Post-surgery update

Baylen's surgery went well. He's been a little sleepy today, but overall, it was a smooth procedure. He was very scared when I took him into surgery and they put the gas mask on his little face. Luckily, they let me hold him until he had inhaled enough of the gas that they could lay him down and he wouldn't struggle or start crying. Talk about a freaky moment. Then I kissed him and as I was leaving, I became emotional...after all, this is my little mister we're talking about here. As I exited, we were told to go back to the waiting room and they would call us back when he was close to waking up. Bay was in there all of 10-15 minutes and then we were called back to recovery and as soon as we arrived, he started waking up. He was definitely confused and a little disoriented when waking up, but he recognized us quickly and clung on tight once I was able to pick him up. He was SO hungry by the time the surgery was finished so he drank 8 oz of formula quite quickly. Dr. S. mentioned that he had quite a bit of fluid in his left ear, so we're thinking he had another ear infection...glad we got the tubes when we did. We have to put ear drops in his ears for the next few days and he had tiny pieces of cotton in them when we woke from surgery. I'm hoping he'll sleep well tonight.



Baylen was TOTALLY laughing at me when I put on the "scrub" outfit. He found it quite hilarious and was so curious, wondering why mommy was wearing such a weird get-up.

Happy V-Day Part II

I did not have time to get photos sent out in the mail for VDay but thought I'd try and create what I had originally planned to do and just never got around to it until it was too late. I must say that what I envisioned the photos to turn out like, did not become a reality. However, despite some very difficult subjects who were also very crabby and uncooperative, you probably would not believe me based on the evidence below. Subject B1, AKA Monkey 1, was not thrilled to hold the X, she wanted the O. Subject B2, AKA Monkey 2 tried eating the O, hence the wetness and bleeding black marker you'll see at the bottom on some of the pics, which also caused him to have black lips. B2 also refused to sit still for nearly all the photos so it's amazing any of them turned out in the end. I'd say it was more of an exercise workout to get them to actually sit in the chair together vs. an actual opportunity to capture a few "natural" shots. haha Anyway, I had some fun with most of the photos, messing around with some in Photoshop and others in iPhoto.

We hope you had a day full of Hugs and Kisses! :)

XOXOXOXO

Go Cyclones!

We were very happy to see ISU Cyclones win a game FINALLY over Colorado last night. It's about time we had a win! :)

Bay is pretty happy in this pic but this is not a great representation of his mood this week. He's transitioning over to the Waddlers room and b/c of that his napping schedule is all out of whack. Everything he once knew about 2 naps a day will now be scaled down to one a day after lunch. It's been so hard on him esp. this week with his ear infection, teething, etc. But, he loves being next door with all the "movers." He plays so hard with those kids and then by the time I pick him up, he is just exhausted and can barely keep his eyes open. Then when we get home and eat supper, he just cries and cries in his high chair and has been refusing to eat much of anything. This is not a good thing b/c he needs to have food in his system before he can have his e.i. meds. I don't know what else to do to get him to eat. He barely touches anything I give him no matter if it's baby food or table food. It's been quite frustrating but I"m hoping that once he is more accustomed to his new schedule at daycare that he'll be a happier guy at the dinner table. Changes in schedules are so hard on babies...and parents too!

Update on the update

Baylen has double ear infection. Again. This makes #5. Poor kid. Dr. D. prescribed him a new antibiotic that starts w/ a C. (can't think of the name right now) and he told us that he has two more kinds of meds to try if he gets any more e.i.'s and if those don't work then we'll be going to see the ENT doc to see about tubes. LEt's just hope this is the last freaking one. forever.

Poor little Bay-bee

Mister Mister is in a lot of pain. Last night he was up from 1:30-3 a.m. just crying and wide awake, and at times, inconsolable. When I finally gave up and tried putting some Orajel on his little gums, I could feel HUGE bumps where his "eye" teeth are coming in on top. Since last night at supper, he's barely eaten anything. He will take his bottles, but that's about it. I feel so bad for him and tonight we gave him some Motrin and Orajel and hopefully he'll get some good sleep in tonight. Poor guy. I just wish there was more I could do to help him not feel any of the pain of teething. It has been so hard on him, just as it has on Brynn. I'll be sure to get out the frozen teethers tomorrow. As you might notice, I didn't edit any part of this picture. I just left his little cheeks so you could see how red they are and how they break out whenever he's teething hardcore. He's been battling these break outs on his cheeks for the past 2 weeks. :( I just want those darn teeth to break through!

