From my old Blog--Groin Pain and Diaper Confusion

So, here I am somewhere between 35 and 36 weeks pregnant and having not such a great time of it all. My first pregnancy was very nice. I enjoyed being pregnant except for the first few months where I was nauseous all the time. Fast forward to this pregnancy. I was nauseous the first few months, which can be expected. The next few months were great and flew by quickly. Starting about 2 months ago, I have had a terrible groin pain. More than most of you want to know, I'm sure, but I ended up pulling a tendon in my groin somehow. I'm sure it had nothing to do with squatting to pick up my son or anything like that.... So, that is all well and good. I go to the doctor who gives me some stretches to do to help with the pain. Also, he says, ice it and take it easy. 4 weeks ago, I was told to call back in two weeks. If at that time, my groin pain was still there, he recommended getting an anti-inflamatory shot that would help with the pain. Two weeks ago, I did as asked. I called and let them know that I was still having pain and would like to procede with the shot. They said try icing and relaxing and stretching one more week, then call back and let us know how it is going. So I did that. I called this week and let them know that it was still hurting and as a matter of fact was hurting even worse because earlier this week when I was attempting to drag my dumb leg out of the shower, it really didn't want to come with the rest of my body and somehow pulled some more. (This wouldn't all be that bad, except I can barely move my left leg on its own and get really sore thru the night and if I sit for too long in one position. Add to that that the baby is now sitting down lower and getting ready to make an entrance into this world.) They informed me that they had two open appointments: one on Tuesday and one on Thursday. I was a little annoyed because I had a baby doctor appointment on Wednesday and they couldn't fit me into their schedule on Wednesday. So, I agreed to go to the doctor (1 hour and 15 minutes from my home) on Tuesday and then on Wednesday. Tuesday morning I got a call from my doctor's office. Someone had cancelled their Wednesday appointment that was at 9 am and they noticed that my baby appointment was at 9:50 and they wanted to save me the extra trip to Eau Claire. I agreed and thanked them for thinking of us and made the appointment for 9am on Wednesday. Wednesday morning at 7am we got a phone call. It was the doctor's office. My doctor is sick and is not going to be in the office today. They will check on other doctors in the office and see if anyone else can see me or when the next available appointment is. They agree to call me back before 8:30 on Wednesday morning or they will leave a message with my baby doctor's office. (Remember---- I am 35 weeks pregnant, having a lot of trouble sleeping and moving and am very uncomfortable, and I have a 10 month old son who is very active.) I go to my baby doctor appointment. Things are looking fine and the doctor hasn't hassled me about my weight gain YIPEE :). I almost forgot to check about the message my other doctor was supposed to have left for me, but Fundi kindly reminded me of this. (I have severe memory problems and am quite flighty when I'm pregnant) There was no message. UGH... My baby doctor called my other doctor office and tried to help get me an appointment. Unfortunately, my doctor (the sick one) is the only doctor who will give that particular shot in the tendon and his next available appointment is MARCH 19th!!!!! Yeah, you got that right, 12 days from yesterday. 11 days from today, 10 days from tomorrow. Oh and remember that whole thing about me being 35 weeks pregnant.... by that time I will be 37 weeks pregnant. For any of you who do not know, most pregnancies last between 37 weeks and 42 weeks. I asked them to put me on a list of people to call ASAP should they have an appointment open up. They agreed, but who knows...
So, today, I'm watching my niece who is very helpful and is great when it comes to playing with Captain on the floor. ( She is 3 and her legs move better than mine) Captain fills his pants, which I have come to expect after almost every meal of solid food. My niece says... "Captain stinks" and then says she is going to go get a diaper for him. I'm not lazy, I'm just pregnant. That and she really feels special when she can help me and her wonderful little cousin that she loves so much. I suppose she probably doesn't want to smell him either, so that may be a motivation to her as well, I guess I don't know what goes on in the mind of a 3 year old, but oh well. My niece goes to the baby room... and comes back with a newborn diaper. They are in the diaper stacker, yes, but not in Captain's diaper stacker, the one she usually goes to to get diapers for him. I say that is a new baby diaper and I need a Captain diaper. She goes back and brings out another newborn diaper, so we all three of us go into the baby room and review whose diapers are whose. I know my niece knows that there is a baby in my belly. She asks to feel it every once in a while. I know also that she really doesn't grasp that in a few short weeks, my attention will be divided once again and I will have a new baby to look after. Maybe she just thinks that it is a game that we are playing... the feel the baby in Auntie's belly game. Once again, I don't know what goes on in the mind of a 3 year old.
If anyone wanted to know about my son's poop, (from my last blog) Captain had diarhea for a whole week and a few outfits were ruined and many many diapers were changed.
Also, today Captain bled for the first time for real. He was playing between the couch and the toy tub and fell down. In the process, he somehow hurt his lip inside his mouth, you know that connecty little flap of skin that attaches the top lip to the gum, that split all the way up. He bled for quite a while and of course we were worried, but when we called the doctor, they said that it is pretty common for babies to do that and if it was still bleeding after an hour, to call them back. Needless to say, I'm sure he has forgotten about it by now. He has been playing with his cousin and being his normal self. But, it was still slightly concerning to see him bleeding from his mouth and then he wouldn't open up to let us see what had happened. I did count all his teeth and felt them all to make sure they were not loose. They were all fine.
I'm ready... and a little bit irritable.... as you probably have come to figure out :)

