The check-up and lots of bargains!

Baylen had his 6 week check-up today at the Dr. He weighed in at 11 lbs., 14.5 oz, which puts him in the 50-75% for weight for his age. I thought for sure it would put him up in the 90% range, but not so much. He is 22.5 inches long and in the 50-75% for height, so he's doing really well. Dr. said he looks good and looks like he enjoys eating! :) The sad part about today's visit: he had to get several shots and the roto-virus vaccine by mouth. He was NOT a happy camper and I hate when my kids have to get shots. Of course, Brynna thought she was going to see the Dr. and get shots/checked out and SHE started freaking out too. Once she figured out it was only Baylen, she was totally fine...haha

I called Brynn's daycare this morning and told them she'd be staying home w/ me today. I thought it would be nice to spend some time with her since I'll be returning to work on Monday and she is a great shopper. Mary and I went up to the outlet mall near our house...I like to go up there at least once a month to see what kind of bargains I can find, especially in the baby stores. All of them were having huge sales, especially The Children's Place...no kidding, I found stuff for $1.99! It's just crazy! They have a BUNCH of racks for both genders just full of stuff on super sale PLUS an extra 50% off. That's my kind of shopping! My sister checked the Children's Place in our mall down where she works and they are having the SAME sale, so for all you moms out there, go check it out. They have great deals! MOMS OF GIRLS: if you love jeans, another reason you might want to go check out Children's Place. I love the glitter jeans they have there...they are on sale for $5.59!!!! I have them in a bunch of sizes for Brynn for awhile b/c they were so cheap and they look so cute and in a way, a little bit throwback...you know, 70's style, which I LOVE.

Other bargains we found today: Nautica Kids was having 60% off, which is pretty good for them, Carter's had a bunch of summer stuff for $5 (shorts and t-shirts), and Gap had lots of stuff on sale in the baby dept. including 50% off pajamas, which I love their pj's b/c they last much longer than almost all other brands. So we did well today. I also found a cute polo shirt for our nephew/godson, Parker for $2.99....that's insane!

Speaking of deals, Dj and I also found a TON of great stuff at Gymboree in our mall last weekend--50% off or more and we found stuff for like $5.99 for Baylen...a LOT of stuff, actually in bigger sizes--things he will hopefully be in by the fall or winter of next year. Too good of bargains to pass up!

I realized after reading this, I sound like I have no life....or at least it sounds like I only shop for my kids...but I guess that's what happens when you become a mom..it's so much fun looking for new clothes for them. I just love it. Yes, it's a dangerous addiction.

I've got a porker on my hands

It's so true...Baylen is such a little (or should I say BIG?) porker! Before he was born, I went through Brynn's clothing bins and pulled out the stuff that was gender-neutral, such as some jeans, a few pairs of cotton pants, onesies, etc. Today he's wearing an outfit Brynn wore when she was like 5 months old! Last night, I put a pair of size 3-6 month pajamas on him and his feet are nearly bursting the seams...it's crazy! He has such long legs and big old feet...he must have inherited some of the Fitzpatrick traits as far as long legs and big feet...my brothers are both tall and have skis for feet too. It's so different to have one baby who could/can wear one size for months and another one who outgrows a size in a week or two! I just hope some of the bigger clothes we bought him before he was born still fit him in the right season, or I'll be a little bummed. I also hope his swimsuit fits him okay for the summer too. I bought him 3-6 months suits.....yikes. I better try them on this week and make sure, otherwise I'll take them back and get the next size up....

On another note, I accomplished a sh**-ton of stuff yesterday and today, for which I am extremely proud of...

*final set of yearbook pages done....check
*packed envelope with transcripts to send off to SPU...check
*finished two big papers and emailed them off to my teacher....check
*finished baby announcements....check
*sent off Nikki and Klas's wedding gift...check
*sent Megan's b-day present....check
*did 5 loads of laundry....check

This weekend we're getting profess. pics of the kiddos. I hope they turn out okay, as Brynn turns evil normally when we go and try to get this task accomplished successfully. I had to move them up a week b/c I was afraid one of Baylen's outfits wouldn't fit him two weeks from now. Thankfully they had a time slot open on Saturday. I hope Baylen cooperates too.

This weekend went wayyy too fast...

First of all....I'm totally BUMMED we couldn't go to Nikki and Klas's wedding reception...congrats, you two! It looked like it was a lot of fun :).

