there's the regular milk-based, if the baby can't stomach that they go to the gentle form that has broken down proteins that are easier to digest, then after that they try soy-based, and then (almost as a last resort) they use Nutramigen....which is a lot more expensive! Luckily, Camron was good with the 2nd formula that we tried, the gentle/broken down proteins kind. I just find it troubling that 3 out of 3 newborns that I know were not ok on the regular formula. I wonder if it's a coincidence or if the formula companies just don't make it the way they used to.....or is something wrong with the food we (pregnant women) eat that passes on the weak stomachs to our babies.....it's kind of scary to think that there are too many chemicals in our food that this would be possible, but I think this reason is probably the most true. And most of all, I wonder if the formula companies have recognized this, and have done anything about it. Pregnant women beware: don't eat a lot of chemically altered food!

My Mastercard Commercial

Pack of diapers, that doesn’t leak (and lasts 11 days) ~ $20

Wipes for baby’s bottom (that lasts 9 days) ~ $2

Special laundry detergent (that lasts 6 months) ~ $25

Drop-in bottle liners (that lasts 13 days) ~ $8

Can of formula (that lasts 4 days) ~ $14

Baby Vicks Rub for the first cold (that hopefully doesn’t last long) ~ $3

Happy memories with Camron (that last a lifetime) ~ PRICELESS



There are some things money can’t buy….for everything else, there’s Aaron’s Mastercard :)


Special thanks to Aunt Maura for uploading the picture from our cell phone!

Getting better....

Today Aaron took the day off to take Camron to the doctor again. Dr. Kurien wanted to make sure he was breathing better, and in fact he was at 97% today. I could definitely see a difference since using the nebulizer breathing treatments.

I never thought I'd be one of those mom's giving those breathing treatments, but now I know it can happen to anyone. Who knows how, but Camron was infected with RSV (the test came back positive). He is most likely high risk for the next few years now to get it again during RSV season, yes it has a season....October through April. I've read that he can get a shot of RSV antibodies for next years season, I will have to ask the doctor about that. I definitely don't want to do this again! But amazingly, Dr. Kurien told Aaron today that he thinks that we are doing a great job in staying on top of things with Camron, and he was very impressed yesterday with how calm I stayed and thought of asking all the right questions and solutions. That made me feel good, kind of like SuperMom :) And I'm sure Aaron felt good too, we are good parents :)

Tomorrow Aaron will be taking him back to Dr. Kurien (who has been wonderful through all of this) for another checkup, and then Monday I will be taking him to follow up with Dr. Harrington since she will be back from vacation. In the mean time, we have to keep him away from pretty much anything that can get him sick. He needs to get better! And he is already starting to. Hopefully we can enjoy the nice warm weekend ahead!

He's really sick :(

This morning, Camron just did not look better. It looked like he was having a rough time breathing, kind of wheezing. So I called the doctor's office and took him in. He has broncholitis....which is a viral infection, go figure! They did a little test called a pulsox, that showed them he is only breathing at 92% lung capacity and they like it to be at least 95%. They also took a mucus culture from his nose to test it for RSV (which is respiratory syncsitial virus ~apparently very dangerous for infants) but we won't know those results until tomorrow. Dr. Kurien was going to put him on a breathing treatment and have Great Lakes Home Healthcare come to the house every 4 hours, but my insurance doesn't cover that. So he sent me home saying if Camron gets worse, take him to the hospital and they will do the breathing treatments and he wants to see him again tomorrow at the office to do the pulsox again.

Well, thank God for Jennette (my sister-in-law) and Jen (the girl I work with). Jennette told me that when one of her kids needed the breathing treatment, they showed her how to do it and sent her home with a nebulizer and the prescription for Albuterol. I thought there mus have been some reason why they didn't offer that to me....then I went back to work for the afternoon, leaving Camron home with Grandma. Jen told me to call Great Lakes myself and see what they could offer me, so I did, and after I spoke with Gwen and explained what was going on, she suggested I call the insurance company and see if they would cover a rental on the nebulizer.....if so then the doctor could fax a prescription and I could pick it up today.

I have to admit, I didn't expect this to go so smoothly, but I called the doctors office, told them what I found out and that I wanted Dr. Kurien to try to help me get this done before the end of the day....this included faxing a prescription to Great Lakes for the nebulizer, calling in a prescription to the pharmacy for the Albuterol and getting the authorizations done in a matter of a few hours. For most offices, that is impossible. But they were on top of things. Luckily, an infant struggling to breathe right is high priority. The only snag was that the pharmacy didn't have the right dose of the medicine, I almost had to wait until tomorrow. But then Jen yelled out, "have them call Bayside Pharmacy" (which is Hamot Hospital's pharmacy). The rest worked out from there. I'm waiting for the nebulizer to be dropped off right now.
Tomorrow Aaron is taking the day off to take Camron to the doctor again in the morning. Hopefully this breathing treatment works and things look better soon. My poor buddy is being a trooper though, he's not fussing, just cuddling and waiting to get better!

First sick baby experience

I can't go to bed.... I'm worried that Camron will cough or choke and I won't hear him on the baby monitor. Last night I slept on the couch and held him. It wasn't too uncomfortable, but I slept so lightly that I hardly slept at all. He coughs so hard sometimes that he gags and spits up. And he just looks so miserable :(

I went to Walmart and bought "Little Noses", which is like a nasal spray for babies that loosens mucus in the nose and then you use the boogie sucker (or as some people call it, an aspirator) to suck out the boogies....So I use the boogie sucker every couple of hours, so it doesn't run down his throat and make him cough more. I also bought some Baby Vicks Rub and put a little of that on him every time I change his diaper. Tonite I have a humidifier running in his room. I'm afraid to leave him there alone though. I layed him on his side and rolled up a blanket behind him so if he does start coughing and flem comes out, hopefully it will dribble down his mouth onto the bed rather than him choking on it.

Being a mom to a sick baby is hard....he just looks at me like he wants to say "Mommy, I don't feel good," and it breaks my heart. I hope he feels better soon. I don't mind a runny nose here or there, but not the coughing :(

Weekend with Daddy

Work sucks, I hate being away from my baby. But Aaron was off on Friday, so Camron spent the day with Daddy. That makes me feel a little better, to know that if he's not bonding with me, he's bonding with Daddy. The weather was nice, so they went for a long walk in the morning, and then walked to pick Jaron up from school in the afternoon. According to Aaron, the only bad part about the day was the poopy diaper. It made him run to the kitchen sink and throw up.

Saturday I had to work too. It was, again, a really nice day. So the boys went for another nice walk, took a nap together, even changed a poopy diaper successfully (thanks to the help of a ventilation mask!!!!)