From my old Blog--Oh The Wonders of Poop

I guess that more than anything poop belongs under the category "Life" if for no other reason than that all those who are alive do indeed POOP! This would include my son, who at the moment is wearing only a diaper, socks, and his "Finding Nemo" slipper shoes. I have never seen or smelt a worse case of the diarrhea and I hope there is not any more where that came from, but I'm sad to say that that probably isn't a possibility.
On to other more interesting topics... we are awaiting the arrival of our second child. My sister found out that she is having a boy. We have chosen not to find out. We did the same thing with Captain, but the suspense is enough to drive a person crazy. I also feel that I have so much to do before the baby gets here, but that I really want him or her here ASAP. I haven't been as comfortable during this pregnancy and I would really like my body back. I have been sharing "My" space with another being for virtually two years, and I need a break. My legs hurt, my back hurts, my hips hurt, I'm tired more often than not, and I'm just ready to see the new little one. At the same time, like I said, there is stuff to be done. I need to sort the clothes out: gender neutral and boy. I need to pack my suitcase, convince Fundi to pack his, and figure out what to pack in Captain's. I need to make sure that Fundi's mom, who is probably going to be taking care of Captain while we are in the hospital, is advised of what he can and can not eat and other important things that need to be known about a 10 month old's life. I need to get some Newborn diapers. No matter how big the baby is when it is born, we will need at least a few newborn diapers. Captain used them for over 5 weeks after he was born. I need to make space in the closet and the dresser for the new baby. I need to get my house in order. I need.... the list goes on. I finally got the taxes done today and I have been keeping up with the bills, but we all know that they keep coming, even if you are busy with a baby or two. I need to get some more wipes for baby butts. It is hard to say what else I need to do between now and when the day actually arrives, but rest assured that I will be making a list and starting to work on it here.... shortly. Now, Captain needs a bottle and I need to get going, so I can't even work on my list now....
Hopefully someday.