Baylen's walkin'

He's taking more and more steps each day....here's a snippet of him. You can hear Brynn in the background always trying to shove something in his face and play with him. funny stuff.

Check-Up Recap

This weekend is full of recaps. Brynna and Baylen had their 2-year and 6 month appointments yesterday morning. Brynna weighs 23 pounds, 12 ounces. She is 32 1/4 inches tall. Her weight and height place her in the 10th percentile. Baylen is 21 pounds, 12 ounces and 27 1/4 inches tall. He is in the 90th percentile for both weight and height. I can't believe Bay has only 2 lbs before he catches up with Brynn. It will be interesting to see when he'll catch up and surpass her! I am sure he'll be 30 by a year, if not more.

Our Ped. was impressed that Baylen was crawling already.

Baylen has moved into size 12-18 months and Brynn is in sizes 12-18, 18-24 in pants and 18-24/24 months and 2T in tops. A couple of nights ago, Baylen's pj's were either too small or all in the wash, so we put on a pair of Brynn's on him (they are unisex in colors and content...no worries) and they totally fit him. He also wears bigger sized diapers than her, now wearing a size 4. Brynn is still in a size 3. We had to move him to the next size b/c his thighs were too chunky for the 3's and they were cutting off his circulation! :)

Besides growing like a weed, Baylen is also quickly outgrowing his bucket/baby carseat. Next weekend we're going to buy a bigger carseat. We'll move Brynna to the bigger one we're buying next weekend and then Baylen will move into the big boy, smaller Britax seat. I think he'll enjoy the move. He seems pretty uncomfortable in the bucket.

Happy Birthday, to my Little Bee

My first baby is growing up so fast. I know I always say this, but two years have flown by. Brynna loved her birthday party and I am sure she'll be talking about it for a long time. This morning she was singing, "Happy Birthday" to herself and asking where the pinniee-ah-yah-ta was.

Today, she is having fun playing with all of her new toys. My dad assembled the new kitchen he and mom bought for her this morning and she came down and started cooking us mac 'n cheese and washing dishes. Baylen tried to take her dishes and she kept taking them away, saying "noooo, Baylen, mine!" Right now she is serenading Baylen on her princess piano from Cade, Tami and Brian. Baylen must find it soothing b/c he's sleeping soundly in his carseat. She'll have to play for him more often! ha!

Baylen loved the party too and just watched and played with all of the kids. He loved playing with Brynn's balloons today. He didn't mind wearing the party hat, either! :)

School Starts Tomorrow

School is here! We start tomorrow morning. I am never "ready" for the kids to come but once they start arriving, and as the days start to fly by, it starts to click about week 2. My room is ready, all of my copies are made, and the posters that need to be up are on the walls. I should be ready. But I'm not. I think it's because now that I have been in meetings for the past week and a half, and then coming home and being with the kids, I realize how much I miss being with them and all of our days we spent together. Yes, some of those summer days were crazy, and yes, sometimes I wished I was working right then and there, but now that work is here, I don't want to go. It's not that I don't love my job...I do. It's not that I don't love the kids...I do. It's just getting back in the groove that's always the most difficult.

B & B are doing well and enjoying being at "school" with their friends. I think Baylen is definitely one of the biggest babies in the baby room and he's starting to like his baby food again the past couple of days. He has agreed to eat applesauce and sweet potatoes. Hopefully he has decided to end his baby food eating strike.

Brynn is getting excited for her birthday and talks about it quite often. Sept. 14 will be here before we know it. She is almost done with the pacifier...we're down to bed and that's it, which is a long way from where we were in March.

Mister Porkchop and Princess Peanut

Lots of random things to write about today:


Mister Baylen Boo is quite the star at our house right now, because he is doing so well sleeping on his back. Last night, he didn't want to sleep in his carseat at all. REPEAT: he wanted nothing to do with his carseat. :O) He went down about 10 and up at 3:30. He didn't really want to eat and really I think just woke up b/c he had a full diaper. An hour of messing around later, he finally went back down to sleep on his back and was still sleeping when I went in this morning at 8 to check on him. I had to wake him up at 9!

