Moments like these....

So tomorrow marks my first work trip since Halas has been born. I know it won't be bad once I get back into my travel routine. This week I'm off to Dallas and next week it's back in Jersey.  I'm a little nervous about pumping/traveling since it's been so long.  I'm also feeling guilty leaving Halas since she's so young. That, and leaving Dave with his hands full.  If only Halas was back to sleeping through the night, it would be a bit easier. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Sleep right now is so hit or miss. Last night we got about 3.5 hours. Yawn! It sure makes the days tough. At least this trip is short, but I won't mind getting one night of uninterrupted sleep (sorry Dave!). That just means I'll have nighttime shift when I get back though, lol.

I wanted to post about a moment Maddyn and I had tonight. It's no secret that she's the biggest daddy's girl ever. If I had a penny for every time I tried to do something and heard "I want Daddy" or "I don't want you, I want Daddy" (you get the idea), I'd be rich!  So tonight, Dave was doing Halle's bath and I asked Maddyn if she wanted to do Pilates/Yoga with me. She was full of energy, so thought it might be better than puzzles or coloring.  She said yes. 

We had an absolute blast doing downward dog, the 100, the Seal, Cat/Cow....she thought the moves were hysterical and kept pushing me over (playfully) and we just had a blast.  It was nice to have a good time like that, since things have been a little rough on her since I've been back at work. Her time is split with Halas, and with me nursing, that time is even less. It felt great to really spend time with her where she wasn't telling me she'd rather be with Dave. If only every night was like that, right?  Well, I'll take what I can get. I'm glad it happened the night before I travel too.

So we'll see how this week goes. I'll report back in once I make it through the week. Here's hoping for friendly skies, warm and great weather in TX (no snow/ice storms) and a pleasant trip!

4 Months Old

So my return to work is a little rockier this time, mostly b/c work is so busy.  There wasn't as much of a transition period as there was last time.  In some ways, that's probably good- but it has made it harder to adjust.  But, I'm on week 3 now and feel like we're starting to get into a routine. The hardest part was that Halas stopped sleeping through the night, the day I went back to work. What timing! Ugh. It's made for some very long and exhausting days for both Dave and I.

Last week Halas turned 4 months old. We had her doctor appt and her stats were as follows:
Length: 26 inches
Weight: 15lbs, 4 oz
HC: 41cm
We have another tall one on our hands, it appears!!

They are going to keep her on the Prevacid, though we don't feel it's working great. We have an appt with the Pediatric GI doc later this month, so we'll see what she says. We also have an appt with the Pediatric Opthamologist on Thursday to check out her eye. The blocked tear duct appears to not be getting any better, and she favors her left eye now. We've noticed she doesn't open her right eye all of the time b/c of the goop- and the pediatrician wants to check it out and make sure there's nothing else wrong with the eye.

Other than that, Halle is still such a happy and cuddly baby. We love hugging and just cuddling with her. She's cooing a lot and starting to roll more.  It looks like her teeth are getting ready to make an appearance soon as well. I'm sure it will happen when I'm traveling this week or next, like it did with Maddyn. That would be my luck!!

It's over....

This is my highly dramatic, emotional post about my maternity leave ending. I know I am going to be fine, that Halas will be fine, and that I'll actually be happier once I'm back working again (in the long run). But the first few days back are so hard. Getting myself on a schedule, working on little sleep, pumping, and only seeing the girls for a few hours.  I'm not worried about Maddyn- since she did preschool this year, she hasn't been home every day and she LOVES being in daycare/preschool. With Halas- it's just hard b/c she's still so little. I just want to pick her up and give her all kinds of hugs.

We went out this morning and saw Santa Claus. Once I go back, our weekends are all booked and it is just too crowded to deal with hour long lines on the weekends and evenings. So we thought, why not do it now quick? It was great- we walked right up and weren't rushed at all.  Maddyn did great this year, and didn't have any crying tantrums. She did have to sit on Dave's lap- but we were much improved from past years! She even talked to Santa a little bit.

I got some photos of the girls in their cute outfits as well. I'll post those in a bit!
Here's the photo of Santa & the girls at the mall:

And here is one of the two of them before we left- I'll post the rest on Shutterfly!

Sick kid makes for fun night...

I only wish! So today was my last official weekday off of Leave. I'm sad about it, but planned to do lunch with a friend and just snuggle Halas all day.  What Maddyn didn't realize is that her getting sick at 2 am put a slight damper on those plans. (snort)  I awoke to her crying for Dave and I, and getting sick out of the blue. Poor thing.  She got sick a few times, and Dave stayed in there while I disinfected the entire house. I was terrified that Halas was gonna get whatever Maddyn had. I'm sure it was quite the funny site seeing me scrubbing everything down with bleach and water at 3 am.  Yawn!

