Dad and Brandon cooling off their hashbrowns.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Cleaning off the air conditioner for momma!
Here Brandon is after our snow storm a few weeks ago cleaning off the air conditioner for me. I struggled this summer with any and all heat and our air was constantly on. I just laughed when he started cleaning off the unit thinking, "Yup- we may just need that...never cold enough for mom"
Toy Story 3
Brandon's new favorite movie is Toy Story 3. Auntie bought it for him a couple months ago and we had to push for him to make the change from Transformers and/or Cars to Toy Story. Now he loves it.
I watch it with him a lot and it always reminds me of a few toys that I had when I was little. So I went digging in the boxes in the basement and found a few. I think I am going to wash them up and give them to Brandon or Baby Girl when she comes.
'Bentilly' is the snow bear I got when I was really little. He was the ONE bear I slept with every night and was next to me constantly for years. I named him Bentily after the dog we had growing up at my Dad and Joans house- a pure bred Samoyed. The photo of him is 'as is' and has never been washed.
The pillow feet were made by my Grandma Weigel (my mom's mom in ND). She would make all different sizes of pillow feet and we would always have then in our tv room to use when watching tv or movies. She also had a stash at her house and when the whole family was at the farm for Thanksgiving we would fight over the pillow feet to nap on in the living room floor with the sun shining in the big bay window.
The doll (looks kind of like 'Big Baby' from the movie doesn't she) is from my Dad and Joan when I was little. I named her Sara. I don't know why but I loved Sara at the time and she was also always with me.
Rob's toys are also in the basement and we won't take them out. They are boxes and boxes and boxes of the original Transformers. It is amazing to see them.
Reading
Brandon loves to read! Many times he will grab books and sit for a half hour and read out loud to himself. Sometimes he has the words right and sometimes not...but he loves all books.
Some Belly Pics- almost 38 weeks
Here I am at almost 38 weeks. Rob was in the middle of a call and couldn't help me and I'm too impatient so I attempted to take these myself. He's taken a few others.
38 Weeks
Yesterday (Friday) I hit 38 weeks. So far- so good.
I am tired of having to pee every 5 to 10 minutes (literally). I don't ever remember going to the bathroom this much while I was pregnant with Brandon.
I am having lots of contractions. On Wednesday night we went for a drive at 8pm to look at some holiday lights and try and let Brandon fall asleep. Contractions started at about 8:35 and were every 4 to 6 minutes for over 2 hours and they were prety strong. They were only lasting 30 seconds or so. That is how we knew it wasn't time yet....have to get those to a full minute. Since then contractions come and go. Sometimes they are pretty regular and go every 5 minutes for a full hour or so and sometimes they only come every 15 minutes.
I have gained a total of 6 pounds with her which makes me really happy. I only gained about 7 with Brandon. I lost a lot in my first trimester with both babies and it took me a while to gain it back. With this pregnancy I was 20 pounds heavier to start with because I had a mass removed from my foot 2 months before I got pregnant. After surgery the techs in the operating room smashed that foot between the OR gurney and the recovery chair. I didn't feel anything at the time but days later I still couldn't walk. Come to find out they broke 2 bones in my foot on top of the incesion being cut open and not wanting to stay closed. Recovery took a bit longer than expecting including not being able to walk or do any movement of any kind....for about 3 plus months. Hence, a few pounds came on and then I got pregnant. It was nice to get rid of that weight when I got pregnant but now I am back to that weight and it should come off fairly easily after she is born. I am not too worried about it though. It's a live, human being- you are supposed to gain weight.
I'm actually ready for labor and delivery. I'm not too worried about the pain. I'm already at 2 cm and that was almost a week ago so I am thinking I might have gone up to 3cm. The OB loved saying "You just like to take a few weeks to finish up your early labor." The nice thing about being in early labor for a few weeks is that the second things become consistant and regular and I head to the hospital they can give me my epidural right away if I need it. It took me about 6 hours to get it with Brandon. I just didn't need it then and when I got to the hospital for his induction I was already at almost 4 cm.