Second of all....I have GREAT NEWS....I have a ticket to go back in October for the Gamma Pi 60th celebration!!!! I am SO STOKED! Baylen and I are going back for a short weekend and it's going to be a blast! Can't wait to see everyone!

Finally: this weekend we spent a short time out at the "park" near our house just down the sidewalk. It was 65 degrees and beautiful so we took Brynna and Baylen out to get some fresh air. Brynn had a great time out, as you can (hopefully) see in this video I'm posting.


(Yes Briana, our wooden food is from that same company you mentioned, Melissa and Doug...I LOVE their products too!)

Life has this funny way of working out

I didn't have to go into work to leave lesson plans. Thank you God! They found another sub who says she will stay until next Friday. This means I get one more week off with my babe at home. This is wonderful news! She e-mailed me and told me how impressed she was with my organization skills. She must have found my sub binder I left for the first sub who is now MIA. Speaking of him, I still want to respond to the e-mail he sent me, but I am not quite sure how I want to word it yet. I'll figure it out and send it out sometime this weekend. I just want to let him know how disappointed I am and how much he let me down. I mean, for awhile there, he backed me into a corner and I was freaking out about having to make this quick and somewhat irrational decision about going back to work early. Not cool, buddy, so not cool.

Brynn has been really into puzzles for some time now. She loves putting them together and is really good at it. I bought her a couple of new ones at a cool toy store close to my school and her daycare. I opened the first one and she put it together in 5 minutes! I decided she needed more difficult puzzles. We went back today after picking her up from daycare and found a 12-piece puzzle. We'll see how long she'll work on that one...I think it will take her awhile. We also bought her some wooden fruit that you can cut with a wooden knife. The fruit can be stuck together (by velcro) and then you can "slice" it with the knife into pieces. It's really cool and she enjoyed playing with it tonight. I'll try and post some pics soon of her playing with it. The same company also makes other wooden foods to slice up as well, such as veggies, and sushi! LOL

Mary has to work all weekend b/c it's like some sort of National Webkinz weekend or something. I am sure they'll be really busy!

It's supposed to be nice weather tomorrow...we want to take the kiddos to the park up the sidewalk from our house and just be out in the warm sun. :)

still thinking about it

So I had these big plans to spend time with Baylen all next week, maybe go out to lunch with husband a couple times, and enjoy the last few days with Porkchop. Oh, and while he was napping, I was going to scrapbook like mad. But if I go back to work, that won't happen. Yes, I'm feeling sorry for myself right now.

I have not responded yet to my subj's email. I am thinking about exactly what I want to say to him. He said he "lost" my phone number, but you know what? I don't even want to talk to him on the phone. What else can he possibly say to me? Because of his irresponsible decision to leave early, he has forced me into a corner. He has forced me, in a way, to return to work a week b/f I was supposed to and has left my students out in the cold. I feel bad for them too. Oh, and he blamed all of this on THEM. He said it was "their fault and they couldn't handle it." Hmmmmm I am not so sure about that piece of information.

If I do return next week, or the week after, I'll need some baby fixes. Maybe husband and sister can bring baby in during their lunch hour?????

Pros of going back:
-I get out at 2:40 so as soon as school is out, I could drive home and still have a lot of time w/ baby and Brynnie
-I could get my kids back in line and back on track...they are far behind and we have a big project night that they have to present at at the end of the month
-I can get the rest of my 5th period to pay for their field trip and go on the trip no problems
-I can get my 5/6 ready for their theatre work they'll be doing the week of May 5
-I can get the letters ready to be sent out for CBA Night in 4 languages next week
-I can call my GS class's parents and schedule their student-led conferences
-I can wrap up last-minute yearbook stuff
-I can clean my room and get it back to the way it was
-I'll be really busy and distracted
-I'll get paid an extra week
-My sister will be w/ Baylen--he's not going to daycare until the fall
-Summer vacay will be here b/f we know it

Cons of going back
-i have to leave my baby
-i have to leave my baby (oh wait, I already said that one)
-I'll be cranky and no one will want to be around that
-I'll be tired
-I'll probably cry
-I'll have to pump at work during my lunch and risk the janitor walking in on me again. YIKES ON A BIKE

a better night last night

thanks for all of your kind comments, everyone. last night, I gave Baylen a bottle of 3 oz. around 10 p.m. He wanted more, so I gave him a little more on the breast and he was out like a light. I laid him in bed and he slept until 3 a.m. Thank the LORD! I needed sleep so badly last night. I was hurting by about 8 last night b/c the night b/f had been pretty brutal. I am hoping for another good night tonight. We're going for bottle of bm #2 tonight the next time he gets hungry. I'm going to try and keep him up here for a few more minutes if possible.