But, the good news is that she didn't have a fever, and woke up feeling fine. I was worried b/c of the cases of Norovirus going around- but she luckily didn't have any of the symptoms.  She was healthy all day today and so far- no one else feels sick (praying it stays that way). So now I'm wondering if it was something she ate. I'm so glad she's doing better.  In the end, she stayed home from Preschool and just got to lounge around with Halas and I, so it was a great last weekday together for us. I'm gonna miss these little muchkins.

Now, if only I could have gotten to any of those 8 things on my To Do list today.  Ouch. I'm going to try to get to it this weekend, but I really do wish there were about 28 hours in a day vs 24 so I could get it all done!!  If anyone can make that happen, that'd be great ;)

Roll on over....

That's right, we have rolling!! Today Erica and the boys were over, and I set Halas on her playmat for a moment while I was in the laundry room. I look over and realize that she was rolling from back to stomach. I started getting excited and cheering her on- and it scared her- she pushed herself over to her back again!! So exciting! So 3.5 months old. Holy cow! She did it a few more times randomly, and that was it. I'll try to get a video to throw up here (though, I realize this is exciting for Dave & I and probably no one else, LOL).
That's all for now, but I wanted to journal it so I don't forget!!

1,000 ounces of milk in the freezer. 1,000 ounces of milk....

sing with me....I finally hit 1,000 oz of frozen milk this week. I know this might seem crazy to someone that hasn't gone through this- so bear with me since this is a slightly big deal to me.  For anyone that has nursed, you will likely agree that pumping is a huge pain in the butt. It's not fun, requires dedication, and there are even times it makes you crazy (Come on, tell me I'm not alone in thinking that my pump has talked to me....you know, those weird noises it makes- especially at 3 in the morning). 

Since I'm going back to work next week, and have to travel once I'm back, I wanted to build a large stash. I have set a more realistic expectation of making it to 6 months before introducing formula. As much as I'd like to go longer, I know with work/travel, it will be hard to do.  By having a large supply available in reserves, it helps me relax a little in case I hit any glitches along the way.

I didn't "get" nursing before I did it myself. Yet, I was surprised at how much I missed it when I weaned with Maddyn. This time around with Halas, it has been so much easier. Adding a pumping session each day wasn't that hard, but I had to force myself to do it so I could keep building the stash. 

Anyhoo- here's a photo of some of the bags- you can see there are hundreds.  There are more in our kitchen freezer too, but it's embarrassingly unorganized. Thanks for letting me pat myself on the back on this one- b/c it sure wasn't easy. 

She really can be sweet...

There are moments I wonder who replaced my almost-3-year-old with the head-spinning-tantrum-acting kid in Maddyn's body.  Those moments seem to happen more frequently. Then again, it might be that I am home now and just witness them more often ;)  Jokes aside, I do love those days that I get to see how grown up and mature she can be. Today was one of those days.

Maddyn is a bookworm. The one thing that will always make her happy is reading books.  Today, she wanted to read to Halas. She asked if I could put Halas in the swing so she could read to her.  It was great seeing Maddyn enjoy her big sister role. These are camera phone pics, so not great, but you can see that she was loving it!

I'll also try to upload the video...

Every day is her birthday...

Trying to explain the full concept of birthdays to an almost-3-year-old is impossible.  She loves singing the song, blowing out the candles, doing a little dance, and making cupcakes. But trying to explain to her that it is not her birthday?? Big fat fail!  Grandma's birthday was Monday, so we celebrated by making cupcakes on Sunday.  Maddyn loved making cupcakes, but didn't understand that it wasn't her birthday.  We reminded her that her birthday is around the corner, and she even wished Grandma a Happy Birthday- but she wanted to know where her presents were. Needless to say, she was confused. LOL. Oh well, she'll get them soon enough I guess!!

Anyone that knows me, knows I don't really like cake. I can't stand icing/frosting (I'm a salt craver, sweets do me in and icing/frosting is just too much), so my preferred cake of choice is the DQ Ice Cream Cake. I do like the spongy part of the cake, but it seems silly to eat just half of it.  We made cupcakes for Grandma's birthday and yes- you might see a few bottomless cupcakes in my trash now, lol. The frosting was too much, but with the added sugary sprinkles Maddyn loaded on, it was overkill.  Here are some photos of her in action! Happy Birthday Grandma!

