Sleep is Goooood

Thank you everyone for your well wishes on Baby Bean's behalf. Can I just say Wednesday was by far my worst day as a mother? Not because I was fed up or hating it, but because it was killing to me see my child so sick and in such discomfort. It absolutely broke my heart.

I took this picture of her sleeping on my shoulder while we waited for her flu and CBC tests to be completed. I felt so bad for her. I was glad I had taken a blanket to wrap her in while she had to wait undressed to the diaper because the room was freezing.



The flu test came back negative and her CBC was normal. However, her ear infection wasn't clearing up even though she had been on antibiotics for days, so they treated her to a nasty double injection of antibiotics, one in each leg simultaneously. I felt HORRIBLE holding her hands as the two nurses rammed needles full of thick antibiotics into her legs. I held her tightly to me afterward and tried to soothe her screams. She calmed down pretty quickly and then went right back to sleep.

The fantastic news is the antibiotics did their job. Her ears and sinuses cleared up that night, and for the first time since she started daycare we both slept through the night. For once we weren't both up every two hours with me soothing her back to sleep. Happily, she has slept through every night since. She is doing much better and is back to her happy self. You'd never know she was sick last week.

On a separate note, when I was downloading the above picture from my phone, I came across these pictures from her birthday and had to share them.

I am so ready to do this again!

The Best Laid Plans

When I called my parents to let them know on Wednesday that my daughter's pediatrician declared her too ill to be around her ailing great grandpa for Thanksgiving, my dad's reply was, "The best laid plans.... Welcome to the world of parenthood." Not only did the doctor say we couldn't go, she said she we absolutely should not let Baby Bean around him because she could be he cause of doing him in. The poor little darling was soooo sick. The sickest she has been yet.

Remember how I said I had to go get her from daycare on Tuesday? Well, I wasted no time getting her a doctor appointment Wednesday morning. We were at the doctor for over an hour and a half while she was tested for the flu, given a major shot of antibiotics to both legs to hopefully speed the recovery of her ear infection, had a complete blood count drawn, and had to wait to ensure there was no allergic reaction to the antibiotics. Let me tell you, that was the hardest day of my parenting career so far. It was miserable for my child. She fell asleep in my arms many times only to be woken for shots or finger pricks. I couldn't wait to get her out of there. She was so sick and miserable she literally spent the rest of the day sleeping. It took moving a mountain to get her to wake up long enough to eat a bottle and then she was right back out.

I called my husband as soon as I found out we weren't going to his grandpa's, and then called my MIL to let her know. Here is the amazing thing, I didn't panic. I was now looking at Thanksgiving for 2.5 and had nothing for it at home, or so I thought. I asked my MIL to send me a recipe for one of Hub's all-time favorite dishes. She sent me two, one for spinach Madeline and one for chocolate pecan pie. So that night after the baby was in bed, I went to the grocery store to grab the necessary missing ingredients and a turkey breast.

If this was going to be our first Thanksgiving at home and alone, I was going to make it great dang it! I was amazed at just how many ingredients I already had on hand. Last night I stayed up to prep the spinach and pie, both of which turned out awesome! I didn't think to buy a pie crust at the store, but by some miracle had one pack of graham crackers at home, which turned into the most delicious crust.

I went all out. I made turkey, spinach Madeline, cheesy garlic potatoes with turkey gravy, stuffing, squash, rolls, and chocolate pecan pie. I have been so proud of myself all day, and I was literally beaming as the three of us sat down to our Thanksgiving feast. I have to say, I didn't use to like cooking, but now I LOVE it thanks to my fabulous husband who taught me how to cook and do it well.

Here is my first ever turkey. I was so stinking proud I wouldn't let Hubs cut it until I took a picture.


It was so beautiful and herb stuffed (thanks for the pointers Gord.on Rams.ey!). It was delicious. I did an awesome job.

Here is the fantastic spread I prepared (minus the chocolate pecan pie that was still chilling in the fridge [I also forgot to get a pic before eating {I KNOW!}]).


Please note the fine china. This was a very traditional gift from my parents on my wedding day. It is the first time it has seen the light of day since the contents were checked for breakage. I can't even tell you how gloaty I was to finally use it. Even Baby Bean got her own little plate.

I decided to let Baby Bean help herself to her dinner.

Here is Hubs helping her get a hold of her spoon.

He's helping her dish up some of the potatoes.

Here he assists her with bringing the full spoon to her mouth.

But she insisted on doing things her way...

holding the spoon with one hand while shoveling food into her mouth with the other.

She did make a few attempts to use her spoon though.

I think she was pretty pleased with the meal, as it was all over her smiling face.

When it came time to clean up, Sadie offered to help. Baby Bean didn't mind.