I think the prayers are helping too! Thanks, everyone! Sometimes as a mom, I just have those days where I feel like nothing is going right. It's amazing what a night of good sleep can do for a person. I feel like a million bucks today...well, that was until I heard that my sub quit on me. cripes! Velo is right: I need to punch him in the throat. LOL He needs to grow a pair and handle those kids. They aren't a bad group AT ALL! I guess at one point he became so desperate that he brought in his guitar and started singing to the kids. They did NOT love that at all. Oh well..he's gone now so I can't do anything about it except move on.

Baylen did sleep on his back better last night too. I didn't think the meds were working very well b/c yesterday Bay. was spitting up puddles again. But today, he's better and just having small, minor episodes. I guess it's only been about 5 days on the meds so we'll keep an eye on it. I really hope the meds work. That would be so great.

Are you kidding ME?

So I get a call from my VP today that he is going to have a "talk" with my sub and ask him if it's worth it if he stays. I guess he sent out 7 kids today and 4 kids yesterday from class. Today he (sub) emailed me and told me it was the worst day ever with the class and he wasn't sure if it was worth anymore. I am like...GREAT. And, as I've mentioned before, he emailed me like EVERY DAY he was there telling me how bad they were. Crimeny...if Mr. R. decides to leave, then the kids are really suffering the most here b/c then they have to deal with another new sub for 7 more days.

So these are my options in my mind: either...go in and tell a NEW sub all of the info and make new lesson plans for a week. This could take a LOT of my personal time that I don't have right now b/c of all the shit I've got going w/ yearbook, college class, and of course, home/kids OR go into work one week early. (technically I've been off for 6 weeks already and next week would have been #7..and, I'm not getting paid to be off right now.

shit...I don't know what to do. I don't really want the kids to have a new sub NOW b/c it's CBA time and unless you know what the process for this HUGE project is, a person coming in can't teach it effectively. I don't want to go into work to make new lesson plans for someone else. I don't want my co-workers/teachers to have to cover my classes for me b/c it sucks to lose your planning time. And the biggest issue: I don't want to go into work one week early and leave my baby. CRAP this SUCKS! I will talk with Dj about it tonight.

Maybe I could just go and teach my morning classes b/c they are so out of control with anyone else. I saw a bunch of them yesterday and they were like.."Mrs Fitz...when are you coming back? We need youuuuuuu!" I guess they miss their momma! LOL

Another problem I just thought of: Baylen has a Dr. Appt. next week in the a.m. on Thurs. and on Fri. I have a Dr. appt. (6 week)

hmmmmmm what to do? what to do?

ughhhhhh

I keep asking myself why my babies can't seem to sleep well at night. I must admit that I have always wanted to have a lot of children. But, now, I don't know if I could handle a third or forth bad sleeper. I don't know how my grandmother raised 9 children--all a year apart in age--and still maintained sanity. I bet she never slept. She never complains about it though. I feel like such a wimp for complaining about it so much, but I am getting a little scared to go back to work knowing that Baylen is still not sleeping well at all at night. I have tried having confidence in him, but it quickly depletes when he's up from 1-3:30 a.m. crying and nothing seems to be working. He has been doing better about sleeping on his back in the bassinet. But, the past couple nights he has this 2-3 hour phase in the middle of the night where he wants to cluster feed or be held or cry or get a tummy ache, or spit up puddles of milk, or whatever it is...there's always something. I keep praying to God to just let him get some peaceful rest and let his momma get some too...but for some reason, this prayer is not being answered. I keep asking myself why everyone else seems to have babies that sleep better at night. He's going to be 6 weeks old on Thursday and I go back to work on May 5th. I just don't know how I am going to function. I had this same sinking feeling when I was getting ready to return to work after having Brynn and I was off for like 12 weeks with her and she still was sleeping awful. I remember just being in a daze for weeks at school and it was no fun. :( Tonight I'm going to try giving his first 2 night feedings with bottles of bm and see if that makes any difference vs. the natural way to feed him. Perhaps that will stop the cluster feeding problem. Sometimes I think he thinks he needs the boob to fall asleep--his way to self-soothe b/c he doesn't know how else to fall asleep. There are times when he refuses the pacifier and just wants to pretend to nurse, but really he falls asleep. grrrr Oh and to top it off, Brynn woke up right as Baylen fell back asleep and so I had to go in and rock her. No sleep for momma is going to catch up with her soon.

