Tips for Buying & Making Preemie Clothes
How to Help Parents of Preemies
Anastasia's first year (2005)
Eating & Reflux (year 2, 2006)
Back to Sleep! (2007)
And Zane, Too (2008)
Allergies & Getting Big (2009)
Starting School (2010)
It's All Good (2011)
Search the Miracle Baby bebsite
March 2008
March 1, 2008
Miss A. had a tough day yesterday. She was tired, cranky, and her gums seemed to be hurting her. She wanted to be picked up and held constantly (so much for not lifting anything over 10 lbs!), and threw a few tempter tantrums. Immediately following her nap was one of those tantrums. She insists on sitting on Mommy's kitchen chair while I give her her reflux medicine, but lately she's been crawling into the chair on her own. Well, yesterday she had trouble crawling into the chair, and began throwing a fit. I said, "Hey, what's wrong? If you need help, just ask for it." I helped her up and Anastasia hugged the stuffed donkey she was holding and said, "I sorry, Mommy. I sorry, Donkey. I not mean it."
She's so good about being polite! And she's getting to where she says "thank you" appropriately more and more often. For example, a few days ago we were all riding in the truck, and Miss A. wanted her cup of juice, which I'd neglected to bring with us. So I offered her a toy, instead. She said she didn't want it, so I set it down nearby. A second later, she said she wanted, and my hubby handed it to her. "Thank you, Daddy," was her immediate reply.
As I continue to do research about supplements to help prevent PROM, I think I've found the probiotic I'm going to use. It's called Fem-Dolphilus, and contains the two probiotic strains associated with preventing infections...and therefore reducing the risk of PROM.
Also, I wanted to mention something my friend Suzannah Doyle brought up. Suz is something of a fertility expert and she says too much vitamin C can actually cause miscarriage. This is not to say we shouldn't take vitamin C, though! Vitamin C is important for preventing miscarriage, and perhaps PROM. The trick is to take the correct dose. Always talk to your doc about these things, and check out the recommended vitamin dosages at The American Pregnancy Association.
March 4, 2008
A friend of ours had a baby last week, so that makes two small babies Anastasia gets to hang out with now. The new baby is Mr. T's new brother, and Anastasia's friend Mr. E. has a baby sister who is five months old. This is a really great thing because it's pretty upsetting to Anastasia when babies cry. So if we're visiting Mr. T. or Mr. E. and the baby cries, we talk about the fact that crying is the way babies tell us what they want or need. Then I usually ask Miss. A. why she thinks the baby is crying - usually offering lots of my own ideas. The crying is beginning to upset her less now.
She was a little wary of the newborn when we visited him this Sunday. She's never seen so small a baby. But soon she was hugging him and saying "I love baby!"
This weekend also marked the day Miss A. discovered tools. Anastasia hadn't been in my hubby's workshop since late fall, and when she walked in this weekend, her eyes got wide and she said, "Wow!" She couldn't wait to learn all about daddy's tools. She'd look in the direction of some tool and say what color it was, and my hubby would tell her the name of the tool and a little bit about what it did. Miss A. repeated the name of the tools reverently. Her daddy even let her turn the handle on the bench press and hold a small ratchet. She didn't want to leave the workshop, and the only way she would do so without crying was if we promised to let her visit the workshop again the next day.
As for me and the bun (in the oven), we're doing well. With Anastasia, by this stage in the pregnancy, I had a lot of nausea, was absolutely exhausted, and had begun to bleed. This time around, I've had just a tiny bit of nausea. I do take a short nap during Anastasia's nap time, but overall I feel really good! Everyone keeps telling me I must, therefore, be carrying a boy. Could be, but I mostly just feel this is a sign this will be a healthy pregnancy.
March 7, 2008
I am now officially two months pregnant! This pregnancy feels quite different from the last. As I mentioned before, at this point with Anastasia, I was utterly exhausted, hated smells, was constantly nauseated, and was spotting blood. (Usually doctors say some spotting during the first trimester isn't cause for alarm, but some studies are noticing a link to preterm birth; doctors just don't understand the exact connection yet.) With bun #2, I'm a bit tired and nauseous, but really feeling quite well, considering.
Speaking of Miss A., she's doing great. We're working on not pushing around Mr. T. (he just won't go where she wants him to go!), and learning to pray on our own. Last night was Anastasia's first attempt at the latter. I couldn't understand a word except "amen," but I'm sure God got the point :)
March 11, 2008
I haven't been very good about giving Anastasia updates. I'm getting more tired now, and while I used to post updates during Miss A.'s nap time, now I nap during her nap time! But here are a few quick notes about our girl:
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Anastasia continues to be extremely shy around men she doesn't know. This includes her friend Mr. E.'s grandpa. But the funny part is that for a couple of weeks now, whenever we pray together, she always ends the prayer by saying, "Bess [bless] [Mr. E.'s] gran'pa. Amen." And now, whenever I ask her what she likes best about Mr. E.'s house, she first mentions his grandpa.