I'm more nervous about stupid stuff...getting the Christmas cards out (DONE), making cookies, all the presents being wrapped (DONE), coming home to a somewhat clean house with laundry being done, work, Brandon's schedule....I'm very nervous about his reaction and what is going to happen when he meets his little sister. He knows where she is and that she is coming 'soon' and will be living with us but I don't think he has totally grasped the concept of mommy going to the hospital, he's going to gma/gpas, coming to visit her in the hospital, etc. I think he will do either really really well and accept her with open arms or take a rough turn and become jealous. We'll see.
Rob is actually really calm as well. During contractions the other day he kept saying, "Honey, what's wrong" I kind of snapped at him....like, duh- I'm having contractions. He said, "This isn't how it was with Brandon." I had to explain to him that it is a little different and that I'm not being induced with this baby and that things are going to go totally different. He is still very supportive. Always gets me my water at night, sets up my 13 pillows and 3 blankets, makes sure I have a dry towel for my baths....always supportive.
OK....baby girl- you can now come whenever! We are ready for you!
I am tired of having to pee every 5 to 10 minutes (literally). I don't ever remember going to the bathroom this much while I was pregnant with Brandon.
I am having lots of contractions. On Wednesday night we went for a drive at 8pm to look at some holiday lights and try and let Brandon fall asleep. Contractions started at about 8:35 and were every 4 to 6 minutes for over 2 hours and they were prety strong. They were only lasting 30 seconds or so. That is how we knew it wasn't time yet....have to get those to a full minute. Since then contractions come and go. Sometimes they are pretty regular and go every 5 minutes for a full hour or so and sometimes they only come every 15 minutes.
I have gained a total of 6 pounds with her which makes me really happy. I only gained about 7 with Brandon. I lost a lot in my first trimester with both babies and it took me a while to gain it back. With this pregnancy I was 20 pounds heavier to start with because I had a mass removed from my foot 2 months before I got pregnant. After surgery the techs in the operating room smashed that foot between the OR gurney and the recovery chair. I didn't feel anything at the time but days later I still couldn't walk. Come to find out they broke 2 bones in my foot on top of the incesion being cut open and not wanting to stay closed. Recovery took a bit longer than expecting including not being able to walk or do any movement of any kind....for about 3 plus months. Hence, a few pounds came on and then I got pregnant. It was nice to get rid of that weight when I got pregnant but now I am back to that weight and it should come off fairly easily after she is born. I am not too worried about it though. It's a live, human being- you are supposed to gain weight.
I'm actually ready for labor and delivery. I'm not too worried about the pain. I'm already at 2 cm and that was almost a week ago so I am thinking I might have gone up to 3cm. The OB loved saying "You just like to take a few weeks to finish up your early labor." The nice thing about being in early labor for a few weeks is that the second things become consistant and regular and I head to the hospital they can give me my epidural right away if I need it. It took me about 6 hours to get it with Brandon. I just didn't need it then and when I got to the hospital for his induction I was already at almost 4 cm.
I'm more nervous about stupid stuff...getting the Christmas cards out (DONE), making cookies, all the presents being wrapped (DONE), coming home to a somewhat clean house with laundry being done, work, Brandon's schedule....I'm very nervous about his reaction and what is going to happen when he meets his little sister. He knows where she is and that she is coming 'soon' and will be living with us but I don't think he has totally grasped the concept of mommy going to the hospital, he's going to gma/gpas, coming to visit her in the hospital, etc. I think he will do either really really well and accept her with open arms or take a rough turn and become jealous. We'll see.
Rob is actually really calm as well. During contractions the other day he kept saying, "Honey, what's wrong" I kind of snapped at him....like, duh- I'm having contractions. He said, "This isn't how it was with Brandon." I had to explain to him that it is a little different and that I'm not being induced with this baby and that things are going to go totally different. He is still very supportive. Always gets me my water at night, sets up my 13 pillows and 3 blankets, makes sure I have a dry towel for my baths....always supportive.
OK....baby girl- you can now come whenever! We are ready for you!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Allie loves the tree.
We have been successful in keeping the cats (all 3 of them) off the tree. They haven't tried once to climb it or knock it over but they do love sitting beneath it.
Where's Brandon?