All of this wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have yearbook pages to finish (due Thursday), 2 papers to finish for my class (due Thursday), a class to attend (Thursday), photos to go take today after school for the yearbook, plus a Power Point preso to start and finish by May 5th. So much for being relaxed on maternity leave.

Okay that is my rant for today. I'm tired b/c my husband is out of town and whenever he's gone, my children seem to relapse.

Sunday

Well I think the meds are working for Baylen. He still spits up, of course, but I feel like he's spitting up a smaller amount each time and less amounts at once. I hope the meds continue to work for our little man. Now if we could only get his sleeping patterns on track. I think he had a tummy ache last night b/c he would NOT lay down for anything. One a.m. rolls around and he's still crying. Dj took him down to the swing and he slept in that for about 5 hours before he woke up to eat again. At least his tummy felt better by six this morning. After he ate, I laid him down in the bassinet and he slept for 3 more hours comfortably. I really hope that he will sleep in his back tonight in that bassinet. He did on Thursday and Friday nights..we KNOW he can do it!

Oh and I had to include a couple of pics of him with his Jordan outfit on. :) I can't wait to find him more Jordan outfits as he grows older. LOL :)

Acid Reflux

Well, I got Baylen into the Dr. today . I decided after multiple spit-up sessions this morning that it was time to get him in. Dr. said he thinks Bay has many symptoms of acid reflux. So, he gave us some medicine to try and hopefully it will work. it is called Axid and it is supposed to taste like bubble gum. We give it to the baby 3x a day. I am praying it will help our little guy out and help him feel better. Despite his huge spit-up sessions, he has been gaining weight like a champ. He weighed a whopping 9 pounds, 15 ounces today at 5 weeks old! Imagine how much he would weigh today if he kept all that milk IN him since day one...LOL

Let's hope this medicine works!

Lots going on

Well, there has been a lot going on the past couple of days. Brynna must be coming down with some sort of bug because her teachers told me today when I picked her up that she didn't eat her lunch today (rare for her--she's a good eater), she was asking for "mommy, mommy" all day and she had two diapers of diarrhea. They took her temperature and it was 99.8, so not a fever, but I can tell she's not feeling her best...poor thing :( I am keeping her home tomorrow and was planning to keep her home on Friday anyway b/c Dj is taking the day off, so we thought we could spend some time together. I hope she starts feeling better and doesn't pass whatever she has on to the rest of us.

Brynna has been adjusting really well to Baylen, so we're glad about that. She wants to help out all the time now and wants to hold him quite often. She is a really great big sister! She copies a lot of the ways we take care of Baylen with her own baby dolls. I bought her a little doll stroller at Target the other day and she loves pushing her babies around in that thing. IT's cute! She puts her babies in Baylen's swing, she feeds them, gives them a pacifier, feeds them bottles, and burps them. she even lays them on the floor and tells me "shh, mommy, baby sleeping!" It is so cute! She even copies mommy "pummping" as you'll see a picture of that I put at the top of this blog. She would kill me if she was older and saw that I posted this pic. Oh well! hahaha

Baylen slept pretty well last night but was up from 4-5 a.m. spitting up. Poor kid...he spits up A LOT. I know that some babies have this issue, and he definitely is one of them. Even when he is burped well, he still spits up. This morning, he went through 3 sleepers and 3 burp cloths because of all the puddles of spit up coming out of his little mouth. Yuck! I hope he grows out of it. He has a Dr. appt. on the 30th of April, so I am going to ask him if that is normal or what we can do to keep his milk INSIDE his tummy. I decided that maybe he was getting too much all at once when he was nursing, so I let him eat for like 3-5 minutes and then I take him off and burp him. Then I let him eat for a few more minutes and burp him again. He burps and still spits up, but the amount of spit up seems to be much less when I do it. We'll see if it continues to work or not.

Oh and speaking of Mr. Porkchop, he turned one month old on Sunday. Technically he was 4 weeks old last THursday, but I also count him being one month from March 13-April 13. So I copied Erin's photo idea and took his pic. Love it! :0

My sister has been here since my mom arrived last week and she has a job already! She is working for Hallmark. All of the places she applied to have called her back and wanted an interview. She took the job with Hallmark quickly because she knew it would be a good place for her not to spend her paycheck! I think it will be pretty easy job and a good way for her to make some money. She is working nights and weekends and is considered part-time. We are so glad that she decided to put her social and personal life on hold to come out and help us. She is a big help and we are so grateful that she is here. It's so nice to have a third person to help around the house with the babes!