15 weeks is only fast when...

you go back to work after 16 weeks off ;)  Yes, it's hard to believe that 15 weeks have passed. I just went back and reread my much-more-frequent-updates I had written when I was off with Maddyn.  It seemed like my leave went slower with her, though, I know it didn't.  We had playdates and GTGs every day this week and it was refreshing to spend time with friends and family. For this last week, I have a few GTGs scheduled, but I also just want to sit at home and snuggle.  At least the weather will be perfect for it!!

I had so much on my "to do" list for my Maternity Leave. I did about 25% of it.  I'm a little annoyed with myself that I wasn't more productive, but it's too late to do anything about it now. This week, I'm going to try to at least get caught up on my photos and take care of the big things, and just let the rest wait.

Looking at the bright side: I'm excited to go back to work and get into a routine again. I'm excited to really get on board with getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm excited to have adult conversations again.  So I'll just keep telling myself those things, right? I'll forget about the things like pumping, less time with the kiddos, and overall lack of sleep I'll be getting for awhile ;)

We have switched Halle's medicine yet again. Poor thing. We're just plowing through all the AR meds like we did with Maddyn.  We're now on Prevacid. If this doesn't work, the testing will begin. We've been lucky to avoid it so far- but that's mostly b/c we knew a lot of the signs from Maddyn.  So fingers crossed this works. Maddyn's asthma is still acting up as well. We're going to give it a few days and see if the weather has been triggering it. It's been crazy here- 30s one day, 70s the next!

I'm playing with the blog, trying to make it more fun and once I'm in a routine I'll update it regularly. If anything, for myself!! I have been realizing that I forget things if they aren't journaled...like timeframes for first teeth, rolling, etc.  LOL  Halle is teething pretty badly. I swore Maddyn got her first tooth at 3 months, but upon going back and reading it was more like 4.5.  LOL- so good thing I wrote things down!  We'll see when this little tooth breaks through- but she's got the swollen gums, massive drooling and white spot on the gum already. Crazy!    I've noticed she's trying to roll as well. Nothing yet, but we'll see if it happens soon!

So for now, off to enjoy this last week with the girlies.

Another week, another Neb

With this cold weather, comes another Neb (nebulizer) for Maddyn. Such a pain. I feel so helpless. Her coughing spells are at their worst in the winter, but since we've been on the Singulair since last Dec, they have improved. We had a nice 3 month divorce from the Neb, but it's ba-aaack...   We went to the doctor today to discuss other asthma control options. Whether a med like Pulmicort or Flovent would be better than her current Singulair/Xopenex/ProAir/Zyrtec combo (as needed).  They really think that at this point, since she's been doing so great- we should hold off.  If Maddyn has another spell this winter where we need the Neb again- then we'll talk about adding a controller to her medication cocktail and eliminating something else.  So we wait....and hope we don't need that Neb for awhile!

We also had an appointment for Halas today. Did you  know that they don't offer discounts on a 2-fer ;) That's two appointments at one time, ha! Halas's appt was to discuss her reflux.  We have been noticing that her spells are getting bad again and the Pepcid doesnt' appear to be working. So Dr R is calling our pediatric GI to discuss putting Halas on Prevacid. It's the game of just trial and error- what we went through with Maddyn- but we are hoping to avoid all of the invasive tests Maddyn went through. We have a mtg tomorrow with both doctors to see what our plan will be.

It's hard in this case, b/c Maddyn was such a bad/extreme case of GERD/DGE that I wonder if I've waited too long or haven't been proactive enough with Halas. The poor thing. I decided today, after rereading some of my old posts on Maddyn's health that it was time to start being more pushy with the docs on Halas's AR this time, b/c I could truly tell something's not right. I just wish I hadn't waited so long. I do think the Pepcid worked a little, but I should have known better that when she kept doing nursing strikes that something was up.  So stay tuned, hopefully I'll have more news tomorrow.

On another front, just 2 more weeks until I go back to work. Wow, time is flying.  I am excited to get back into the working world with adult conversation, clothes without adjustable waists, and talk that includes words longer than 1 syllable. However, I am going to miss snuggling with my little girls and just the quality time with them. I know I'm meant to be a working mom, but those first weeks are tough.  At least week 1 ends with a big ole' Turkey Feast ;)

In the meantime, I am planning for a busy weekend. I was supposed to hit a winery with a friend tomorrow and then enjoy the fruits of our tastings...but she's out sick. So instead, tomorrow is going to be dedicated to shopping for our photoshoot next week. I am severly behind on that.  Sunday I have a baby shower for a friend up in the Arctic (read as Wisconsin) and then a costume party for the girls in the later part of the day. If only people knew that Sundays are "dont' leave the house days" from Sept-Feb, except on bye weeks! LOL

Happy Halloween & 3 Months Old

Wow- i can't believe that Halas is 3 months old already!! Wow, does time fly. We are still recovering from our Disney trip, but it was a fun-filled weekend.