Aaron was excited that he did such a good job taking care of Camron by himself. He told me all about how he cleaned him up, got him dressed, made bottles and fed Camron....they played with toys, spent some time playing in the playpen, had "tummy time", took a nap together, went outside for walks....I have to admit I'm a little jealous that I'm not the one doing this anymore, however I am also enjoying watching both of them grow. Aaron went from saying he doesn't pick up babies until they are bigger, he doesn't change diapers, he doesn't dress babies because he doesn't want to break their arms....and now he is doing all of those things. I'm proud of him :)

So since Friday, I have ended the breastfeeding. I kind of miss it, but I think it's easier for everyone... and me because I don't have to stress about trying to pump at work, and for Camron because I think he was starting to get aggrivated that when he got a bottle it was so much easier and quicker and lasted longer before he was hungry again...

Monday comes around and I feel guilty taking him to the babysitter's again. Especially because he's got a cold. His nose is stuffy, he sneezes a little more often than he used to, and he's coughing...the coughs are flemy :( I knew this would happen though, I figured that the vaccines he got last week would give him something :( Hopefully he fights it off soon!

2 Months!

Today is Camron's two month birthday! I picked him up from the babysitter's house and took him to his well-baby visit with Dr. Harrington. He has grown an inch (now 22 1/4 inches), and weighs 10 lbs! The doctor says that he looks healthy, and is developing right on schedule. In a couple more months, he will be a lot more active and starting to eat baby food!

Unfortunately, I also had to allow the nurse to poke him with 3 needles! I was holding his hand when the first needle hit him, his mouth opened up for a big cry and I swear he didn't breathe for 15 seconds. His face was bright red. When they were all done, I scooped him up and he was ok again. I have gone back and forth in the decision to get Camron vaccinated, and in the long run I gave in. Today he got the first round of shots for Diptheria/Tetanus/Pertussis (DTap), H. Influenzae type B, Polio (all combined into one shot), as well as Pnuemococcal virus and a second round of Hepatitis B. He also received an oral vaccine for the Rotavirus. Dr. Harrington and I talked about each of the shots he was getting and if they were really necessary, what they were for, etc....supposedly these vaccinations have more benefits than bad reactions. I just worry about all the talk of them causing autism. I would hate for that to happen.

I had to stop at Walgreens to get some Motrin....he might need it for the pain later when he wakes up. My poor baby. First I go to work and leave him, then I let the doctor poke him with needles. I hope he still loves me!

It was a teary ride....

Today was my first day back to work. I cried while I was putting Camron in his car seat. I cried while I was driving to the babysitter's. I cried the whole way to work. I missed him so much!

Work was a mess when I got there. We are in the process of getting a new office, so things are scattered everywhere. I had to learn how to use the new phone system, and my passwords expired on my computer so I had to reset all of those. Not to mention there's a lot to catch up on. And all I can think about is my little boy, hopefully missing his mommy. But I made it through, and I can't wait to hold my baby again :)

Baby's First Easter

It was a busy weekend....

On Friday we went to Aaron's sister's house and had Easter dinner with her and her kids, as well as Aaron's mom and Jim. I can't wait til Camron can be part of the Easter egg hunts and coloring eggs. But he did get a few baskets full of goodies...some baby food, some bottle liners, and a few new bibs (one says I Love Auntie and the other says Little Indians Fan).

Then on Saturday we stopped at Grandma GG's for a bit, then came home and my dad and Lisa visited. Camron got his first stuffed Easter bunny :)

On Easter Sunday, Jaron helped him find the basket that the Easter Bunny left for him. It was hiding in his pack-n-play. He got some baby food, the Marley and Me movie, a couple of diapers and a couple of toys. I got him dressed in his Easter outfit...a cute striped polo and little khaki's....then we were off to my mom's house. I tried so hard to keep him clean before we got there, no spitting up on his new shirt! But then shortly after we got to Grandma's house he pooped through his diaper! The Easter outfit didn't last long, good thing Grandma keeps spare clothes at her house! And the diapers she got him for Easter came in handy too!

Happy first Easter buddy :)

Finally, a good bottle

Here's the newest picture of my little guy that we had taken at JC Penney's when he was 6 weeks old. Cute ain't he!?

Since then, I've been having trouble finding a bottle that I like. Camron is not picky. Unfortunately, he was spitting up and being so fussy, I was told to try a different bottle.....so I tried....several. Six to be exact. It was hard to find a bottle with a slow flow nipple that was comparable to the flow of breastfeeding. But finally, I have found the Playtex Drop-In Liner bottle with a slow flow latex nipple that was made to be similar to breastfeeding....and they were the only ones telling the truth. Camron likes this bottle, no more spitting up (sometimes a little, but that's normal) and a lot less fussy. I also switched his formula because of the gurgling noise his stomach was making, he is now drinking Nestle Good Start, Natural Cultures.



We are getting ready to celebrate baby's first Easter this weekend! Can't wait to see what the Easter bunny will bring him!

The Grand Finale

Well, I guess the countdown has begun....this is my last week off. And it's gonna be brutal. I have to practice getting up and getting ready to be at work on time!

And Camron is not making it easy right now.....since I've started him on a few bottles of formula daily, he has been a little more fussy. I think he's sucking it down too fast. So I splurged yesterday and bought him an $8 bottle that has a breast shaped nipple and is "slow-flow". It seems to be working a little better. He hasn't been spitting up. (Friday night he spit up his entire bottle on Daddy, and the next few days were a little messy too). If he still seems fussy in a few days I will probably have to switch his formula to something more gentle...or soy...if only I could just stay home to breastfeed until he's older.

Speaking of wanting to stay home to breastfeed....I tried another thing yesterday that I didn't think I'd ever do.....Camron is wearing cloth diapers! Aaron is not too fond of the idea, but I told him I wasn't either, and he can still use the disposable diapers when he changes Camo. If it saves me 5 diapers a day to use cloth, it saves me probably $40 a month. It's worth a try at least.

Mommy's nite out!

Well, there comes a time when the mommy must have mommy-time and daddy stays home with the baby. That would be tonite. A couple of the girls and I are going out tonite for a drink or two and some karaoke, like old times.

I'm a little nervous, leaving Aaron home alone with Camron for longer than an hour....it'll be the first time really away from him. I'm sure they'll be fine. And I guess I should get used to it, since I only have one more week off from work....

And tomorrow, Grandma Sue will be watching Camo while Aaron and I go over a friend's house for dinner. Again, a little sad to leave my little guy.