One thing that is very scary though about this sleeping in the pack-n-play..when I went to check on him at 8, he was sleeping on his tummy. That little smartie rolled over and was sleeping soundly. It SCARES me to death that he has figured out how to roll over and sleep that way, just because SIDS scares the hell out of me. I know I am going to have to go check on him several times in the night now just to make sure he's okay...he can lift his head up really well and he's really strong, but still, I don't like it!!!

Brynn loves her new teacher and her new teacher LOVES her. She is one of two girls in the class, and the rest are BOYS. Those boys are sure wild little things! Anyway, Miss Kathy loves Bee because she is so sweet, polite--says please and thank you, and because she listens. (I'm glad she listens to someone!) Brynn has finally mastered the art of jumping off the ground and there's actually air underneath her jump. It's just hilarious to watch. I did manage to record it, so I'll try to get it up later tonight if I have time.

Bee's birthday is fast approaching...Sept. 14 she'll be two years old already. It doesn't seem possible that in about three short weeks, we'll be celebrating. Dj and I have bought her a lot of little gifts this year, although part of me wishes we would have looked into getting like a slide or a sandbox or something like that...a bigger toy. But, I think she'll like the things we picked out for her. Dj really wanted to get her a Baby Alive baby doll, so after much thought, we chose the wets 'n' wiggles doll b/c the baby wets her diaper and it can be changed. We also bought her another set of Melissa and Doug cutting food, a couple of books, a cute little sweater dress with polka dots from Gymboree, and a Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See? puzzle.

I am thinking we'll do a Sesame Street theme and I liked Kati B's Elmo cupcakes she made for Tyler last year, so I think I'll make those for her daycare friends and the party at school. I just hope this year she isn't sick as a dog like she was last year. :(

First Day of School

I have a lot of posts here today--3 already and who knows? I might get to more later. There are so many I need to catch up on from our Iowa Trip. I finally loaded all the videos and such and so now I will work on them little by little in iMovie and try to post a few.

Anyway, both kids had their first day of school today. (Well, Daycare, but we always refer to it as school). Brynna remembered instantly everyone and started saying, "Look, Nicky!" "Look, Jacob!" "Look, Colby!" and also saw quite a few of her favorite teachers from last year and the year before. We took her into her new classroom and immediately, the boys started circling around her and pulling at her pigtails and just kind of getting in her face a little bit. I think they were excited to have her back. She was trying to ignore them pulling at her, and had to push a couple of them away and out of her "space." Anyway, as soon as I left out the classroom door, she saw me and ran to the door and started sobbing calling "Mommy!!!!!" It was so heart wrenching. Of course, all I wanted to do was go running back in there and pick her up and tell her it was okay, but I know from experience that was not the right thing to do, b/c it would make it worse. Plus, I was going to be back to pick her up in 2 hours. Also, Brynna has to wear a bike helmet now when they go outside to play b/c they are playing on more cemented areas. While it scares me that she'll fall or get pushed down and get all scraped up, it does make me feel better they wear helmets for more protection. We bought a cute one at Target for her and she actually likes wearing it. She wanted to wear it to daycare this morning in the car!

Baylen's drop off next door went smoothly. He had a great time playing with all of the other babies and his teachers told me he did a great job and was a good baby. Let's hope he continues to be a good baby for them! He's such a sweetie when he's in a good mood. I am sure he had a lot to look at and there were babies crawling all over the place! :) It makes me happy to know he's one of the younger ones so he'll get a little more contact time b/c he's not so mobile yet. I was sad to leave him, but I know his teachers really well, and I know he'll be fine with both of them. It wasn't as hard as I thought, but then again, it was only for 2 hours...I was back in a short time to pick them up.

(Speaking of good baby, Mister had a good night of sleep--the BEST in a long time, I might add. He slept from 10-4:20 am and then from 5-8:40 a.m.) GOOD BOY! We fed him a 6 oz. bottle of formula (i have to save the bm for daycare) and then I nursed him about an hour later after his bath and he was out. NICEEEEEEEEE. Let's hope it continues. He only made it sleeping on his back in the PnP for about 1.5 hours, but did sleep in his carseat for rest of night. We'll get there on the sleeping on his back thing...step by step. He also loved his new bottles w/ a different nipple...adjusted VERY easily.)