So Ready for Summer

It was cold out today. It was 70 on Saturday. We are ready for summer. So is Brynna. :) We tried on her swimsuits over the weekend to make sure they fit. I'm worried that her cute little tulip one I bought her at Gymboree won't fit 3 months from now when we are in Iowa so I ended up ordering another one the next size up just in case. I can't wait for warm weather every day. I am sure all of you feel the same. Maybe that's why I've been so grumpy lately. Or maybe I'm just tired and that explains my grumpy disposition. hmmmm.

yep it was

...too good to be true b/c Baylen didn't have a very good night last night. I finally got him down about midnight and then he woke up around 4 and again at 6:30. Looks like the Baylen we know has returned. The guy who visited us for two nights was nice, though, I must admit. I wonder what happened to that guy!

My long-term sub who is covering for me is an interesting fellow. I thought he would be really good, but maybe I was wrong. I think he's really stressed out...my morning core has been hard on him the past couple of weeks. It makes me wonder what is going on in there only because I love my morning class--they are a great group of kids. So, I hope he can hang on until I return on May 5th. The thing that annoys me most is that he keeps emailing me telling me how awful they are and how difficult the class is. What the hell am I supposed to do about it? I am not going in there to tell the kids to behave. That's not my job. I'm on leave. I'm taking care of babies at my home. Why would you tell a new mother this? (especially since he has 3 kids of his own, including one set of twins, so he knows what it is like to have babies in the house) He emailed me one day telling me he kicked out 8 kids at once. What the heck? I'm confused. If he's having that much trouble, then he needs to ask the admin for help. He finally did ask them for help after like 13 days of craziness. I don't know why it took him so long. A couple days before that, I ended up copying one of the emails he sent me and forwarded it to the admin and asked that they help him out. The responded right away, so I don't know why he couldn't handle it by asking for help himself. He also emailed me one day telling me how much chewing gum and kids popping their gum bothered him. Really? Is THAT what's causing all the issues? Because seriously, let it go, dude...let it go.

I posted a picture of my mom, Brynna, and Baylen. She left on Saturday.

2 nights in a row

Baylen slept through the night two nights in a row. Now I should clarify that he still does not like sleeping on his back, flat. Right now he sleeps in the Baby Papasan Chair and so we're going to be working on that sleeping on the back thing soon....hopefully. Otherwise we wasted $$ on a bassinet he'll never sleep in.

Anyway, Crystal is totally right....being sleep deprived is one thing but then when you go from waking up every couple of hours to sleeping 5 or 6 hours in a row, that feels worse . I feel more tired than before. Go figure.

too good to be true?

Baylen slept through the night last night. It was crazy and I can't believe it. I'm not sure if it's too good to be true or not. I hope it doesn't mean that he is getting sick. He is officially one month old tomorrow already, so I guess it could be real, but we'll see. I was freaking out b/c I woke up this morning and it was 7 a.m. and I realized he had not been awake all night. I freaked out because my first thought was maybe I didn't hear him, but then I realized that would be impossible b/c he sleeps two feet away from me...then I looked over and I saw he was still sleeping soundly. He has been sleeping on and off all day today, so I think he must be going through a growth spurt because I know one way babies grow is when they are sleeping. We took his temp when we got home today to make sure he was fine, and he didn't have a temp. I wonder how he'll sleep tonight...

I am one of those moms & A new nickname

In the last couple of days, I decided that Baylen needed a nickname and out of nowhere, I decided that I should call him "Porkchop." Yeah, I know, it's definitely not what you expected to hear, but I just giggle every time I think about it. It totally fits my little one. He is still a big eater and he's getting pretty thick. I think he is going to be so much bigger than Brynn ever was at this age and as he grows. He's going to catch up with her fast. So, he's my little porkchop...pronounced "poke-chop" LOL

On another note, I am definitely one of "those" moms who loves to dress her kids in matching outfits. I have been able to find a few things that both my kids can wear and I just think it's the cutest thing ever. :) Of course, you'll see in that last picture that their daddy had just a little something to do with their matching Apple outfits.