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Anastasia is getting better about noises. I often pray with her right before I vacuum, and I encourage her to pray on her own whenever anything - including a noise - upsets her. When she hears a loud noise, she still sometimes stops in the middle of whatever she was doing, giving a big frown. But she hasn't cried about loud noises for quite a while.
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A few weeks ago, my mother brought over some animal crackers for Miss A. She was pleased with them, but a moment later, my mother showed Anastasia a dress she'd bought for her. Miss A. tossed the animal cracker box aside, grabbed the dress, held it up to herself, and said, "Cute!"
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Similarly, she spent three days admiring the new shoes my mom-in-law bought her.
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We've been enjoying warmer days outside, and I'm teaching Miss A. not to pick flowers unless she's been given permission to do so. She's also learning the names of some flowers. Last weekend, I taught her about daffodils, and let her pick one from our garden. She carried it around everywhere, and I warned her never to eat flowers because they could make her very sick. She seemed to understand this, but later, her daddy noticed part of the flower was missing. When he asked if she'd eaten it, she hung her head a little and said "yes." Daffodils are poisonous, but she'd only eaten a tiny amount, so we just kept a close eye on her. It didn't seem to make her sick, thank goodness. But from now on, she won't be allowed to hold flowers without super-close supervision!
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For a short while, eating "snow" (that is, snow cones) was a grand thing for Miss A., but already she's tired of this treat. I'm still giving her a dream feed bottle of Pediasure at night. I want to quit right now and at least see what happens, but my hubby somehow thinks June is the magic month. So, June it is!
March 18, 2008
The Bun, at 8 weeks, 4 days
Apparently, the bun is younger than the doctor's office originally told me! My OB wanted to do an ultrasound ("I just like to get an early look to make sure all is well," she told me) and as she did so, she asked how far apart my periods were. When I told her 32 - 34 days, she said, "Aha! That's why the baby looks smaller than I was expecting!" (The average woman's cycle is 28 days.) So the baby is about 8 weeks and 5 days old, and is due October 23rd.
My doctor wants me to visit the local perintologists (high risk pregnancy doctors) to consult about anything we could do differently this time around...and also because I'm over 35 and therefore more likely to have a baby with genetic problems. I'm not thrilled about this. There are only two perintologists in our area, and they share patients. I dealt with them after my water broke at 20 weeks with Anastasia, and every time I saw them, they seemed to push aborting Miss A. But I'll see them with a smile, taking Anastasia with me, and reminding them who she is and how fantastic she's doing.
My OB also nixed my plan to take extra vitamins (in addition to my prenatal vitamin). I figured I was getting enough C and zinc, but I wondered about taking extra E, since some doctors feel these vitamins may be deficient in women who experience PROM. But too much E is harmful when you're pregnant, so she preferred I just stick to my prenatal vitamin. She thought the probiotics I'm taking were a good idea, though.
I had to take Miss A. with me to the appointment, since her daddy was busy at his own doctor's appointment (where snot-nosed kids are usually common). I figured I could keep Anastasia happy with books and magazines, and that I'd strap her into her stroller during the physical exam. Well, as soon as the nurse took my blood pressure, she freaked out. She thought mommy was being hurt. The same thing happened when the doctor listened to my heart. And when they rolled the ultrasound machine in...
Finally, the nurse took Miss A. onto her lap and comforted her. After the appointment, Anastasia was repeating what the nurse must have been telling her: "Mommy's okay," "Doctor help Mommy," and "Doctor help keep Mommy safe." Poor dear.
Miss A. playing with one of her favorite puzzles.
Other Anastasia tidbits:
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Yesterday, Anastasia noticed our electric organ for the first time. (It's in a room we rarely bring her into, and its bench is covered with boxes right now.) When it wouldn't make any music, she said, "Needs batteries."
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At my OB appointment, the doctor tried to make small talk with Miss A. She asked if Anastasia had a dog. Miss A. said, yes, she had a "big brown dog." It wasn't until this morning, when I tripped over her large stuffed brown dog, that I realized Anastasia wasn't making up a story.
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Anastasia - without any prompting from me - is very girly in many respects. The other day (while I was sitting on the toilet, ahem) she filed my nails.
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Yesterday, we spent a half hour watching a snail move down our window. Miss A. noticed it's "little tiny eyes" and decided it must be a "daddy snail."
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She also saw a spider inside the house, which she seemed afraid of. I told her it was a baby spider and wouldn't hurt her; then I counted how many legs it had. Still she asked me to "take away," so I did. Later, she said, "I scare spider." (Maybe she was thinking she did Miss Muffet a favor!)
March 19, 2008
My hubby refers to the bun as "him." (He claims there's a 50 - 50 chance, so he's just gonna go with boy. He'd be just as delighted with a girl.) Even I have found myself almost calling the baby "he." But this morning, Anastasia was going on and on about "mine sister." Finally I said, "Honey, who's your sister?"
"I have one!" she replied.
When I asked again, "Who is she?", Anastasia changed the subject.