This is also the start of weaning from breastmilk to formula. I pumped some milk the last few days.....three times a day and I barely have two bottles. So that's not gonna work in the long run. For now I will nurse him evenings and maybe first thing in the morning, but he'll be getting formula during the day...and maybe in another week or two down to just formula.

Generic diaper disappointment

Finding a good, cheaper diaper is hard. Huggies and Pampers work great, but they are $20 a pack compared to Walmart's "Parent Choice" brand for $8. But the cheap ones leak. Some people have luck with generic diapers. Unfortunately Camron is not one of them.

Walmart used to have another cheap brand called White Cloud. But they didn't have them at the Walmart I usually go to when I had to get diapers last time. So I stopped at Giant Eagle on the way home from there, and got the Giant Eagle brand diaper for $7. Yep, they leaked too. So I called today to see if I can get my money back, and they give double your money back! So today it's Huggies.....next time I have a feeling I'll be switching to cloth diapers! I'm not spending $20 on diapers every week. Sorry buddy!

6 weeks old!

We went to have pictures done today at JCPenney's! We won't have them for a couple weeks but they turned out so cute! Camron is such a little angel.

He's not the greatest sleeper.....most nights he's up every 2 or 3 hours.....but that's to be expected for such a little guy. He spends a good chunk of the day awake with a few naps here and there....kind of starting a schedule. He likes to look around and be involved in what's going on. Which means he's slightly spoiled because he doesn't spend much time in the playpen or swing, he's held a lot! But we still have "tummy time" when we play on the blanket. Oh, and he figured out how to blow little spit bubbles in his spare time!

I'm still breastfeeding, but starting to give a bottle of formula a day to get him used to it for daycare. Only 2 more weeks off then back to work :(

We went to visit his babysitter this weekend. Her name is Cori, she runs a daycare out of her home, and Camron will spend Tuesdays through Thursdays with her. Mondays are mine, and Fridays he will be with Daddy or Grandma!

Hoppy St. Patrick's Day!

We may have a little Irish in us....but if not, at least we look good in green :) Here's Camron in his Hoppy Frog bouncie seat.... in green! Perfect for St. Patrick's day!

It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day on the 17th, and we had an appointment at Hamot with the lactation nurse, to see how the breastfeeding was going, and then at the doctor's office for the one month check-up. The nurse was very excited and pleased that he was doing so well breastfeeding. Of course he did everything perfect since someone was watching ;) I was a little worried that he wasn't getting enough, but she weighed him before and after eating and he gained 2 ounces. She said that was good. Then off to the doctor's office. His one month weight is 8 pounds 8 ounces, and length is 21 inches. He's finally starting to outgrow most of his newborn clothes and getting into the 0-3 months size. My baby is getting so big!

He's been kind of fussy this week, but that I'm going to blame on gas. I ended up going to the drug store to get Mylicon (gas drops) and it seemed to help him a little. It may be from the formula.....since we're starting to integrate that in a little at a time. Or maybe he's just fussy because he wants his mommy to hold him. And I do! I've gotten over the tired, frustrated phase of being a new mommy and now I just enjoy every moment, crying or not. Pretty soon I won't have so much time with him during the day. And then he'll get big even faster.

1 month old

Yesterday was Camron's one-month birthday. Yes, I cried....my little boy is getting big already. To celebrate, I took him to Babies-R-Us and bought him some more disposable breast pads :) Just kidding, those are mine, but I did buy him a mirror for the car so I can see him when I'm driving. He's a good baby, of course he has his moments when I wish I could just lay him down and he'd be content, but most of the time he's either eating, sleeping or wants to be held. None of that self-entertaining stuff yet. Aaron was singing and had Camron dancing. He loved it. I tried to get it on video but Daddy was being camera shy. Camron was jumpin' and jivin'....

Anyways, I checked out the Star104.com website today. Camron isn't one of the finalists for Baby Idol, and I have to be honest.....some of those kids just aren't cute. But I voted for #10. To make us feel better, we ordered birth announcements today, and scheduled a picture session at JC Penney's for just before Easter. Now we have to go shopping again to get a picture/Easter outfit. I hope my little bird likes to shop just as much as his mommy does when he gets bigger. I'll have to teach him the "buy me something" rule....or maybe Aunt Maura can when she comes to visit!

Photo Shoot!

I got some good pictures today, that Camron somewhat co-operated for. Now if only I could get him to smile :) The bird lips are cute too though! And he stuck his tongue out for one......
Cross your fingers everyone! Camron could be the new 2009 Baby Idol! We sent the bottom - right picture. He's already dreaming of that $500.00 gift card to Babies R Us he could win.....just imagine all those toys!

Busy Mommy!

This little bird keeps me busy!

His ultrasound results came back last week and the doctor says it's a "sebacious cyst" and it will most likely go away on it's own. Nothing to worry about apparently. We'll do another ultrasound in 3 months to make sure.

Meanwhile, we've been busy visiting. We've seen Great Grandma and Grandpa....but slept through most of that....we've seen Nana, Uncle Joe and cousin Michele.....had tons of fun there.....and Pa, Grandma Diane and Grandma GG came over to see us too!

Still keeping up on the breastfeeding. Now we're supplementing a little formula to gain some weight....the nurse seems to think I may not be getting him enough milk, so they are letting me borrow a hospital grade pump to get the milk flowing and hopefully I can get some stored away for later.

Oh, and tomorrow we're gonna have a little photo shoot at home. I want to enter him in Star104's Baby Idol Contest and pictures are due Friday! I have some cute ones, but maybe I can get the prize winner if I try a little harder :)

Camron's Ultrasound :(

At Camron's first doctor visit last Friday, we discovered a little bump on his back. It's not a tail, it's up a little higher than that. And it's right next to his spine. It doesn't seem to be causing him any pain.....but the doctor wanted an ultrasound to see what it is (an ultrasound is safer than an X-ray for babies).

So today, Aunt Elizabeth helped us get to Hamot Hospital's radiology department for the ultrasound. Amazingly, Camron laid on his belly and didn't make a peep the whole time. The nurse...or sonographer....whatever the correct title is for people who do the sonogram....saw something there that wasn't his vertabrae...but we won't know for sure until the radiology doctor reads it. Then he will call Camron's doctor and then they will call us. That seems like a lot of work, why can't the doctor just come in and look at it!?

The original due date!

Today, March 1st, 2009, is the day the doctors told me that Camron was due. I remember that originally I was keeping my fingers crossed that he didn't come early, since there were so many end of February birthday's in our family already. As a matter of fact, the last week alone was line with my cousin Joey, mother-in-law, niece Mariah, cousin Kirstie, friend Jodie, and his cousin Lucky was also due that week. I wanted him to have his own birthday so I was willing to hold my legs closed until at least March 1st.