6 words

The Six Words meme.
Here are the rules:
1) Write your own six word memoir
2) Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3) Link to the person that tagged you in your post
4) Tag at least five more blogs with links
5) Don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

Out Shopping today

Today my mom, sister, the kids and I went out shopping. We started at the mall because Mary, my sister had to drop off a few applications. She is going to be taking care of Baylen during the day when Dj and I are at work, and then on nights and weekends, she wants to work a part-time job. Mary dropped off apps at Hallmark, the Gap and at Bath & Body Works and already she has interviews at all three next week! I secretly and selfishly hope she gets the job at Gap so we can get Baby Gap discounts because I L-O-V-E that store and we buy a lot of baby clothes there...well when they are on sale, anyway. I rarely pay full price for any baby clothes because I know how cheap I can get them at the outlets and when they do go on sale. I think I could go crazy if we got extra discounts there....plus at Old Navy and BR....omg I can see how bad that could get for me! LOL

Anyway, the original goal was to go out and find some new pj's for Brynna b/c she is growing out of most of her pairs all of a sudden. We went to a lot of stores and came out with lots of other cute clothes EXCEPT for pajamas....my bad! So we're going to Target and Old Navy tomorrow and hopefully I'll find what we *ahem* really need. I bought a couple of summer outfits for the kiddos today at various stores and my mom bought a super cute swimsuit for Baylen and I bought the matching sunhat. Macy's was also having a Clinique Bonus, and I haven't bought make-up in a long time from there, so I bought some cool new eyeshadow and some eyeliner so I could get all the goodies in the free gift.

Tonight we are hanging out and my mom is playing the Wii...funny stuff! Dj, Mary and mom are laughing at each other and I think my mom is about peeing her pants! I'll be sad when she leaves on Saturday. *sigh*

Baylen and Baylen meet for the first time

      Baylen in 8th grade (above and below)

Baylen and Baylen meet for first time!

A lot of people have been asking me where we found or heard the name Baylen.  My second year of teaching, I was very fortunate to have a very special student in my 5th period class named Baylen.  He was a great kid--very polite, funny, and a good boy.  He was also a momma's boy, and raised to treat everyone with kindness and respect.  Everyone loved Baylen because he was such a good kid.  Over the years, Baylen and I have kept in touch...he'll stop by and say hi or we'll see each out out on the track by the high school, etc.  Anyway, I always loved his name and I always thought it would be a cool name to add to my list of baby names in case I ever had a son.  When Dj and I were talking about baby names a long time ago and I told him how much I liked that name, he was not fond of it.  However, after we found out we were pregnant again with our second baby and we found out it was a boy, we kind of decided we liked sticking with a "B" name theme.  So, I brought out the name Baylen once again and Dj all of a sudden decided he really liked the way it sounded with our middle name for the baby, Blake.  (Blake is Dj's middle name and it is also his grandma's maiden name)  Also, we liked the way it sounded next to Brynna's name.  So on the evening of the Parade of Nations performance, the big Baylen stopped by to say hi and meet the new Baylen.  He was so proud to have a namesake...and of course, I had to get their photo together.  So, big Baylen is now 19 years old...he has come a long way since 8th grade!  I posted a couple of pictures of him that I found in my yearbook archives from school when he was in 8th grade and then the newest pic of him and my little guy.  

Parade of Nations

Last week, Brynna experienced her very first performance on stage.  She was part of our school's annual Parade of Nations, which is a cultural talent show and fashion show.  This show is so hard to describe unless you have seen it in person or been a part of it.  It is so amazing and every year, it just gets more unbelievable.  Anyway, usually, I am a part of the fashion show.  My friend who organizes and plans the entire production always talks me into representing some country and she always provides me with an outfit to wear, so it's been pretty fun.  In the past, I have been from India and Mexico...pretty believable, right?   haha   Well this year, b/c of being pregnant/just having a baby, I was not going to be a part of the show.  Bobbie asked me of Brynn was going to be in the fashion show this year and if she wanted to wear a Chinese dress and share part of her culture.  (Brynna is a quarter Chinese and a quarter Thai)  Of course, we couldn't turn it down!   Bobbie's granddaughter wore this same dress a couple of years ago, so she already had the dress on hand and delivered it to me in class one day.  