This is especially funny since we haven't told Anastasia she's going to be a big sister. (Although the nurse in my OB's office asked if she was going to be a big sister. Miss A. looked at her blankly.)
March 19 (part II)
Okay, so here's the rest of the story. When I told Anastasia's daddy about her "sister," he asked who her sister was. Miss A. replied, " 'Asia," which is what she calls herself. So apparently, she's just confused about the whole big sister thing :)
March 24, 2008
We had a wonderful Easter weekend. This was the first year Miss A. could enjoy an Easter egg hunt. (This time last year, she still wasn't walking!) She liked it (especially when she discovered the eggs had chocolate inside), but mostly she just loved hanging with family...especially her cousins. The first thing she did when she saw them was run up and give them each a long hug :)
Anastasia couldn't wait to wear her "pudy yellow dress" and "gidder [glitter[ shoes" this Easter.
Miss A. in her favorite PJs and hat.
Today, in her princess dress, boa, and favorite hat. She said, "I shall play mine kazoo. 'Asia shall play mine kazoo." I have no idea where she's ever heard the word "shall!"
March 24 (part II)
This afternoon, Miss A. has been running around rhyming...apparently, her own made up rhymes! For example, she just said, as she was playing:
"No chompin' bugs,
No cookin' frogs,
No smellin' dogs."
We asked her who taught her the rhyme, but she wouldn't answer. So we called my sis-in-law to see if maybe one of her boys taught Anastasia this rhyme over Easter. She said she'd never heard it.
March 26, 2008
We had a rough night last night. A strange choking sound woke me up, so I rushed into Anastasia's room. She appeared to be fine, but she was awake enough that she saw me and wanted my company. I told her goodnight and slipped back into bed. Miss A. cried a bit, then coughed on and off. After some time, my hubby went in to check on her. She stood up and said, "I fall down," then promptly vomited. I got her bed cleaned up, took her temperature (which was high), and gave her some Tylenol. I sent my husband back to bed and spent an hour rocking Miss A.
When I laid her back in her crib, she was woke up. I asked if she thought she could sleep in her crib, and she said she thought she could. She slept soundly the rest of the night, only coughing a couple of times. In the morning, she was bright and happy, and her fever was gone.
I'd suspect food poisoning except that she has a slightly runny nose this morning.
She's on the mend...Now I hope I don't get the bug. I know lots of women get fevers while they are pregnant, but - well, I'm paranoid.
March 28, 2008
The mystery of Anastasia's rhymes became clear yesterday. Miss A. was watching one of her favorite Little Bear DVDs (similar to this one) and suddenly I recognized a poem! Little Bear's friend Owl was trying to sleep, but noises kept waking him up. Little Bear finally tucked his friend into bed and said, "No chirping birds, no croaking frogs, no snoring dogs!" Miss A. had her own spin on it, but there's no doubt this is what she was basing her words on. It even made sense in the situation. She knew her daddy was tired and trying to rest. So, almost certainly, all her other rhymes that day were also based on things from books or movies.
The little miss is feeling better. She appears to just to have a cold, and not even a very bad one. She is very grumpy, however. Here's what happened this morning. Once in a while, I give her a bath in the morning because I'm too tired to give it to her the night before. Besides, Miss A. thinks having a bath in the a.m. is silly fun. But this morning, once she was in the tub she asked for her "mommy and baby penguin." I gave them to her. A moment or two later, she was telling me to "take away." I started to, but then she cried that she wanted them. So I put them back in the water. A moment later, she was crying, "Take away!" I couldn't even encourage her to say "please," which she usually will do readily.
I took the toys away, and she proceeded to throw a tempter tantrum. I figured she'd calm down in a moment or two because she loves baths. So I stuck my nose in a book. Miss A. continued throwing a temper tantrum for ten minutes. She screamed, she splashed water at me, she said over and over "I want mine mommy and baby penguin!"
So I soaped up her hair, washed it, and rinsed it, all while she fought me. I pulled her out of the tub and dressed her while she continued to cry and kick. Finally I told her she was going back to bed because she was obviously very tired and grumpy. She began calming down at this idea, and I ended up rocking her for an hour. When she finally calmed completely down, she said, "I love you mama." (She never calls me "mama" anymore!)
Ugh. What a way to start the day.
Miss A.'s been having trouble lately with obeying. I'm not a nagging mom, and I don't follow her around saying "no," but I do expect that when I say "no" or "stop" or "don't do that" or even "come here," she will obey. She always has in the past, and really, it's a safety issue. But lately she ignores me. There is always a consequence for this, but let me tell you, all this disciplining is wearing me out!
Sometimes, though, despite her grumpiness, it's tough not to laugh. For example, a few days ago, when Anastasia was done with her dinner, she threw the remains of it on the floor. She's pretty well over that, so I was surprised. Her daddy said, "Uh oh. Anastasia, what are you thinking?" Miss A. replied, "I thinkin'......I dropped my food."
Speaking of being worn out, I'm now 10 weeks pregnant! It's very weird to think I'm at the halfway point to where my water broke with Anastasia...