While decorating the tree Brandon ran off and we didn't know where he went. I went to find him only testing out Baby Girl's bed. We set up her pack and play/bassinet to prepare for her arrival. She will be staying in our room the first few months and Brandon really liked her bed. He climbed up in her bed and tested it out. We have had to put the bouncer and diapers/wipes in her bed now to keep him and the cats out!
Looks like she will enjoy her bed...he thinks it's nice and comfy.
Survived the blizzard
We have survived the blizzard!
It snowed all night Friday night into Saturday over 18 inches in our area. There was already over 10 to 12 inches on the ground from previous snow falls. This blizzard that hit on Friday/Saturday was the 5th largest snow in Minnesota history. The cats were constantly running into the windows trying to catch the snowflakes. Brandon wanted so bad to go play in the snow but after Rob and I 'tested' the snow we realize he would have fallen through and we would not have seen him. Plus it was very cold (in the single digits not including wind chill) and windy.
I learned a lot about boys and their blowers. Last year I got a little upset with him when he spent a large amount of money on a snow blower. I know we needed to purchase one but didn't think it needed to be the most expensive one. After spending over 6 hours outside plowing (our driveway took 4 runs alone) I was very proud of Rob for picking the right blower for the MN snow. Rob also spent many hours plowing 3 other houses on our road. We are always friendly to our neighbors but don't know them too well. The houses he did were folks that did not have blowers and were elderly and a single mom to a young boy. I was so proud of him and loved explaining to Brandon why daddy was 3 doors down plowing the driveway of someone we didn't know well. Brandon wanted dad to play cars with him but I took over that role so Rob could help the neighbors. Now I fully support the dollar amount he spent on the snow blower.
Brandon has yet to go play in the snow after this storm. The photos are from the previous snow a few weeks ago! He loves the snow and we had to drag him in crying after almost 2 hours of being outside with very cold cheeks and fingers. No matter how hot or how cold it is outside he LOVES being outside. He is our child in that aspect.
As for me and being very pregnant...I LOVE LOVE LOVE the cold and snow. I really struggled this past summer with heat and sun so this weather is perfect for me. It doesn't bother me a bit. Despite a large amount of road closures on Saturday I was calm the entire time a contraction hit and the thought of 'hmmm, is this baby girl going to be born in a snow bank' went through my head. My sister and I are both winter babies and she was born during snow (in Chicago). Every year around her birthday there is normally a large snow fall. If mom and dad could make it to the hosptial 30 plus years ago in a small car I was pretty sure Rob would get me to the hospital just fine in his 4 wheel drive SUV. He loves driving a 4-wheel drive vehicle in this weather...probably way more than I enjoyed driving my hardtop convertible in the summer a couple years ago.
Desptie contractions hitting during snow this baby girl is really comfortable where she is at. She can still come any time and as of Monday afternoon I am 1 to 2 cm. dialated, 50% thinned out, she is very low and my blood pressure is a bit high (nothing to worry about but very normal for me at the very end of my pregnancy).
We are expecting more snow in the next few days. Maybe she will want to follow in her aunties foot steps and arrive during a snow storm. We will see.
It snowed all night Friday night into Saturday over 18 inches in our area. There was already over 10 to 12 inches on the ground from previous snow falls. This blizzard that hit on Friday/Saturday was the 5th largest snow in Minnesota history. The cats were constantly running into the windows trying to catch the snowflakes. Brandon wanted so bad to go play in the snow but after Rob and I 'tested' the snow we realize he would have fallen through and we would not have seen him. Plus it was very cold (in the single digits not including wind chill) and windy.
I learned a lot about boys and their blowers. Last year I got a little upset with him when he spent a large amount of money on a snow blower. I know we needed to purchase one but didn't think it needed to be the most expensive one. After spending over 6 hours outside plowing (our driveway took 4 runs alone) I was very proud of Rob for picking the right blower for the MN snow. Rob also spent many hours plowing 3 other houses on our road. We are always friendly to our neighbors but don't know them too well. The houses he did were folks that did not have blowers and were elderly and a single mom to a young boy. I was so proud of him and loved explaining to Brandon why daddy was 3 doors down plowing the driveway of someone we didn't know well. Brandon wanted dad to play cars with him but I took over that role so Rob could help the neighbors. Now I fully support the dollar amount he spent on the snow blower.