Sat. Night Fun

We had a busy weekend this past couple of days. Sat. night (Dj's bday) we went over to eat dinner with some very good friends of ours. All of us have kids around the same ages, so it's always fun to see them interact and play together. Cade and Brynna couldn't wait to get into the swimming pool and Brynn jumped in with her clothes on! So, after that, C and B decided to shed their garmets and jump in nude. It was quite the funny scene seeing them slide down the slide into the pool naked. So cute! I will not post pics of them doing that on here to avoid any "reporting" of inappropriate pics, but you get my point--they were having fun!
We ate some VERY yummy food (fajitas) and drank some very yummy drinks that were mixed to perfection and had just enough alcohol to create a little tipsy feeling! LOL

Anyway, it was so fun seeing everyone and we hope to do it again soon at our house. Brynna always enjoys playing with Elsi, Sofia and Cade. She LOVEd all of S and E's neat toys both in their playroom and outside! :) Baylen enjoyed being outside all night and loved being passed around to everyone.

5 Months Old

Baylen turned 5 months old yesterday. I know everyone says this, but man, our kids grow up way too fast. Brynna will be turning 2 next month and I cannot wrap my mind around that fact, yet either.

Mister has been quite the boy since he arrived back in March. Here are some (mostly) fun things he's been doing lately:

-holding his own bottle
-rolling over everywhere, including in his Pack n Play
-trying to sit up on his own
-laughing hysterically when mom or dad try to "eat" his fingers
-laughs when he's tickled
-tries to pull Brynna's hair ANY chance he gets...seriously and it's so funny, although Bee doesn't think so
-enjoys his saucer
-starting to dislike his swing...he's figured out when all else fails, I put him in there to try and go to sleep
-screams at the top of his lungs OFTEN when he cries, which seems to be OFTEN these days--this is ear piercing (I feel sorry for our neighbors at times, esp. at 3 in the morning)
-I think his 2 bottom teeth are working their way through
-sucks on his fingers/hands constantly
-still enjoys his pacifier
-loves to play with his feet/eat his feet
-enjoys chewing on cold washcloths
-wears 3-6 mo. clothes, 6 mo. clothes and some 6-9 and 6-12 mo. clothes, depending on brand
-still not a great sleeper at night
-takes anywhere from 4-8 oz. of milk
-when he drinks a bottle with formula in it, he drinks it SOOOO slowwwwww....he doesn't really like taking a bottle from mom
-is eating some rice cereal
-is starting to get hair!!!
-his eczema is starting to go away on his head/scalp, thankfully!
-is a strong little guy....very strong
-I can tell he is going to be one stubborn little guy....

He's been really fussy lately, and I'm hoping it's just a short-lived phase. It's definitely been a little frustrating for me, esp, if he has been crying all day long. I feel bad for Brynn when that happens. But, despite his grumpy times, when he's happy, he's so much fun and such a little sweetie. I just can't get over how freaking cute he is! :)

**Oh and I did take little B to the chiro with me yesterday and he's going to go tomorrow with me as well. Turns out, one of the vertebrae in his back is slightly out of place, so Dr. is going to try and help ease it back into place to see if it makes any difference. Let's hope it helps Mister sleep betta!!!!

That's it...I thought...

After three long, late nights, I made a decision. I was not going to go through another night like that. It must be me..it HAS to be me or the way I am not doing something right. My SECOND baby should not be having this much trouble sleeping at night/waking up multiple times. I have books on reserve to check out at the library--four to be exact. Before I went to read the forum boards on pregnancy.com, I was determined to read each book cover-to-cover to find a solution to get my baby boy to sleep better at night. But then I HAD to read the forums and discover I am not alone and maybe there isn't a solution. Which puts me back at square one. Here's what I have discovered:

1. Many moms are struggling with their babies who also have AR sleeping for long periods of time on their backs without waking....CHECK

2. Many moms are having to put their babes in carseats so they will sleep at night....CHECK (lately around 3 a.m. it's the only place Bay will sleep)