As we all know, that didn't work. And even in the beginning of February, I can remember saying, "It's time to come out of hibernation, Chipmunk!" I had retained so much water in the last month that the doctors were worried because I gained so much weight. Only because I am proud of it now, I will share those numbers......

When I found out I was pregnant, I weighed 160. In the next 7 or 8 months I gained about 20 pounds, and was very excited in such a small gain. But then in the last month, I gained another 20 pounds, grand total weight at the end of 206. I was huge. And my legs and feet were so swollen.....

But ahhhh, memories, here I am two weeks after the birth of my son and how much do I weigh? Well, he was 8 pounds 9 ounces at birth, and a week after that at the doctors office, still swollen with water, I was only down to 194. So I lost 14 pounds in week one.....but this week's results are much better!!! Yes, sign me up for the Biggest Loser, cuz I would have won, 30 pounds in one week! I'm down to 166!!! And I look (and feel) normal again. My legs look like chicken legs compared to before, and I have ankles again instead of cankles!

Who would have thought that by my due date I'd be back to how I started :)

Week One

Well it's been a long few nites at the May household. The first nite home Aaron and I only slept about 2 hours each. The second nite, Camron and I stayed up until about 1am and then it was off and on. Saturday nite, up until 1 am again, but then Camron only woke up twice after that. As a matter of fact, I woke him up Sunday morning because he had been asleep so long I was worried! But we made it through the weekend.

The breastfeeding is the hardest part. I am the only one that can really answer those midnite, 2 am, 3 am, 4am cries because unfortunately Daddy doesn't have what I have. Brings a totally new meaning to "Got Milk?" But it's going ok for now. I just can't wait until I have enough milk, and time, to pump some into bottles so that other people can help feed Camron!

On Sunday we went to Grandma's house. We had lunch with my Mom, Bill, Jake and Elizabeth and visited for a while. Everyone had to get their fill of Camron :)

Afterwards we went back to the old stomping grounds....yes, Hamot Hospital. Aaron's sister, Jennette, had her baby on Sunday at 1:16am. So our boys are one week apart and future partners in crime. They named him Lucky. He's a cute little baby, but not as cute as Camron was :)

Today is my first day home alone.....Camron's daddy went back to work, so it's just Mommy and baby. I did good at keeping him awake this morning, but now he's taking a little cat-nap. Maybe later we will play again so we can get to bed at a decent time. Plus I needed some time to catch up on a few things.....laundry, writing out bills, blogging....

The hospital stay....

So we left off on Sunday, the day Camron was born. He was in the NICU because he stopped breathing 3 times before they were going to bring him to my room. They did a spinal tap to check for meningitis, drew blood to check for bacterial infections and did a CAT scan to check for brain damage. Everything seemed ok, but his doctor in the NICU, Dr. Balsan, said that the CAT scan showed some bleeding in his head between the skull and brain, a subdural hematoma. It was where they had the suction attached to his head when they scooped him out. It wasn't anything to worry about and would go away on it's own, but it was right over the part of his brain that prompted him to breath. So they wanted to keep him in the NICU to monitor him.



On Monday morning after they removed my catheter, I was up and out of bed so I could go to the NICU to see him. I started off in a wheelchair, but when I got back to my room I tried to walk around as much as I could without over-doing it. I visited him 2 or 3 times that morning and held him for the first time! We had lots of visitors that day, including my Dad and Lisa, Aaron's Mom and Jim, Aaron's Dad, Diane, Aaron's Grandma, my Mom, my Grandma, Jake and Elizabeth, Jillian and Shane, Gary and Cathy.....of course Daddy and Jaron were there...I'm probably missing some.... but we were able to take everyone down to the NICU to see him.



On Tuesday, I went down to the NICU early to see him after my routine check that I got every 3 hours or so by the nurse.....blood pressure, temperature, looking at the incision...I was told that I could start breastfeeding him today. So the lactation consultants helped me try to get Camron latched on and it was successful, after many tries. I didn't really have any milk yet, but we at least had to try so he knew what to do. He was still being supplemented formula. His nurse, Mindy, was wonderful. She made me feel so much better to know that someone was taking such good care of him when I wasn't there. Daddy came to see him after work, and spent a few hours with us before he went home to get Jaron. I spent another night, hopeful that tomorrow we could go home.



Wednesday, my legs and feet were still pretty swollen. It seemed to be moving into my thighs too, so I brought it to one of my nurses attention. They had me prop my feet up 6 pillows high and they also put me on blood pressure medication since that was a little high too....apparently they have something to do with each other. In spite of that, I still went down to the NICU at least every 3 hours to feed Camron. Still not very much milk in, but he was grasping the concept very well. They had my try to pump in between feedings but I never got anything out except on the first try. By the afternoon, they decided to take me to Radiology for a Doppler test, basically an ultrasound on my legs, to check for blood clots. Since the results wouldn't be in until late that night or early the next day, I would be staying the night again, but Camron was released from NICU to my room. He would be spending his first night with Mommy! And what a long night it was. He was hungry, restless, wanted to cuddle, and I was very tired the next day :)



Thursday my doctor, Dr. Vemulapalli came in to check my staples/incision, my legs....and the results came back negative for blood clots so she said we could go home that day! YAY! It's been a long stay! I called the family doctors office to let them know so Dr. Harrington could come check Camron out and we could go home. I loved my nurses, they were all very helpful and so caring! But we were ready to go home. Daddy and Jaron came to pick us up after Jaron got out of school and home we went :) Right after driving by the digital billboard compliments of Lamar Advertising!

New Arrival !

He's here! Camron Aaron May made his debut last Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 2:07 pm.

It started on Valentine's Day. We were getting ready to go out for dinner and I was putting on my sock....then I felt a litttle pop and a little gush, and I ran to the bathroom to sit on the toilet. I was thinking my water just broke. I called Aaron up to the bathroom and after calling his sister to question her on water breaking, I called my doctor. They had me wait for a half hour to see if I had anymore leaking or contractions. I didn't, so we left for dinner....must have been a false alarm. But then an hour later we were up on Peach St. looking for a place not too too busy to eat dinner....and I was thinking McDonald's was sounding better and better, because I thought I was starting to have a couple contractions. So then Aaron, Jaron and I ended up having dinner at McD's and we left in a hurry because I needed to get to the hospital. We went to drop Jaron off and the story begins......