Brandon has yet to go play in the snow after this storm. The photos are from the previous snow a few weeks ago! He loves the snow and we had to drag him in crying after almost 2 hours of being outside with very cold cheeks and fingers. No matter how hot or how cold it is outside he LOVES being outside. He is our child in that aspect.
As for me and being very pregnant...I LOVE LOVE LOVE the cold and snow. I really struggled this past summer with heat and sun so this weather is perfect for me. It doesn't bother me a bit. Despite a large amount of road closures on Saturday I was calm the entire time a contraction hit and the thought of 'hmmm, is this baby girl going to be born in a snow bank' went through my head. My sister and I are both winter babies and she was born during snow (in Chicago). Every year around her birthday there is normally a large snow fall. If mom and dad could make it to the hosptial 30 plus years ago in a small car I was pretty sure Rob would get me to the hospital just fine in his 4 wheel drive SUV. He loves driving a 4-wheel drive vehicle in this weather...probably way more than I enjoyed driving my hardtop convertible in the summer a couple years ago.
Desptie contractions hitting during snow this baby girl is really comfortable where she is at. She can still come any time and as of Monday afternoon I am 1 to 2 cm. dialated, 50% thinned out, she is very low and my blood pressure is a bit high (nothing to worry about but very normal for me at the very end of my pregnancy).
We are expecting more snow in the next few days. Maybe she will want to follow in her aunties foot steps and arrive during a snow storm. We will see.
Friday, December 10, 2010
37 Weeks!
Today I made it to 37 weeks! It feels good to know that this baby girl is doing good and considered 'full term' so to speak. When I was 37 weeks pregnant with Brandon he was so low I was in a lot of pain and could barely move. I was at L & D assessment every week getting fluids and pain meds to get me through the day. However, with her I am doing pretty good.
My next OB apt. is on Monday but as of last Friday (at 36 weeks) her head was down, strong heart beat, very healthy, my blood pressure was good, dialated to 1cm or so and doing okay. I have spent some time at the hospital getting some fluids. My OB said that I am just one of those types of people that my body doesn't like the end of pregnancy and no matter how much fluids I drink nothing will work. So I had to get a bunch of fluid to get me re-hydrated. Baby girl was fine but being dehydrated just makes me miserable so really it is for my own comfort.
Only a few more weeks to go...if that!
My next OB apt. is on Monday but as of last Friday (at 36 weeks) her head was down, strong heart beat, very healthy, my blood pressure was good, dialated to 1cm or so and doing okay. I have spent some time at the hospital getting some fluids. My OB said that I am just one of those types of people that my body doesn't like the end of pregnancy and no matter how much fluids I drink nothing will work. So I had to get a bunch of fluid to get me re-hydrated. Baby girl was fine but being dehydrated just makes me miserable so really it is for my own comfort.
Only a few more weeks to go...if that!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Home
I'm home! It feels great to be home even though I wasn't gone for long. I really missed my boys.
However, it's sometimes hard coming home. I'm tired and sore- was up at 5am and got 3 hours of sleep last night and had a swamped day- most of which was on my feet. At 37 weeks pregnant that is a little hard. The hard part is that Brandon is having a hard time adjusting now with me home. Even though I was gone for one night I think that felt like an eternity for him. It is now almost 11pm and he is still wide awake and trying to see what he can get away with. He got to sleep with dad last night and of course had some fun/special time together and now it is time to get back to normal and that is a little hard for him. It's hard because I am so exhausted and need to get to bed myself but I want to stay up and try to get him to sleep....I didn't win.
Rob saw that I could barely walk anymore and my eyes are blood shot. He just left with Brandon in the car to drive a bit to get him to sleep. I am sure they will get not even 2 miles down the road and he will be asleep. Sometimes we need to use these special techniques on him.
Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit better. One thing I LOVE about my job (okay- I love a lot of things about my job) is that after a site visit or any business trip I always tell Mindy the day or two after is little-to-no work for me. I have a whole 30 minutes of work time scheduled for tomorrow and then we are spending the day with Oma and Auntie baking tons of cookies, making homemade soup, heading to Macy's 8th floor and the Hollidazzle parade! ALL while NOT thinking about work at all. She is always supportive and understanding about it (and a HUGE benefit of having a home office) but my brain is having a hard time turning off. I am sick of running traffic projections, sales totals, patient numbers, retail concepts, signage, floor plans...yadda, yadda, yadda in my head over and over. Time to turn OFF brain! That is what tomorrow with Brandon and the family is for!
However, it's sometimes hard coming home. I'm tired and sore- was up at 5am and got 3 hours of sleep last night and had a swamped day- most of which was on my feet. At 37 weeks pregnant that is a little hard. The hard part is that Brandon is having a hard time adjusting now with me home. Even though I was gone for one night I think that felt like an eternity for him. It is now almost 11pm and he is still wide awake and trying to see what he can get away with. He got to sleep with dad last night and of course had some fun/special time together and now it is time to get back to normal and that is a little hard for him. It's hard because I am so exhausted and need to get to bed myself but I want to stay up and try to get him to sleep....I didn't win.
Rob saw that I could barely walk anymore and my eyes are blood shot. He just left with Brandon in the car to drive a bit to get him to sleep. I am sure they will get not even 2 miles down the road and he will be asleep. Sometimes we need to use these special techniques on him.
Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit better. One thing I LOVE about my job (okay- I love a lot of things about my job) is that after a site visit or any business trip I always tell Mindy the day or two after is little-to-no work for me. I have a whole 30 minutes of work time scheduled for tomorrow and then we are spending the day with Oma and Auntie baking tons of cookies, making homemade soup, heading to Macy's 8th floor and the Hollidazzle parade! ALL while NOT thinking about work at all. She is always supportive and understanding about it (and a HUGE benefit of having a home office) but my brain is having a hard time turning off. I am sick of running traffic projections, sales totals, patient numbers, retail concepts, signage, floor plans...yadda, yadda, yadda in my head over and over. Time to turn OFF brain! That is what tomorrow with Brandon and the family is for!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Missing....
Tonight I am in La Crosse, Wisconsin for a work trip. I am only gone for one night and have always had a huge love for my job but tonight I am missing Rob and Brandon A LOT!
I can always call home, Skype and will be seeing them in a matter of hours but for some reason whenever I think of my boys I get a little sad. It is hard to be away from home.
Tonight I called home and talked to Brandon a few times. It makes my heart smile when I hear "Hi. Hi Mommy." He tells me all about his day and asks me where I am and shares with me all about the Lego garage him and daddy are building. I love that he will sit on the phone with me for minutes at a time talking about simple things!
I don't care about my sore back or aching feet or swollen ankles...just missing my boys!
I can always call home, Skype and will be seeing them in a matter of hours but for some reason whenever I think of my boys I get a little sad. It is hard to be away from home.
Tonight I called home and talked to Brandon a few times. It makes my heart smile when I hear "Hi. Hi Mommy." He tells me all about his day and asks me where I am and shares with me all about the Lego garage him and daddy are building. I love that he will sit on the phone with me for minutes at a time talking about simple things!
I don't care about my sore back or aching feet or swollen ankles...just missing my boys!
Different kind of blogging
I have taken such a big break from Brandon's blog so I could do a different kind of blogging....
A few weeks ago I bought some simple sketch books from the book store and have been writing special letters to Brandon. These are special letters from me to him on heartfelt thoughts, advice, stories and memories. I will always have his baby book, this blog and a simple calendar to document milestones and notes but this sketch book is a book directly from me to him for our eyes only.
I also have one for this baby girl that is on her way! What a great way to share special events with your child and messages.
A few weeks ago I bought some simple sketch books from the book store and have been writing special letters to Brandon. These are special letters from me to him on heartfelt thoughts, advice, stories and memories. I will always have his baby book, this blog and a simple calendar to document milestones and notes but this sketch book is a book directly from me to him for our eyes only.
I also have one for this baby girl that is on her way! What a great way to share special events with your child and messages.
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