3. Many moms are having trouble finding a formula for their baby and have been through 5-6 different kinds b/f they found one that worked. Many are suggesting the Enfamil AR or Similac A--- (the one that's hypoallergenic) CHECK (Baylen is mostly b-f but when we are out and about, and I don't want to go to the car to bf or didn't have time to pump, then I give him a bottle of formula...we use Enfamil AR)

4. Many moms are still struggling with AR with their babies up to a year old. (I knew it might take awhile) CHECK

5. Many moms are struggling with finding meds that will even help their baby. Thank GOD Axid is giving Baylen at least some relief...although if I don't give him his meds when he needs them, he gets REALLY cranky and irritable. I just HATE it that he has to be pumped full of meds at such a young age.

6. Moms with AR babies continue to say how exhausting it is to have a baby who is fussy so often but feel bad for feeling frustrated b/c they know it's not their baby's fault--they just want him/her to feel better--and often feel like they are the only ones with a fussy and what seems like a mostly unhappy baby. CHECK CHECK CHECK

7. Moms added they must hold their baby upright for 20 min. after feeding. Hmmmm...this is not something we always do..perhaps we may try this little trick....but what about when they are ready to sleep for a nap or the night? When I put Baylen up on my shoulder, he wakes up instantly 95% of the time. Hmmmm must think how this would work...

I was thinking about switching to formula when I return to work in a couple of weeks just because I need that extra bit of energy for school. Honestly, it was more of a selfish reason because I thought it would be easier/more convenient..no pumping, no bringing in milk everyday, no worrying about the supply getting low at daycare, being able to get back into my old bras and not have to wear nursing ones all the time, not feeling like my boobs were gargantuan, etc. etc.

BUT, now I am having second thoughts BECAUSE: right now, he's on Axid and it seems to be helping him cope with the AR. His spit up sessions have definitely decreased, but he still gets really irritable and arches his back when he's unhappy or has a big burp. He still spits up. What would it be like if he's on formula all day? (I feel like it would be worse....b/c bm is easier to break down and he would not be as unhappy/feeling awful/fussy)

So, I am going to cont. to bf him when he transitions into daycare. One transition at a time is best for my big guy. I will try to keep up with his demand/supply as best I can. When or if it gets to the point that I can't keep up, then we'll go to Plan B, which is formula. What I am wondering about at that point is: will they use Enfamil AR at daycare if I ask them to or will I have to have my Pedi write a note to prove Bay really can only use this kind of formula? I guess we'll cross that road when we get to it. Right now I am going to try and make it through with bf him to 6 months. We'll see from there.

And on the sleeping front, well, I am still going to read those books, because maybe there's some little trick in there that will help my sweet boy stay comfortable a little longer than 2 or 3 hours at a time and not feel the need to party it up at 3 a.m. Because seriously, I'm DRAINED. Until then, I guess I'll be wearing a little thicker concealer under my eyes and drinking that second can of Diet Pepsi I need by lunch time to get me through the rest of the day/evening.

This is Mister

Here's the latest pic of Mister. He's getting so big! He is eating cereal twice a day, now and loves it. He is chattering and blowing raspberries every chance he gets...and Mr. B is also sleeping pretty soundly at night....he slept 2 nights all the way through and went to bed last night at 10 and woke at 4:30, then back down at 4:50 until 8. He sleeps really well in his bassinet....I think he feels so secure in it. But, he really is getting too big for it. So we'll have to move to the PnP next I Think and then gradually move to a crib. We'll see how he does. Baylen is also rolling over all the time, scoots on his tummy pushing w/ his legs, loves playing with toys and chewing on everything. He also enjoys trying to sit up by himself....still early for this, I know, but he tries really hard! As you can see, he's bald as can be, but his hair IS growing in and starting to get all spikey as it grows. I still think it's going to take a long while before he'll need a haircut though!

4 Months Old!

Baylen just turned four months old. Where the heck has time gone? I feel like I blinked, and bam, he's already past "newborn" stage. It doesn't seem possible. As he grows older, I am seeing more and more differences between him and his sister. I'll try to post more about that later. Nikki asked me the other night what differences are b/t boys and girls and there are many differences, which is another post in itself.