As the show became closer, I was a bit nervous how she would do on stage...would she be fine or would she freak out and start crying?  We went to the dress rehearsal the day before, but we had to leave early b/c Bee had a Dr. appt. and we never did get to practice on stage.   I found out later that night (after calling Bobbie) that we had to walk up to the microphone and introduce ourselves, then give a little explanation about her dress, what it was called and what country she represented.  Brynna did great for both the morning and evening performances!  She walked up with me, holding my hand and stood there just fine as I talked into the mic.  At the evening performance, she even waved b/c she saw her daddy in the audience waving at her.  The audience was eating her up! :)  

Finally a Good night..and then an eruption

Last night Baylen had a great night of sleeping.  He started wanting to nurse around 8 p.m., and then got hungry again around 9:30.  I had Dj give him a bottle of bm (2 oz.) around that time and he was pretty sleepy.  We went upstairs and by the time we got up there, he was awake already and I was sure he was going to be up for awhile.  I ended up nursing him one more time around 10:30 and he was out for the count by 11.  He didn't wake up again until about 3:30 a.m.!  I was sooooo shocked, but pleased at the same time.  This is a boy who was eating on the dot every hour and a half or two hours even at night.  I think we'll try this little system again this evening and see what happens.  I'm hoping for the best.  :0  

The only thing that was disturbing about the longer sleep times was that my boobs felt like they were about ready to explode by 3:30 a.m.  It's funny how your body adjusts to feeding an infant, say every hour or two, and then when it doesn't happen for 4 hours straight, how it reacts so quickly.  I'm glad my boobs didn't literally explode but they were burning pretty badly.  Around 9:30, when Bay was having his second breakfast since 7 a.m., he ate fine but about 10 minutes after he was done, he had a HUGE projectile spit-up session.  I swear, it was like a volcano--it just kept coming out.  This has happened once before with him, except that was about 2 weeks ago and he was laying in the papsan chair when I saw spit-up fly across the floor and hit my nightstand.  Now this is a baby who is very "spitty" in my opinion.  The kid can spit up massive amounts even a half hour later after eating (and even after being thoroughly burped), so I immediately thought maybe he has some sort of acid reflux thing going on.  However, this projectile thing doesn't happen all the time...so maybe he doesn't.  Then I got to thinking that perhaps I was so "full" of milk that when he was eating, he was sucking in too much at once and his little tummy couldn't handle such a big amount so quickly, and that caused the projectile spitting.  I'll have to keep an eye on him and monitor this more closely.       Needless to say, after the 2nd thought crossed my mind, I pumped as soon as I got the chance after showering this a.m. around 10:30. 

Tonight my mom and my sister, Mary will be arriving.  I can't tell you how ecstatic I am that they are finally here.  It will be nice to have some extra help around and even an extra set of hands to pass a baby off to.  My mom is here until Saturday and my sister is staying with us until at least July.  She is going to be taking care of Baylen for us during the day when I return to work in early May.  I am thankful that she is willing and able to do this and taking time out of her social schedule to help us out.  It will be fun to have her here with us.

Brynn's regression has seemed to have dissipated...at least for now anyway and I am also thankful for that.  The last few days, she has been back to her sweet, happy little self.  It's been so wonderful to have that Brynna back!  I hope she sticks around!

goodbye, farewell...

I packed my maternity clothes away today.    Three weeks later, I am so fortunate to have "parts" of my "former body" back in order, although some other parts need some major toning.  Taking about 7 months off from any kind of major exercise was probably not the best idea.  Oh well.  It took me months to get back what I considered a sensible size after Brynna was born.  In fact, I was almost back to my pre-preggo weight this summer and then I found out I was pregnant again. I gained nearly 40 pounds when I was pregnant with her, and for good reason, as I ate about every sweet thing known to man for 6 months straight.  I was lucky to only have gained that 37.   Baylen was a different story...I only gained 16 with him, which is way below normal, so I was lucky to lose a big part of that right after he was born.  Lucky me.   When I return to work in early May, I am getting back on the treadmill at school in our fitness center and running my butt off until I can get back into ALL of my favorite jeans instead of just some of them.  In the meantime, I need to stop eating the mother-load of peanut M&M's because lately, I have been craving them like mad.  I don't know if it is b/c I am breast feeding constantly and that's my one fix, or what, but that seriously needs to stop.  Why can't I crave apples or strawberries...hell, even carrots?  

I know Easter is over but...

            Easter Bunny or Pet Cemetery Bunny?  (yikes)
Brynn after she "meets" Evil Easter Bunny

I had to share this on my blog b/c even though my daughter was traumatized by that Easter Bunny you see above, it still makes me crack up.  My daughter's daycare is a great place and I could ramble all day about how much I love her school.  However, they definitely need a new E.B. costume.  This one looks like he should be carrying an ax around or even be in the movie, Pet Cemetery.  Not only did he scare many toddlers that day, apparently, even 3 and 4-year-olds were scared and didn't want to sit on his lap.  And who could blame them?  haha

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back...