We checked into the labor and delivery unit at Hamot Hospital at 7:30 pm on Valentine's Day 2009....Aaron, me, and mom. They set me up in my bed and got my antibiotic IV started. I was having contractions about 4 minutes apart, nothing too unbearable though. The nurse checked me and I was already dialated to 5 (on the scale to 10). At this point I thought we'd be having a Valentine's Day baby. As the contractions grew more painful and closer together, I made it to about 11:30 pm before they checked me again...only dialated to 6....not ready for the epidural but I got an IV with a pain medication called Nubain. It worked wonders on the pain, I felt wonderful. Unfortunately this narcotic made the baby fall asleep and he didn't wiggle around much anymore for about 3 hours. So we were at a standstill and into the next day....

Sunday around 5:00 am the contractions had picked up enough to get things going again. I was now dialated to a 7, and just about ready for the epidural. But the anesthsiologist wasn't available yet, so they wanted to give me some more Nubain to tide me over. I was weary because I didn't want to take another time-out. But they assured me that once the epidural got there, they'd hook up another IV called Pitocin, that would speed up contractions. Well, they lied, because I got the epidural and the Pitocin, and about 2 more hours went by with no activity. Subtotal 18 hours.

At 11:00 am, I was just about fully dialated and ready to start pushing. They called in my midwife, Peggy, and said by 11:30 we'd start. I had other ideas, it was 11:20 and I wanted to start now. So Aaron left the room, and I was there with his mom, his sister Jennette, and my mom. The rest is kind of a blur. For almost two hours, I breathed and pushed....they had me pushing the regular way and then they got this big bar and I had my feet up on it to push and then they put a towel around it and had me pulling myself up with feet on the bar. He wasn't coming out. The called in Dr. Vemulapalli to try to turn him, but she said my pelvis wasn't big enough, they were gonna need to do an emergency C-section. About 30 minutes in between pushing and C-section, Aaron came in to hold my hand. By the way, if someone tells you not to push when you need to push, it hurts....ALOT! They started me on a catheter and then the anesthsiologist finally got there to up my epidural meds and I was feeling great. Off to the surgery! Mom gowned up and came in with me, Aaron waited outside the door. Five minutes later, after cutting me open and suctioning the baby out, my mom saw him for the first time. I told her to go over and see him while they stitched me up. They cleaned him up and took him to see his Daddy, and to the nursery.

After an hour of recovery, I was wheeled to my new room and waited to see my baby boy. He was born at 2:07 pm and I didn't get to see him until almost 8:00 pm when everyone but Aaron had gone home after a long couple of days. He was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for a story I will have to tell about another day....but he was beautiful !

37 week check-up....big boy!

Today was the day of my 37 week check-up. I was ready for everything to be the same boring thing.....until I got on the scale and my eyes bulged out! I gained almost 7 more pounds this week!!!

Into the room I go, waiting for Stephanie, a mid-wife at the office. She greeted me with a smile and an "Oh my," as she noticed my swollen ankles and feet right away. Kinda hard to miss since I can't wear socks or shoes anymore. I wear my crocs. And those are tight. But as long as I'm not having headaches or blurred vision, I don't have to worry about preclampsia (which my mom had when she was pregnant with me). Then she measured my stomach and said, "I think we're gonna schedule a sonogram for next weeks appointment." Apparently, she thinks he might end up being over 9 pounds, and then they would like to schedule a C-section. Or it may be weight in fluid (which I am leaning more towards since I don't have enough room in my belly to eat much food anymore).

So maybe I'll have a Friday the 13th baby....or a Valentine's day baby....or maybe I'll be induced next weekend.... I hope my little guy knows that Mommy loves him, but it's time to come out!!!

36 week check-up....almost there!

It's been a rough week. Although my back has been feeling considerably better, I decided to discontinue use of the chiropractor for now. There's just too much going on to be there every other day.

Plus, my "cankles" and feet are comparable in size to an elephant's. I took a picture of my swollen foot, but it really does no justice to how it looks throughout the day or night....even when I put my feet up. I'm just retaining water, that's all.

At my check-up today, the mid-wife told me that everything looks good. I go in weekly now, which is also a little bit of a waste since all they do is weigh me and check my other measurements....did I mention I'm up to 198 lbs. now? I was hoping to stay under the 200 mark, doesn't look like that's gonna happen. I did really good during the first 8 months or so, but I'm really packin' em on now! Most of this week's weight gain is in my cankle to foot region :) But in two more weeks, they'll start checking me to see if I'm dialating yet. I got past the bed-rest this time, but who knows how long that will last. I have a feeling that these feet may not be movin' too fast for very much longer.

Baby's bag is packed, my bag is packed....the boys and I are going to "Sibling Preparation Class" tomorrow at Hamot so Jaron can learn what to expect when baby comes, and maybe figure out how to change a diaper!

Never fake an injury :(

I re-learned an important lesson yesterday. Never lie, never fake an injury.

I had an appointment scheduled at 1:00pm with my baby doctor.....and I have been asking several times if I was going to get another sonogram or could I get another sonogram. Since I wasn't having much luck, I did what a couple of people said usually worked.....I told the doctor that I slipped on the ice and fell today. In the long run, it worked, but I'm not sure it was worth the extra effort OR the faking.

They did a sonogram for me at the office, to make sure the placenta was still intact and everything was ok. And it was, in fact I even found out that he currently weighs about 6 lbs 11 ounces. But then they said I had to go to the hospital's labor and delivery unit for them to run a few more tests. I tried to get out of it by saying that the fall was not hard and I was not bleeding, had no cramping, felt fine, the sonogram was fine.....but they still made me go.

So off I went to Hamot Hospital, knowing that everything would turn out fine. They took blood from my arm to test for fetal blood cells mixed with my blood (in case the placenta ruptured) and that was ok. They did another sonogram to examine for tears in the placenta and that was ok. Then I laid in a bed for 4 hours with a fetal heart monitor and a uterine contraction monitor attached to my stomach.

Needless to say I never made it back to work that day and now I have to go in today (Saturday) to make up a few things. Yes, I got my sonogram, but I would NEVER suggest pretending to slip and fall on the ice. I know that some people have done worse to get some attention....but 4 hours???? That was almost punishment. But I can rest a little easier now, because I know everything still looks good in there...I am preparing myself for at least a 9 pounder....and since I've never been to the hospital a day in my life, I feel a little more comfortable knowing that the nurses there are very nice and it's not as scary as it seems.

In 1 more month (or maybe less!) I'll be back there for the real thing!

TMI: My butt hurts

It's called karma. Most people don't believe in it, but I am starting too. I knew if I bragged about my easy pregnancy that eventually it would take a turn for the worst.....it started with my back hurting. And now.....now I think I have another common problem among pregnant women.

I think I have a hemrrhoid. Have to admit, I've never had one before. But my butt hurts. And I can't see what's wrong with it, but I don't think I really need to see. And I'm sure no one else cares to know anything about it, but this is my baby blog, so I have to document.