On Saturday we went down to Aunt Sal and Uncle Ray's to see their Halloween decorations. It's becoming an annual trip, and this year didn't disappoint. So much fun! Maddyn loved all of the scary decoration, but was partial to the stacks of light-up pumpkins. She was thrilled when it got dark and she was able to see it all lit up.

While we were down there, Uncle Ray took Maddyn for a ride on Coco, his horse.  We weren't sure if she was going to be scared or not, but she went right up to Coco and pet her and anxiously asked Uncle Ray if she could ride her.  She was on cloud 9 talking about it all weekend!!

Sunday we went trick-or-treating. Maddyn got quite the loot this year! The only  bad part was that we had to take away quite a bit of her candy b/c of the nut allergy. It really sucks, and she got disappointed- but we substituted her nut candy with skittles, nerds, sweettarts and other candies she could have. Honestly- half of that candy is going to be given away, so it's ok. We just don't plan to tell her that, lol. It was also bad news for me, since I ended up eating loads of her rejected candy, ha!  I'm just lucky that there are so many nut-free options, and that there are loads of websites that help plan accordingly!

I posted the Halloween, Pumpkin, Horse Riding and 3 months photos on Shutterfly! I'll try to get the Disney ones up this week! :)

The next few weeks will fly. Only 3 weeks until I go back to work. Maddyn has her first ever dentist appt tomorrow. We have lots of gtg's with friends this week and next.

We are having our family holiday photos taken by Gina from Gina Cristine Photography (She did our AWESOME Maternity photos) next week. Looking forward to it- though, I haven't lost that weight yet- so plan to see more photos of the kids than Dave and I (lol).  Should be fun- I just need to find some outfits for all of us!! Otherwise, Gina's gonna have to do a lot of photoshopping ;)

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween.

Disney Days 4-6

The last half of the Disney trip was just as much fun. We spent Day 4 at Hollywood Studios. In the past, we haven't done a full day there b/c many of the shows and attractions were for older kids. This time, we spent all day there- Maddyn was truly having a blast. Shows like Beauty & the Beast, Little Mermaid, Muppets, and Playhouse Disney were a hit- along with rides like Toy Story. Dave wanted to do the American Idol show/tryout- but we didn't have time. So next time, I promised him we'll do it!!

Before we headed out that night, Maddyn and I hit the pool. She was a riot! They have a Volcano slide in the pool, so it attracts a lot of kids. So there is a DJ set up for Kid activities at the Pool too. She was just dancing away, having fun with the other kids. She kept telling me it was her "wet dancing". The pool at the Poly is nice b/c it is zero depth. Perfect for lots of fun for the little kids. Definitely a plus for the hotel!

We went to dinner at T-Rex on Tuesday night with some friends. Maddyn and Quinn (their daughter) had a blast. The restaurant was a lot like Rainforest Cafe with a dinosaur flavor. The food was good, but it was enjoyable b/c it was so loud in there, I didn't care that Maddyn was loud and a little crazy! LOL Downtown Disney was fun- and to top it off, we saw Paula Abdul! Well, at least Dave says he 99.9% believes it was her. She looked too tall to be Paula in my opinion- but maybe that's b/c I picture her being like 4' nothing...I dunno. But it truly did look like her, and the woman appeared to have a bodyguard of some sorts. The only downside to Downtown Disney is the bus ride back. Ouch- that was a long one. It was a last night getting back to the hotel, but it was such a good fun day!

Wednesday was our last full day at Disney, and the plan was to go to MK all day. I was a little nervous since MK was so packed on Saturday. But as luck would have it, Wed was much different!! The lines were short, nothing longer than 15 minutes. Maddyn got to ride all of the rides she was tall enough for- including Splash Mountain (A "big people' ride, as she called it). We got to do roller coasters and all the basics. The down side was that Winnie the Pooh and Tea Cups were both closed until Nov 10th- so we didn't get to ride those. But everything else was open. We also got to see the Princesses again- so Maddyn and Halas both got more photos with Sleeping Beauty, Belle and Cinderella. We ended up staying until Park Close and getting the most of our day. It was such a fun time, and at the end of the night, Maddyn told us she had so much fun (Without us even asking). All that stress was worth it, lol