From my old Blog--Captain Destructo, Getting Older, and the new baby

I'm here with my son who has learned to crawl and stand up on anything and everything. He is sucking on the knob to open the window and trying to get the cord for the blinds. He has already made his lap around the house to make sure everything is in the order that he wants it. Of course I have no say in how I want the house to look because I have an 8 1/2 month old son. His nickname is "CAPTAIN DESTRUCTO"---"Captain for short" and as his name would imply, he manages to get into and destroy whatever an 8 1/2 month old could possibly get into and destroy. We still love him, of course, but all of the breakables are put away so that we can love him and still keep our valuables. We want to have t-shirts made for him and his little brother or sister. We want his to say "Captain Destructo" and we want his brother or sister's to say "My big brother is a super hero!" Then Fundi and I should get shirts that say something along the same line.
We had a good Holiday season here and I have everything put away finally. I'm getting older and have started to collect decorations for holidays other than Christmas. Just the other day I got window clings and garland for Valentine's Day. I also know that I am getting older because I now drive a mini-van. It was my choice of course, but I still had to get rid of my Impala with the sun roof. But it really makes me feel like a mom-- driving a mini-van with Raffi in the CD player. Last night I went to a high school basketball game for the once a year alumni pep-band. I didn't know half of the songs I was supposed to be playing and was out of breath and tired after the third song. (It doesn't help that I am 7 months pregnant and have a cold). I have been out of high school for 7 1/2 years already and didn't know any of the kids that were in the band or that were playing basketball. Heck, I have been out of college for 4 years already. WOW! Then there is the fact that we have changed our dining room into a play area for Captain and we have turned the couch around so that we can sit and watch him play.
The third topic is the new baby. This week I was having some troubles and ended up in the labor and delivery unit getting checked for preterm labor. Not to worry anyone, everything is fine. I did end up sitting there for 3 hours though and realized how long it had been since I watched TV on the TV. Usually we record the programs (on a VCR) and then fast forward the tape thru the commercials. There are so many commercials on TV. I did get to watch the game show network, which I really enjoy and haven't been able to watch since college when I used to fall asleep at night with the game show network on sleep timer. Anyhow, Thursday I had another ultrasound and the doctor said that everything looks really good. The baby is head down, all the measurements are good and he or she looks to be about 2 lbs 4 oz. Interestingly enough,this baby's leg seems to be measuring long. Captain has a long torso and short stumpy legs. The doctors say that according to the ultrasound, I'm due April 12th, but according to my calculations (and this was no Immaculate Conception), I should be due April 6th. Over Christmas, I found out that two of my three sisters are also pregnant. B, who got married Labor Day Weekend 2006, is due August 10th, 2007. E (who had a baby last year on April 30th and was due April 22nd last year) is due April 16th. Last year our due dates were only a day apart. This year they are 4 days apart. There are a couple of things that I want not to happen with our pregnancies: I don't want her to have her baby on Captain's Birthday (April 17th). I don't want her to have her baby before I have my baby. And, I don't want her to have her baby on the same day as me. Is that too much to ask???
Anyway, enough ranting and raving, please leave a message...

From my old Blog--Daylight Savings Chaos

Happy Halloween Everyone!!!
Daylight Savings Time is not meant to be family friendly. Apparently my son did not get the memo that Daylight Savings Time began this morning so he decided to wake me up at 3am new time and then again at 5:15 new time. To make matters worse, he wouldn't go back to sleep again.
People may think it is great to have an extra hour of sleep in the fall. Noone ever thinks the spring time change is that great. Basically all this time change did for me was cause chaos in my life.
I want those people that think the time change is great to come to our house for the next couple weeks at about 4am to feed and diaper the baby and then try and convince him that he needs to follow the time change rules and get an extra hour of sleep.
I thought getting up at 5 every morning was bad!

From my old Blog--An Update on Me

Hi. I'm here and I have survived the 6 month shots... and so has Captain. He got three today and is doing quite well tonight; although, from past experience, I know that he usually does worse the day after he gets his shots than the day that he gets them. He is a whopping 14 lbs 10 oz and is 25.5 inches long. He is in the 10th percentile for both. It is nice because my back is still surviving.
We might go tomorrow to pick up the new crib and mattress for the new baby. I have also ordered a car seat for Captain to move into once his new sibling is born... I just hope that he is able to use it when we need him to. He needs to be 20 pounds and 1 year, but like I said he is pretty small and he has been gaining only about a pound per month. If he continues at this rate he should be fine.... but then there is that other part about him needing to be one year old before he is forward facing.... the baby is due before he will be one. I guess we will find out when the time comes, but I'm just trying to figure this all out and make sure we are all being safe. We all know that having two children ride in one seat is not possible...