I am falling apart at almost 35 weeks pregnant. The good news is that yesterday I washed all the bedding and blankets and clothes up to 3 month size, so I'm ready any time now!

Got my back cracked......

I went to the chiropractor today for my follow-up results. Dr. Iadeluca is a very nice doctor. And his office flows nicely (I would know, my office doesn't have that nice flow...) However, I am curious as to why it should cost me $500.00 for a muscle spasm in my back, due to carrying all of this weight!

To date in this pregnancy, I have gained 30 pounds. So of course, my posture isn't perfect (and I'm sure it never started out perfect). But because of the weight gain and strain on my back, I am having muscle spasms . Alot of that also has to do with sitting at a desk all day. Personally, I'd rather be laying down or doing other things too, but a girls' gotta work! So my treatment plan consists of 3 adjustments this week and next week, followed by 2 adjustments in the weeks after that until the baby is born.

Unfortunately my insurance doesn't cover all of that. I have a $15.00 copay per visit (ok, $30.00/week isn't too bad I guess) but that is only up to visit 15. They have me scheduled for 19 visits and want me to pay $65.00 per visit for those extra 4 not covered! Guess what ~ if my back feels better next week I will be cancelling the rest of those adjustments. But in the mean time, I will try anything to not be in pain for the remainder of my pregnancy. I'm even gonna get my own big yoga ball to bounce on. And there's a sticky note on my computer monitor that says "SIT BACK!"

But regardless, I layed on a table and Dr. Iadeluca cracked my back a few times today. And it felt WONDERFUL for about a half hour. Now I'm sitting at my desk, sitting back, but can feel the burn again. I'll give it a week or two. Then I'll decide......

Baby Shower!

Today was my baby shower! Let's start by saying thank god this shower wasn't cancelled because of a snowstorm (like my wedding shower)....although there was quite a bit of snow out there...

It was at the Colony Pub and Restaraunt and everything turned out very nicely. We played a few games, including holding paper plates on top of our heads and drawing pictures of what the baby will look like....I liked Jennette's picture the best ~ a baby with a pitchfork. It just sounds like an offspring of Aaron :) There was a chinese auction, my nieces Jasmine and Mariah did a good job pulling numbers and passing out the gifts. For lunch we had salad, rolls, pasta with sauce, red potatoes and chicken.....oh, and can't forget the cake, very yummy!

I got a lot of nice gifts.... lots of clothes, a pack-n-play, highchair, walker, bouncer, the backpack carrier (that Aaron really really wanted), some bottles, pacifiers, toys, lots of blankets.....I can't wait to use them all :) But my most favoritest present and surprise was having Aunt Maura there! I didn't expect her to come since she was just here for Christmas (she lives in Florida), and I was totally surprised when everyone told me to turn around and look who's here :) I'm glad she got to share my special day with me. She's the best dog-mommy ever!

Starting Chiropractics.....

It was a bitter -5 degrees today when I went to work. BRRR!!! Good thing I have all this extra weight to keep me warm :)

At my lunch break, I put on my coat and ventured across the tundra....I mean parking lot....to the Iadeluca Chiropractic Center. They have a beautiful waiting room, with a waterfall and a big TV and water/juice if you're thirsty. Anyways, my issue is that I have constant pain in my mid-back on the right side. Dr. Gonzales felt my spine and noticed that my muscle was very tight in that certain spot. She sent in an assistant to do a muscle stimulus scan and take pictures of my posture. That was all they could do, since I'm pregnant.... apparently I missed out on the X-ray and the tissue massage. (Although the tissue massage sounds like what I really wanted!!)

On Monday, yes I have to wait through the entire weekend, I go back to discuss my results and what they can do for me. Hopefully they have a table with a hole for my belly and they'll just tell me to come over for a rub every other day at lunch time. Doesn't that sound nice?

So I guess I'll suffer through the weekend, at least the Baby Shower is on Sunday and that might keep my mind off of it for a while :)

33 week Check-up

Today my prenatal visit was with Dr. Semple. She is a very nice lady. Young, skinny, and definitely not dressed like any other doctor I've seen before....and apparently she doesn't run on time. As you may recall from previous visits, I don't mind them so much because they are quick. Fifteen minutes, in and out. Not with her tho.....I was there today for an hour. And it's not like we discussed anything new or detailed. She checked the regular things (measured my belly, listened to the heartbeat, swelling) and everything was on track. I told her about my back hurting constantly, and the nurse telling me (when I called the office last week) to see a chiropractor. She said that was a good idea, and as long as nothing was hurting or I wasn't sick/nauseated then it's probably just the baby sitting on a nerve.

So tomorrow I will be walking next door to the new chiropractor's office. I figured I didn't have any excuse not to go since it's just a walk across the parking lot. I hope he fixes me. Someone told me to get one of those big yoga balls to sit on....yeah, maybe I can use it at my desk. LOL.

Breastfeeding Class

I attended a breastfeeding class tonite at Hamot Health Connection. I have to admit, it was nice but I didn't learn much. I have been reading articles and flyers about breastfeeding and trying to figure out if I wanted to do it or not.....and the class was repetitive of all that.

We watched a couple of videos about how to make the baby latch on properly and when to/how much to feed him....where to find more help if I need it later.

I did figure out how to save milk if I can manage to pump it without too much trouble. I now know I can refrigerate it, freeze it, thaw it, put it in a bottle, what kind of nipples are best to use....

It might work once I go back to work, only time will tell.

Finally something to complain about.....

I guess I had it coming. For 32 weeks I said I had the easiest pregnancy ever. It felt more like 32 weeks of good weight gain with the occasional inside rumbles. But every good thing must come to an end, and my back is killing me. It's been hurting for a few weeks now....and it's horrible. I even thought I was passing a kidney stone or something. But I don't have much longer to go and then we begin the next chapter.

On a brighter note, Aaron enjoyed that the baby had his first plowing experience today when we used his work plow truck to clean up his work parking lot from the big snow this weekend. On to weeek 33.......

Holiday Cheer

Another holiday has come and gone....too quickly for me! There's never enough time to visit everyone, and it usually takes multiple trips. And I spent a couple of days in bed, with either a slight flu or just run-down from the festivities. But we made it to Nana's house the day before Christmas Eve, then Aaron's Dad's and my Grandma's on Christmas Eve, and then Aaron's sister's and my Dad's on Christmas Day.....then on New Year's we went to visit Aaron's Grandma for pork and sauerkraut dinner. It was good to see everyone, especially Aunt Maura and Uncle John who made it from Florida!