Boy has this been an interesting, yet trying couple of weeks.  Two Saturdays ago, we visited our pediatrician for the Baylen's first official check-up and second PKU test.  After he examined Baylen, he told us he wanted to talk to us now as parents of TWO children.  He said he had some advice for us...he continued to explain how important it was to avoid setting our expectations too high for our oldest child, even now as an 18-month old.  He mentioned that we should expect that she would regress in some of her behaviors or habits, and that certain things she was doing before, she might refuse to do.   He said to give into some of these habits if she does regress, and to just really be aware that she is adjusting just as much as we are, even if she doesn't show it right away.  He reminded us that she is still a baby/young toddler herself and we can't expect her to act any different than her age.   I felt so relieved as he was saying all of this, because I felt like we had been forcing ourselves to treat her like a "big girl" before we were ready for that.  I also felt like we were automatically expecting her to behave a certain way now that the baby was here and we both felt guilty about it.  Dr. Dong made us feel so much better about the entire situation.

Before our second baby was born, we had been working really hard to get rid of Bee's "mi-mi" (pacifier) and we were almost down to just having it in her bed...but baby came and all of that hard work went down the tubes.  Regression #1:  Brynn wants her pacifier ALL the time.   It isn't that we minded giving into that habit and allowing her to have it that bothered us.  It was the constant whining that went along with the demand for the mi-mi.  She would just break down into tears, sobs even, if we didn't produce that mi-mi immediately.    We also decided that since she doesn't use one at daycare (apparently she doesn't need one there but needs one with mom and dad at home....) that having one at home would be okay.  We'll work on getting rid of it when she has adjusted a little more to the new brother.  

Regression #2: major meltdowns at home and in public...Brynn used to be the best little shopper no matter where we went.  That all changed in the blink of an eye...on our first trip to Target as a foursome, Bee wants Dj or I to pick her up and carry her around the store, instead of sitting in the cart.  She refuses to ride in the cart and screams and cries if we don't pick her up.  We gave in the first couple of trips to Target, and took turns carrying her around or letting her walk beside us, holding our hand.   However, last weekend's trip was the final straw.  After Dj refused to pick her up and carry her around, she began crying loudly and would not stop.  Dj was trying to finish up the shopping b/c I was dealing with Baylen in the other cart and getting him a bottle ready since he was going into meltdown mode himself.  I heard Brynna crying the entire time Dj was rolling around picking up the last few items.  It was embarrassing.  Now I know what those parents feel like when their child is causing a scene and everyone stares.   I told Dj we were not going to keep carrying her around all the time, that she needed to sit in the cart and shop with us.  If she could not do that, then the next time she had a fit, one of us would take her to the car and sit with her.   We will give in to some of these behaviors, but not all of them.  Throwing fits in public is one I won't deal with.   At home, we were seeing the same types of behaviors.  If she was told "no" then she would start throwing a fit, crying, whining, or fall on the floor and throw a tantrum.  This was the NOT the sweet little girl we were used to raising.  

Regression #3:  Waking up in the middle of the night...Granted, Brynn was never a great sleeper until she was about six months old.  However, the past few months, we had become accustomed to sleeping all night with no interruptions and experiencing the wonderful feeling of getting 8 hours of sleep.  When Baylen came home, Miss Brynn figured out quickly that he was staying in our room at night and she wanted to be included, too.  Our worst night came on Tuesday night when she woke up around 1:30 and would not go back down to sleep.  She would wake up just sobbing and screaming uncontrollably.  I was worried our neighbors were going to freak out that something was really wrong with her b/c she was crying so hard.  One of us would go in and comfort her and rock her back to sleep.  The nights prior to Tues., she was content with the rocking and would go back to sleep fine until morning.  Tuesday she was NOT giving in.  Finally, I threw in the towel and brought her in bed w/ us for a couple of hours so she (and we) could sleep.  Around 4:30, I woke up and took her back to her own bed and she stayed asleep until it was time to get her up for daycare. 

 Dj and I agreed that was the worst night ever!  I am hoping and praying that she will adjust soon.  It breaks my heart every time I think about how much the new baby has changed her world and she is trying to make sense of why she has to share mommy and daddy's time all of a sudden.  I feel so guilty about it, and I guess that is just part of being a mom and bringing more kids into the family.