While the plans for the day were tossed out the window, I think it all turned out very well. Dinner was delicious and I loved being domestic. It was a very memorable Thanksgiving, and I enjoyed every second of it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today (and every day) I am thankful for a great many things, the obvious and the not-so-obvious:

• Wonderful, supportive, loving husband
• Beautiful, hard won daughter who is the joy of my life
• Fantastic, caring, understanding parents
• Supportive, affectionate, close siblings
• Two smart, snuggly, crazy Border Collies
• Four amazing best friends
• A whole slew of wonderful people I am proud to call friends, both IRL and in blogland
• A lovely house that I proudly call home
• An out of this world job doing what I love to do with some of the best coworkers I could ever hope for
• A reliable vehicle that has been with me for 7 years and I hope to have for several more yet
• All of my struggles that make me who I am; the ones that bump and bruise me to help polish me and make me stronger
• The way my daughter runs her fingers through my hair and then smiles at me
• Snuggling with my husband and dogs after the baby has been put to bed for the night
• Each new day that I am given to enjoy my life
• Bringing happiness and joy to others
• Providing love and support when I am able
• Loving and being loved
• The beauty of the city in which I live
• The sweet chirp of birds in the morning
• The soothing sound of crickets at night

I am thankful for my life and everything that is in it.

Daycare Blues

I warned Hubs before we even put Baby Bean in daycare that the first little while would be rough and that most of our money would go to pay to build up her immune system. I knew it would be the case, and sadly, I have yet to be wrong.

The first week Baby Bean was supposed to start daycare, I came down with strep (I haven't had strep since I was 12; so much for that record) Sunday before her first day and ended up staying home with her for four days of that week, so her first day ended up being on a Friday. One day wasn't a big deal, which is probably why I handled it so well when we dropped her off that morning.

The second week of daycare was going great. Then Wednesday morning, the same day I was supposed to appear in court for running a stop sign, I was woken by a neighbor feverishly ringing my door bell and beating down my door. I answered in my pjs (which I am sure showed the neighbor a side of me he never wanted to see [or maybe he did] because anyone who was that anxious to see me had to take me as I was. He apologized profusely and told me Hubs and the daycare had been trying to call me all morning because my daughter was running a fever of 103.6 and I needed to go get her. She sported a fever on and off for the next five days. Both of us were out of work and daycare for the remainder of the week. Money well spent on daycare there (yes, facitious).

Since Baby Bean got sick she has been sporting what I and her teachers thought was either a diaper rash or a yeast infection as well as some major congestion. On Sunday night of this week Hubs and I noticed that Baby Bean was refusing to crawl. She'd get up on her knees and then start to cry, sit on her bum, and try to scoot to wherever she needed to go. When I looked at her knees I could tell something was up. On Monday morning I called her doctor and got her in. It was there we discovered there was a rash all over her lower body and that the majority of it centered on her knee joints. In addition to the rash, she had a major ear infection. She was at daycare for all of 2.5 hours that morning. However, the doctor gave her a note to return to school, stating she wasn't contagious and to authorize the dispensation of motr.in.

This afternoon I went to visit and feed her at lunch, as I have done every day since I returned to work after my maternity leave was over. She seemed a little sluggish, but I figured it was just the antibiotics doing their thing. At 2:45 I got a phone call from her teacher saying she was sporting a fever of 102.9 again. I immediately called her pediatrician and asked the nurse if I needed to go get my daughter from school, despite the note from Monday. She recommended I go, as did my project manager. So this week we have spent a total of 9 hours at work and daycare. Money well spent again. Hubs was ticked, but I warned him this would happen. Its part of the package.

Sadly, this month I have only worked one full week. Even the short week got cut really short, as Baby Bean is not allowed to return to daycare tomorrow due to her fever. It was still over 101 tonight before her bath and after a dose of ty.lenol and motr.in. I'm telling you again, if you haven't checked it out already, this No.se Fri.da is a lifesaver. I don't know how I would have sufficiently aspirated my child had I not had that fabulous device. It has earned its weight in gold and then some these past few weeks.

My poor little bean is now on antibiotics, tyle.nol, and motr.in. She hasn't slept through a night (neither have I) since she started daycare. I feel so bad for her, but at the same time, I am grateful for the time I have had to spend with her. I just wish it didn't mean she had to be miserable.

I've Done It!

Okay, so you see that little ticker on my sidebar that is counting down the days until my IUD removal? Well, that date was originally approximated. That is, until yesterday. I called and scheduled the appointment for my ultrasound to check on how my uterine rupture is healing, and if everything looks good, the IUD will come out that day.

Can I just say I am so nervous and excited all at the same time?!