Everyone loved their presents too....even Baby "Jack". I'll admit, we did adopt that name from Aunt Maura for the week. He got a cute new onesie that Aaron can't wait for him to fit into....on the front it says "Intake" with an arrow pointing to his mouth and right below that it says "Chevrolet". Then on the back it says "Exhaust" on the butt. :) He also got a couple new toys and blankies.

Aaron's sister, Jennette, and I had to pose for a picture to compare our belly size. She is a week further along than I am....and from the picture we look about even, but when we measured with a string, I proved to be a few inches more around. But, I'll have you know that I saw Dr. Vemullapali today for my 31 week checkup and she was proud of me for only gaining 2 pounds over the holiday! (So was I!)

I haven't made a New Year's Resolution this year....as most years I say I am going to lose weight. I figure this year it's a given. I am just excited that I only have about 2 more months before I get to meet my pride and joy.

Winter Worries from a Pregnant lady......

I'm not a winter person. I don't like being cold. I don't like getting out of bed when it's dark and cold out to take a shower or a bath before work...or before bed. I don't like blow drying my hair. I don't like bundling up or putting on boots. I don't like taking my time driving, because I'm usually running late.

Now imagine each one of those things I don't like about winter, and then imagine it with a 7 1\2 month pregnant belly.

How convenient, last night and today we got a lot of snow. Yay.

I'll admit, I haven't really been too cold yet, since my body is like an oven (maybe that's where they get the "bun in the oven" saying). But it's not as easy anymore to get out of the bath tub....especially if I have to wash my hair. And blow drying it? I like that my hair has grown so long, but blow drying now takes a half hour! Bundling up is fun when your coat fits like casing on a sausage, and boots....try putting a soccer ball on your lap and then bend over to put your boots on. Thank god mine are just the pull on kind and I don't have to tie or zip anything.

I saved driving for last, because it's more of a worry than a complaint or inconvenience. It never fails that every year I get stuck in a snow bank or on a road that's not plowed very good, like mine. Especially now that I've got a nice little fuel efficient, 4-door-so-it's-easier-to-load-a-car-seat car. I worried about driving in this fluffy white crap before, when I could dig or shovel myself out if I had to, or push even....now I better hope that I have my cell phone to call Aaron, or that some Good Samaritan (and not some wacko) will stop to help a crazy pregnant lady kicking snow at her car and swearing! Heaven forbid I'd have to walk home. So I slow down. And yes, I'm going to be late, so if I have to deal with it, so do you :)

29 week checkup

Last week I was back at the doctors office. Everything is still going well....except I was tested for a bladder infection. I told the doctor that the night before (and that morning) I was having some pains, but not really cramps.....so she said it might be my bladder. Could also be that they baby has turned around and pointed head down. He could be pushing on my bladder. But I've been fine since, so I'm not worried.
Just getting ready for Christmas!

Negative diabetes :)

The three hour test at the blood lab on Tuesday wasn't so bad. These people have lots of practice poking needles and taking blood. Sitting in the waiting the rest of the time was boring.....good think I took some "New Parent" magazines with me. And I called Hamot to sign up for a Baby Basics class and a Breastfeeding class next month.....

And the good news is, it was all worth it. My test results came in today and I am negative for gestational diabetes. I'll still watch how many Hershey kisses I have, but I'm glad I can still have them :)

Taking blood hurts!?!

Last Friday I had my glucose test at the doctor's office. I had to drink "glucola" which looks like orange kool-aid, but tastes much much sugarier. (Yes, I made that word up. Get over it!) The first nurse took a look at my arms and said she was going to get the other nurse, because she was much better at finding tiny veins and only having to poke once. I had no problem with that! If only it took once......as you can see, the first try left quite a bruise. And that's days later! The second poke, in my other arm, worked much better.

Or so I thought....until the nurse called me today to tell me that my glucose level was higher than normal :( The average is 130 or below, and mine was 134. Darn it I knew I shouldn't have eaten those Hershey Kisses that morning!!! So now I have to fast after 7:30pm tonite, nothing but water, and then go to the ACL Lab tomorrow morning at 7:50 and drink another "glucola" drink and let them poke my arm 3 more times. And it gets worse! They poke once every hour for 3 hours! I have to sit there and wait for 3 hours to go by while I'm starving and sugared up!

I'm just hoping that everything turns out ok and I don't end up having gestational diabetes. I've been told that (not only baby and I can develop diabetes later in life) this may lead to a bigger baby to deliver. I don't need any bigger than I'm already getting, so if it means no Hershey Kisses, I think I'll make the sacrafice.

Little nervous....

Aaron is away at camp for 6 days for his annual hunting trip. I should be used to it by now, but every year when he goes I can't help but feel a little nervous....and lonely. Thank goodness I have Chevy and Roody to watch out for me and cuddle me at night.

Anyways, I have to admit that yesterday morning as I spent a few hours on the computer planning out Christmas presents and such, I had a little scare. I felt something going on in my belly and it didn't quite feel like kicking, it almost felt like his heart was beating extra hard because I thought I could feel it pulsing while I was just sitting here! It made me nervous for about 5 or 10 minutes. But then it stopped so I figured I was ok. Later that day he was kicking again, so I knew he was ok.

Then today, as I checked pregnancy.com for my weekly information (I'm on week 27 now), I figured out what that movement was. It was hiccups! The website described exactly what I felt, and said that it is common now for the baby to do this almost regularly for a few minutes at a time. I feel much better now, thanks to the internet, what did people do before it?

Thanksgiving

I am thankful for my family, and the time we spend together. I can't wait for the baby to be a part of it.

I almost made Mom cry, she got to feel the baby kick! I think he was telling her that he liked his name tag at the dinner table :)

Kick Daddy's butt!

This morning the alarm clock went off....and I pushed snooze as always...then I rolled back over and spooned Aaron for a few more minutes. As I tried to fall back asleep, I hear him say "the baby is kicking my butt."

I laughed, and I couldn't believe he felt that kick. At least my little one knows what he's in for :)

26 week check up

The weather almost kept me from my 26 week check-up this past Friday. But I braved it, since the sun came out for a while, and did my monthly "pee in a cup" appointment. This time I saw Peggy, who is a nurse practioner. She was nice. She checked Chipmunk's heartbeat, which was 143. I was also weighed and measured....When I first got on the scale I had my boots and coat on, so the nurse asked me if they were really heavy. I had no clue, so I was willing to take it all off because the scale said I gained about 20 pounds this month! Winter clothing removed, I've gained 11 pounds this month. I told ya my belly was stickin' out farther now! And the measurement was 26. I have to laugh at it now, because I'm not really sure what that is for, other than it's the distance from the top of my belly to my pelvic bone. I'll ask next time. We talked about a family doctor after the baby was born, whether or not we were gonna have him circumcised, and if I was going to be breastfeeding or not....a little more productive visit this time. Maybe I'll refrain from calling it a "pee in a cup" appointment from now on. Now that I'm in my third trimester, I have to go back every 2 weeks. Next appointment is a blood test for gestational diabetes.