We flew back Thursday. That was a wake- up call. It was 90 degrees and 95% humidity when we left Florida. It was 30 something when we landed in Chicago. Holy cow, it was cold!! It was nice to be back though. Now reality sinks in. I go back to work in 3 weeks - I can't believe the time has gone by so fast. I know I'm meant to be a working mom, but it still is tough to go back those first few weeks. So I'm planning on just snuggling with the girls non-stop the next few weeks ;)

I'm hoping to get photos posted to the Shutterfly site here soon. I didn't take as many, so it shouldn't take long to post. Overall Disney was a great trip. Maddyn is the perfect age for this trip this time. We had fun when she was 18 months and 24 months- but this trip, she just "got it". She enjoyed the rides, understood the shows and just had a blast. It was a pleasant surprise. I'm sure we'll be back there again next year- though, I have to say, I do think going in Nov/Dec would be better. We couldn't believe how hot it still was!!

Disney Days 2 & 3

Just a quick summary of Days 2 & 3. I'm beat, but wanted to write this down before I forgot.

Day 2: We went to Animal Kingdom. We started the day with Breakfast at the Tusker House. It was such a great breakfast. I'd highly recommend this one to anyone with an older Toddler. If Maddyn was any younger, I don't think she'd have as much fun. They have a parade through the restaurant and they get to dance with the characters- she loved this!! She met Donald, Daisy, Mickey and Goofy. Goofy scared the crap out of her- but she loved the others.

We spent a good portion of the day at AK- hit the safari and the age appropriate things like Lion King, etc. AK is our least favorite park, b/c there really is not a ton to do for Maddyn's age group. So we went back to the hotel after that.

We had dinner at Le Cellier over in Epcot. Best steak I've ever had in my life- and I've dined at some nice Steak places before. It was SO good. However, Maddyn decided to act like a crazy 2 year old, so dinner was quite eventful. At least there were lots of kids in the restaurant. Ack! We finished the night walking around the World Showcase and grabbing some drinks and snacks. It is the International Food and Wine Festival- so it was pretty crowded- but so much fun!!

Today we went to Epcot for lunch at the Askershus. This is a Princess Lunch. Maddyn was ear to ear smiling the entire time. She got to hang with Belle, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Snow White, Cinderella, and Ariel (Little Mermaid). I have quite a few photos- and can't wait to show her. She keeps asking if we're going to have lunch with Belle tomorrow too. LOL- if only she knew how hard it was to get THAT lunch!!

It is insanely hot/humid down here. So we spent the rest of the day at Epcot, and came back here tonight and swam. The heat has really exhausted us all. Tomorrow is Hollywood Studios and pending how long we are there, we might also hit MK later in the day. We're going to dinner with friends at T-Rex Diner tomorrow night. I have heard good things about it too, so we'll see!

One other note- each restaurant we have dined at, the chef has come out to walk us through the entire menu. Even at the Buffets, they walk us through showing us what contains tree nuts, etc. Disney is just AWESOME at this food allergy awareness. It is really so comforting!

Will post more as I can!

Oct Disney Trip- Day 1

First off, let me say that 6am didn't seem that early when I booked our flights. Heck, with Halas's crazy schedule, we are up at all hours. But getting two kids out the door, Halas fed, getting to the remote parking lot, checked in, through security and to the gate by 5:30, meant getting up at 2:30 am. Ugh- Dave and I are exhausted!! never again.

But we got there and minus a few temper tantrums from Maddyn (Status Quo though), the flight was terrific. Halas nursed at the beginning and slept the rest of the flight. Maddyn watched her DVD and just enjoyed the flight. We landed, and forgot how hot & humid Orlando is. 89 today and the dewpoint was in the 60s..crazy! We got to the Polynesian, around 10:30. Check-in was at 3:00, so we were expecting the worse on our room. I was sweating (we were in our "Chicago/autumn/when-we-left-it-was-27-degrees" clothes) and really needed to nurse badly. Sure enough, we checked in and our room wasn't ready. They told us it could be three. I had requested a room (the same one we had last time) and asked if we'd be getting it. It is rare that you get your request, but I figured why not try. They told me I'd be getting the room next door to the one requested. I then asked if they had any "mother's" rooms where I could nurse until the room was ready. She called over the manager- who took pity on me I believe - and she made a call. Within minutes, they were able to get us a different room-- THE ONE I REQUESTED! How crazy is that! So we were able to get to the room right away.