Lately, Baylen has been really fussy. I am not sure what the deal is with this. I don't know if he's teething, if it's b/c he's constipated, just really tired, a stomachache, his AR acting up, or if he misses his daddy. :( It's so frustrating b/c he will cry and cry sometimes for 30-40 minutes straight. I try everything I can think of to get him to calm down and nothing seems to work. If my dad or mom takes him, then he tends to calm down sooner. He has also not really had a lot of poopy diapers since we have come to Iowa. I don't know why this is happening...if it's the elevation/flying that screwed up his system or what. He went almost 4 1/2 days without going #2...this is unusual for him. I gave him a little apple juice mixed w/ water (an ounce) on two different days to see if it would help. It didn't seem to really work all that well. Now we are on day 3 again of no #2. My diet has not really changed at all, and he's been nursing very regularly, if not more than normal.

Another frustrating thing about this boy: he's not sleeping well at night. At first we thought he was just getting hungry and that was why he was waking in the night. I started him on a little cereal before bedtime and then we fed him a bottle of bm of 6-8 oz. But, he will wake up to get that "last nursing session in" before he'll go down. Last night/this morning he woke up at 1:40 and again at 5. He has been doing this really ornery thing lately too, where he'll get up at 5 and then want to be up and mess around. This is unusual for him. Lately, he is averaging about 7 hours of sleep TOTAL a night, which is not enough for a little guy. He's pretty big, so he should be able to stay sleeping a little longer than he is. This makes for a very TIRED mama...and grumpy. :(

This post wasn't meant to complain about little Mister....he is still a good boy. I love him so much and he's doing many fun things too like...
*lots of cooing/talking
*loves to be played with/interacted/sung to/read to
*gives kisses to mama
*has been squealing
*has been rolling over from both back to front and front to back a few times
*loves the exersaucer
*loves floor gyms
*grabs for rattles and other toys and puts them in his mouth
*found his feet and likes to play with them
*sits in my mom/dad's old baby walker and moves around the living room
*he is a MOVER
*loves tummy time and holds his head up really well
*scoots on his tummy by pushing his feet on floor
*smiles a TON...he is a morning person definitely
*can be pretty easy going when he's not fussy
*loves his paci
*Still in sizes 3-6 mo., 6 mo. clothing
*I've started him on a little rice cereal at night time but not sure if I'll continue it esp. if he's constipated....we'll see on that

Now, on to the pics..which one(s) do you like best?

Fun with the Thetas

On Friday night, we went over to Megan's house and spent the evening having fun socializing with friends: Josh (Wookie), Amy and their new daughter, Ashley, Nikki and Klas, Amanda and Jason, and Abby and Brian. (and of course Megan, Kevin and Lydia). it was the first time for us meeting Miss Lydia and everyone's first time meeting Baylen. It was also the first time we met Miss Ashley. We had so much fun! Spending time with all of them made me miss them so much!

Now, onto the pics! I wanted to get more w/ the babies, so I hope to get some again Sunday, hopefully.

Bouncy House Mania!

Yesterday at the fair, they had a bunch of blow-up toys that the kids could have fun playing on for free. Brynna and Parker LOVED the slide and the bouncy house. Brynn threw an absolute fit when she had to leave because she wanted to bounce in that thing. all day long! I'm trying to re-post a video so hopefully it will upload here soon. Bee was having a little bit of a struggle just staying on her feet but Parker did a great job hopping around! The video is not that high quality so I apologize...if I had a faster internet connection, it would be much better.

On another note, we made it just in time yest. morning for the baby contest. Baylen was entered in the "least hair" category as well as "best smile." He had a great smile for the judges too, and I think he should have won that category also, but he did win for having the baldest head! He smoked everyone! haha

Calleigh won "chubbiest cheeks" so that was fun!

I am so tired today...but we are looking forward to video chatting w/ daddy in a few minutes!

Are we the same size?!

Calleigh Daelyn and Baylen Blake

Take a look at Calleigh and Baylen. 3 weeks apart in age, yet nearly the same exact size. C and B both weigh 16 lbs. and C is 25.5 inches tall, while B is 25 inches. C has TONS of wild hair while B has lost nearly all of his and is SO bald! LOL We're going to enter both of them in the baby contest on Saturday at the fair. C. will enter the category: most hair and chubbiest cheeks. Baylen will enter the baldest category. Hopefully we'll win!