Then it was off to a busy weekend. Aaron and I went to Babies-R-Us on Saturday to do the registry while Jaron went to a movie with his two cousins and Aaron's mom. We dropped Jaron off at 2:00 at Tinseltown, and went across the street to Babies-R-Us to start scanning, and at 5:00 Jaron's movie was done so he came over and helped us because we weren't finished yet! Who would have thought that doing a baby registry would take so long. But we picked out a lot of nice stuff, most of which we agreed on. Aaron even asked the lady working there if there was any way to move things up on the list to "really important" or put stars on it. He scanned this backpack child carrier thing that he's really hoping he gets so he can take his boy out with him when he walks the dogs and such....hey, I want stars on that too....that means I get some "Mommy time!" And Jaron picked out a few toys he thinks his brother would like. They were both better at this than I expected them to be!

Then we went to pick up the crib and dresser at Burlington Baby Depot. Got it home....not assembled yet. My Thanksgiving vacation project is to clean out the bedroom that was once the computer/hunting room and get everything organized. Aaron will be at hunting camp Thursday after dinner until Tuesday next week.....so we'll see how much I can do :) It will be nice when I can walk in there and not see a mess.

Crib, Dresser, Clothes, Swollen Ankles, check!

First, I just wanna say that the heartburn's still goin' strong. So according to wivestales, Chipmunk is gonna be a hairy baby. I'm guessing a werewolf by the time he's born. And I think I finally narrowed it down to chocolate as the culprit. Bummer, huh?

Anyways....Mom and I went shopping today after work. It was fun. I like having a shopping buddy that is interested in stuff that I like...not that Aaron's a bad shopping buddy, but sometimes I need more than "uh huh" and "whatever you think." Plus, I didn't have to look at anything I didn't wanna look at :) We went to Burlington Baby Depot to look at cribs and dressers, picked out a nice set, bought it. First shopping trip together, already a success. Then we went to Motherhood Maternity and JCPenney...got new pants, a few new sweaters and a few new shirts. Success again! And here I thought that this pregnant shopping thing was too hard, not as fun, etc. All you need is the right shopping buddy. Then again, Grandma's are a lot more excited about these kinds of things than Dad's are :)

The only downfall to our shopping trip was seeing how swollen my ankles were after about an hour in the mall. Now, I'm sure that wearing ankle socks, tall boots, a winter coat and walking around in a 75 degree (or more) mall didn't help. But today I witnessed what my ankles will be looking like in about 2 more months. Mom said she had toximia when she was pregnant with me. Her ankles and feet and everything were so swollen that she had to take time off before I was delivered and relax and put her feet up.....wait, I think I like the sound of that. Relax and put my feet up? Yeah, like that would happen. I'm too busy making dinner, doing laundry, letting the dogs out.....

But my ankles look fine now :)

It's half done....

I had high hopes of getting the registry done this past weekend. It's half done. And as Aaron explains "half done" it means, done in your head ~ just not on paper yet. We went to Babies R Us and picked out everything we thought we'd like from there, checked the prices....then walked next door to Target....and decided that we should just do one registry at BRU and be done. But it was late, and my feet and my back hurt so we will go back another day to do the scanning. There's only one thing from Target that we really liked more than one at BRU....so I created a registry online for two items. Worse case scenario, I buy it myself later.

Also, the plans for the baby shower are coming along. We booked the Colony Restaraunt for January 18th. Aaron's mom told me some of the details. But I have "baby brain" which means I don't remember much of anything anymore. That's what Grandma's are for :) Between my mom and Aaron's mom, I think they've got it under control.

Mom's gonna take me shopping Wednesday because I complained about underwear. LOL, I was talking to her on the phone while shopping at Walmart, trying to decide what kind of underwear to buy and what size, and then I told her that they don't have any maternity clothes there. My original plan was to not buy maternity clothes. Why spend a lot of money on clothes I'll only be wearing for 3 more months? They aren't cheap! But she said she'd go shopping with me at the maternity store....and hopefully we'll find a good sale :) And then I'll be one of those cute pregnant ladies...well, I'm already cute.... Which reminds me.....I also saw a blue bib at Walmart that said "It's all about me!" Tell me that wasn't meant to be!

He's a kicker!

The other day, Aaron still refused to believe that I could feel the little one kicking in my belly. Until one morning we were laying in bed and I put his hand on the spot where Jr. was kicking. I had to tell him the first two times....but then he caught on and said "he did it again!" Now he and Jaron are constantly putting their hands on my belly and waiting for kicks....but he's smart, he stays still until no one's around to save me from the "don't touch my belly" trauma that I'm still having a little of.

My stomach seemed to grow over a weekend...I went from hardly noticeable to "yep, she's pregnant." Which is nice, but at the same time, making it difficult to keep up on the leg shaving. Hopefully that's close to the worst part :)

Getting things ready

Well, I guess it's about that time to start clearing the room out for baby. So we've started shopping for a crib and dresser set, and bought a new des and computer to move downstairs to the living room. Out with the old and in with the new! Possibly next week Aaron and I will go to Target and/or Babies-R-Us to do a registry. I think I've done enough research on bottle types and what a new mom needs.....but as long as Walmart is open 24 hours, I think we'll be ok!

We also decided that we better start thinking of names. Aunt Maura has been kind enough to start a list for me. I keep forgetting to mention Jack to see how that flies. Although, we may just keep the name a secret until he's born. I already took most of the surprise away by telling everyone it's a boy. There has to be something big to look forward to!

21 week check-up

I don't know how a doctor can see me for two minutes and know that I'm on track, or doing fine...but I am!

So far I've gained 8 lbs. (but it feels and looks like a lot more!) which is "perfect." My ankles feel "good." Little Mr. May's heartbeat is between 140 and 150 which is "wonderful." I can feel him moving around in there, that's "great." And they tape measured my belly from my pelvic bone to my chest? And she said a number that was "good."

And that's all!!! In 4 more weeks I can come back and do it again! Actually, that day I won't see a doctor, I'll just give some blood. And then in 6 weeks, I have to drink some liquid stuff so they can take more blood and test it for glucose levels, to know if I have jestational diabetes.

And FYI, (obviously) the exciting blogs are going to be the ones in between the doctor check-ups!