I had been reading the dis-boards (A Disney forum for travelers wanting tips/advice/etc) and there had been concerns posted as of late on the conditions of the rooms, housekeeping, etc. Granted it is only day 1- but we got to our room and were quite pleased! No peeling paint, so clean you could smell the 'bleach scent' and great location. Just like we remembered it.

We ate lunch and then napped. Maddyn was in rare form and needed sleep desperately. She was quite the 2 year old at that point. She napped well and we headed over to Magic Kingdom. First- I must say we got REALLY lucky last year. We were at Disney in the "off season" both of our trips. Crowds were low, prices were low and it was pleasant temp-wise. Today was somewhat hellish. The crowds were INSANE, and it was super hot and humid. We barely had time to do any rides. To top it off- the Teacups were closed, and Pooh & Philharmagic are temporarily not doing Fast Passes. It's a MESS over there. Lines were 45-75 minutes long, and it was crowded. They also are expanding Fantasyland and adding some new rides- so a huge chunk of the park is now blocked off (like Pooh's playland and that whole area by Dumbo)- so there's not "resting spot/play area" for kids anymore. I totally didn't realize this and it was quite a disappointment.

Right now, we're going to hope it was just b/c it was Saturday and that the crowds are less during the week. Fingers crossed.

We ate dinner at The Plaza Restaurant. Nothing fancy, but you needed an ADR (Advanced Dining Reservation) or the wait was 75+ minutes. Location is right down Main Street by the Castle. We loved the food- basic stuff like sandwiches and such (Think Colonial Cafe/Perkins/etc) and it wasn't too pricey. They have an Ice Cream Parlor built in (that's what they are known for) and fantastic desserts. With Maddyn's tree nut allergy, we informed Disney before the trip of our reservations. When we were seated, the chef came out and greeted us- and told us she'd be personally making Maddyn's meal and make sure that everything was tree nut free and there would be no cross contamination. She brought out the allergy book showing all of the ingredients of every item on the menu and how she could substitute many items if need be. We were so impressed at how seriously Disney took her allergy- what a relief! We carry those EpiPens everywhere, but it's a relief knowing we won't need to use it.

We hit a few rides after dinner and came back and got ready for bed. What a long day. We just put the baby down, so I'm writing this up and hoping to get to sleep here soon. We were worried about the baby and Maddyn both being in the same room- so we're really praying that it works out and Halas sleeps long stretches without waking Maddyn up. Otherwise, this could be very interesting (and tiring)!

More to come. Tomorrow we have a character breakfast with Micky, Donald, Daisy and Goofy over at Animal Kingdom (Tusker House). We're hoping to spend time at Animal Kingdom and then head back to the hotel to enjoy the pool. The weather is supposed to be nice. Then we have the "coveted" Le Cellier reservations tomorrow evening over at Epcot. It's a steakhouse that's hard to get reservations for (I only got them b/c of a fluke that someone canceled and I stumbled upon the opening). Looking forward to it (not as much as Dave is, lol).

I'll try to post again if I'm not too tired!

ETA: Thanks Jared and Amanda for house sitting this week and watching Ry! We appreciate it!

You just have to laugh...

Today was one of those days, where you have to laugh or you'll end up pulling your hair out.
I wasn't sure who was going to drive me crazy first- Maddyn or Rylee.

I was changing Halle's diaper and Maddyn offered to put the diaper away. I wasn't really paying attention, so I assumed she put it in the Diaper Genie. She does this for me a lot, so I didn't think twice. Well, turns out she put it in the laundry basket....so I found out (the hard way). When I did the girls' laundry today, I dumped it all in the washer and left. I came back to a flooded laundry room floor. I look at the Washer and open it up. The drain was clogged with all kinds of gel-like beads that have a glue-like consistency. Essentially the diaper was in the Washer and had exploded. The insides form a glue-like gel-ball when massive exposed to water. Those gel-balls clogged the washer drain somehow and the Washer flooded. Ugh!!!

After vacuuming out the Washer, and cleaning it more times than I can count I was able to run 2 rinse cycles. That seemed to help a little. I think ran a load of junk towels and that helped too. So I think its finally back to normal. Ugh!!! How crazy!

Then to top it off, Ry had an accident and I needed to wash the blankets. So today was just a day where you want a do-over immediately!!! I didn't get anything crossed off the to-do list at all!


I didn't get any photos- but it did remind me that I need to take more short video clips of Halas. So I'll try to do that this week!

First Half of October

Ok, trying to bring the blog up to date!! The first half of October.....