The last time we looked at the scar tissue from the rupture, everything looked great and my doctor was pleased with its progress. I was supposed to go back in last month to have it checked again, but I opted not to just because it looked so good at the previous scan, and I feel good about things, so I didn't feel it was necessary. My doctor's office even sent me a letter to remind me I was supposed to make an appointment for last month and missed it, which I thought was cool.

Hubs and I are seriously chomping at the bit to get back in the TTC saddle (yes, both of us). I think I am so excited about the prospect that any fears I had last month have been pushed to the far reaches of my mind. I really feel good about things. I am just so ready to bring another baby into our home. I also feel like the next one will be a boy, I really do. Every time I talk to Baby Bean about her siblings I tell her she will have a brother and then another sister. If Hubs had his way, we'd have five boys and then maybe another girl. I wish we could have seven more.

They are building a brand new hospital about a mile from my house and it is supposed to be finished next fall. Every time we drive by, I tell Baby Bean that is where her brother will be born. When we walk past the maternity clothes in the store, I tell her, "Mom will buy those when she is pregnant with your brother." When I put away her baby clothes that no longer fit, I tell her that we won't need them for her brother, but we will for her sister, who will come after her brother. It is already second nature, she will have a brother next.

I honestly feel like we have two more children in our cards. I feel like it will be a boy and then a girl. I knew Baby Bean would be a girl before Hubs and I were even married. I realize it is a 50/50 chance, but I just felt it, and I was right. My intuition is not usually very far off.

So, less than two months until I buy the massive pack of OPKs and a few pregnancy tests, am back in the world of charting, checking all of the fun things that entails, adding a ticker to my sidebar, and officially back on the TTC horse. I can't wait!

All Set!

This past week I have gotten the Christmas bug, or rather the past two weeks. I just had so many other things going on I wasn't able to get around to decorating the house until this week.

Last Christmas Hubs and waited until after the Holidays to buy a new, large Christmas tree. We didn't see any reason to get one last year, as it was just the two of us, and we needed the money to prepare for the baby. One night we remembered our realtor had given us a gift card to Ho.me Dep.ot when we closed on our house and needed to use it. We ended up buying a $300 Christmas tree for $75 because it was the floor display.

Since last year, I have been looking forward to this Christmas, mostly because it would be my first Christmas as a mother. I remember surviving the holidays when we were doing infertility treatments. I tried to enjoy them, but it was just so hard because I didn't know if I would ever have a child with which to adorn gifts. Last Christmas was our first holiday with just the two of us and no family. Once again, we were lonely, but at least we were finally pregnant. I held my chin up and struggled through yet another Christmas day alone, but in a new way.

Because of the past few years, I couldn't wait to break out the decorations. I spent this whole weekend getting them set up around the house, and was really excited to get out our new tree. Santa brought me an early present this year.


Baby Bean loved the tree and the lights. She has been crawling around under it and grabbing the branches and lights since I started setting it up earlier this week.



I remember last year thinking I just couldn't wait to buy the perfect "Baby's First Christmas" ornament. It was so hard to not buy one for last year because I was technically with child, but I refrained. This weekend, I came across what I was looking for and fell in love with it instantly.


They are ceramic baby booties that say, "Baby's 1st" and "2009." I have finally been blessed with a child for whom to buy this keepsake.

On top of all of the decorating, I am pleased to say my Christmas shopping is done! Hoorah! I pretty much refuse to shop after Thanksgiving, and I like to have it done and out of the way before TG so that I don't have to worry about it or brave the crazy crowds. Yesterday I went out with one of my best friends, and together we tackled and conquered my list.

Now I can sit back, relax, and prepare to share this very special holiday with my first baby.

Its That Time of the Month

And no, I'm not talking about the one in which my monthly visitor makes her nasty appearance, although if you ask my husband, it might as well be.

Welcome ICLW!

I have to say, Hubs really does hate this time of month. He likes to remind me that since we got married, he has been asking me to write a manual for a product he developed, but I have yet to finish it. So every time ICLW rolls around, he gets grumpy that I blog for a whole week and don't write. I just bat my eye lashes and tell him I need my bloggy therapy. :D

For those of you new or visiting the blog, you can find my back story here. Long story short, after two years of infertility treatments and one extensive surgery (confirming moderate endo, PCOS, and a uterine septum), Hubs and I were eventually able to conceive on our own. We want to have more children, but now have new complications and have been forced to take a year of TTC while my body heals. We're already chomping at the bit to be back in the TTC saddle, but as you can see by the ticker in my sidebar, our year isn't quite up. We're almost there though! Now we're just praying that we don't have to go through IF hell again once we are given the green light.

I look forward to meeting new bloggers, hopefully making some good friends, and finding some new blogs to follow.

Welcome to my blog and our story.