Halas
Health:
She had her two month appt back on Oct 1st. I unfortunately, had been very sick that day. It started as allergies on Wed and turned to flu-like symptoms by that Friday. Halas was fever free though, so they gave her all of her shots (for the 2 month, there are a TON). They told us if her fever got past 100.4 to call. After about 12 hours, we noticed she was on a nursing strike, had fewer wet diapers (none in 10 hours) and no stools. We took her temp and it was 101.3. So we called the doc and had to keep a watchful eye on her. After a very long night of bouncing fevers, we eventually got her temp to go down in the next 24 hours. We thought it might have been the flu that I had - but since the tylenol seemed to help, and it went away so quickly- the dr thinks it was just a reaction to the 2 month shots. So stressful!!

I on the other hand, might not have had the flu. After fighting 103/104 temps all weekend, I ended up getting diagnosed with mastitis (a breast infection). Talk about painful!! One of the downsides to nursing I guess. They put me on an antibiotic right away and it got better. But it turns out that one of the side effects of mastitis is flu-like symptoms. So it is possible that I had it 4 or 5 days prior when all that started! Now I know!!!

We went back to the doctor last week for more follow up on her meds. They have added mylanta to the pepcid and think that might help with the acid as well. We're going to give it a few more weeks and see how it's going.

Stats:
2 months: 12lbs, 13oz adn 23"
2.5 months: 13lbs 9 oz

Sleep/Feeding:
We've been lucky that Halas has been sleeping better at night!! At the beginning of the month, we were getting mostly 2, 4-5 hour stretches at night, and about 2 nights a week with a 6-7 hour stretch. As of last week (10 weeks old), she was giving us a 7 hour stretch about 4 nights a week. This week (11 weeks old), we have had 3, 11+ hour stretches, but we paid for it the other nights, lol. Tonight is one of those nights!! Ha! We're doing the every 2 hour rule though, and have been since she turned 2 months. It seems to be working fairly well.

She's feeding well. Based on that sleep schedule, I've been able to push out daytime feedings to about once every 4 hours - but she nurses longer. At night, when she goes the longer stretch, she wakes up starving! But I'll take it :)

We're getting quite a few walks in with the nice warmer October weather. We hit an apple orchard back at the end of Sept and the Pumpkin Patch last weekend. Maddyn picked out pumpkins for everyone :) We've been able to get together with some old friends and really get out a bunch, so it's been nice!!

We are going on another vacation before I go back to work. With Maddyn's food allergy and Dave's work schedule- we decided to hit Disney again. Maddyn is totally into princesses right now (Beauty and the Beast just came out again and she is obsessed) and we know she'll have a blast. With Halas being so young, they have lots of places for me to nurse and it just seemed to be the "easy" vacation for us right now. Jared is going to house-sit/Rylee-sit for us, so Ry will get a nice vacation away from the chaos (Maddyn/Halas) too!

Maddyn has picked out her Halloween costume this year. She's going to be Belle!! I found one, but it was super horrible and over priced, so mom found a better one. We just tried it on yesterday and got photos. She's going to wear it to Disney too, so that should be fun.

I'm trying to get caught up on photos- so I'll be posting loads of October ones soon!! Hopefully before the week is over!! So check out the Shutterfly site in the next few days.

September in a nutshell

I have been horrible at updating the blog. I realize how much I blogged for Maddyn and I'm so glad I did. It is acting as my journal- and I go back and read a lot of those posts to see how she was doing at x weeks, and compare it to Halas. So I'm going to try to update with some past events on Halas and journal better going forward.

Health:
September was a crazy month. We finally started to adjust around here. At Halas's one month appointment she was diagnosed with GERD as I had mentioned. It still seemed nowhere near as bad as Maddyn's. However, throughout September, we had to go back to the doctor weekly, as the meds were not working. She had some weight checks to see if dosing could be adjusted, but overall it wasn't providing relief. It wasn't until her 2 month appointment that we finally saw a little bit of improvement. She was on the Axid (a few different doses) and then went to Pepcid. The latest dosage seems to work the best. We haven't had to move to Zantac/Prevacid/or Reglan yet. Right now- we are holding off on going to the pediatric GI. If we don't see improvement by end of Oct/Early Nov- that will be our next step.

Overall, we haven't had the breathing issues we had with Maddyn (no apnea monitor this time), so it's been much calmer. Halas still does the dry choke/gag, but her spit up is less and she's gaining weight- so those are good signs.

We also had her hip ultrasound done in early September. It came back good. We have to go for a follow-up in 6 months to make sure all stays clear, but the doctors didn't see anything wrong with the joint, which is what they were worried about.

Sleep/Feeding:
Halas continued to be EBF (Exclusively breastfed), but I pumped once a day so Dave could give her a bottle and we could start to build a large supply for when I go back to work. Bottle feeding went well, though Dave was really the only one feeding her from a bottle. I tried once and it was a complete fail. LOL As for timing, I usually fed every 3 hours during the day and then fed on demand at night. She slept 2 good 4-5 hour stretches at night, so I fed every 4-5 hours at night.

Weight/Height Stats:
1 month: 10lbs, 5oz 22.0"
1.5 months: 11 lbs, 2 oz


Events:
We had Halas's Baptism on Sept 18th. My cousin Leah is Halas's Godmother and Dave's brother Kevin was Halas's Godfather. We had 50+ people at the house, and all went well. I'll be posting photos of the Baptism to the Shutterfly site soon.

We also had lots of playdates this month! It's been fun having time off of work and getting to spend time with other friends and family, with both girls and just Halas. We had wonderful weather in September, so it was lots of fun! I have loaded all of the September photos to the Shutterfly site (except the Baptism ones).



MADDYN:
Maddyn had a great Sept as well. She started early preschool at the end of August, and started getting into the full swing of things last month. She is going 3 days a week while I'm home on Leave. She did the Race for the Cure with me at the end of September, and attended her first Ice Capades (Disney on Ice). With all of the GTGs and these fun events, she really had a fun Sept.

Healthwise, we had more allergy testing on Maddyn and it came back clear. This was for the enviromentals. Round two of tests is in October. We're really starting to get a better grasp on her tree nut allergy- it's insane how many things have tree nuts/were made in a facility that makes products with tree nuts/are made on the same equipment with tree nuts.


That's about it for Sept. I'll update with October and get myself back on a more consistent update schedule!!

1 month already!!

Halas turned 1 month and it seems like August has just flown by! We had her 1 month appt, to find that she has the GERD issues just like Maddyn did. We're going to try to tackle it with some meds first before having to do a bunch of tests like we did with maddyn. Fingers crossed it works. Poor thing is sooo miserable, that I'm hoping this will provide some relief!!

We are finally starting to get into a better routine. I'm hoping September will be lots more time outside and enjoying the weather and really enjoying time with both girls. That first month was rough.

I did finish my "pro" photos of Halas- and posted them on teh Shutterfly site. Definitely not my best work. I blame being on bed rest for months and just not shooting. Hopefully I'll get to practice lots these next few months!!

Dave's bday was yesterday and other than that, nothing new and exciting. The Baptism invites went out, and we have that coming up in a few weeks. Time just continues to fly by!!

We have an u/s for Halas's hip next Tuesday. They noticed a clicking they want to check out. I'll post next week after those tests!!

Maternity Photos & Maddyn's 2.5 year photos

I finally got the photos from our photo shoot uploaded. I was a little slow- sorry about that. They are on the shutterfly site so you can take a look. Gina did AMAZING!! She had loads of photos, I just posted the ones we really loved the most. She did a great job of capturing Maddyn's facial expressions at her best. :)

I took Halas's newborn photos this weekend- now I just need to download them from my camera and filter through them all. Once I get through them, I'll edit a few and post. I hope to have some to share by the end of the week- stay tuned!!

Everything else is going well. Nursing is still proving to be interesting with such a sleepy baby- but overall, everything else is great. We have Halas's two week appt in a few days- so we're hoping she makes birth weight. She is showing some signs of GERD like Maddyn so we're just noting them now and going to see what the doc says.

I am way behind on emails and thank yous, but wanted to let everyone know I hope to catch up by next week. I'm trying to get into a better routine this week. Today, Day 1 = fail. Trying again tomorrow ;)

Small updates- 1 week old

We are almost at the 2 week mark...getting closer. Things are definitely an adjustment. I have forgotten how little sleep you get when you nurse, those first few weeks. Aside from my zombie-like state, due to my inability to nap, things are going well. Maddyn is still in the "honeymoon" phase of loving her big sister status. I truly hope it stays that way, but I know the chances are slim. Dave went back to work on Monday so now it's just an adjustment.

I am hoping to take Halas's newborn photos this week. With the lack of sleep, my birthday and Dave going back to work- it was a crazy week. I grabbed a few yesterday, here's a sneak peak of just 2, but I'll post the rest on Shutterfly (again, link to the right of the page) shortly!!

Also, just a head's up that Halas's baptism will be around 5ish on 9/18/10 (Saturday, after mass again). I will be sending out invites in the next few weeks, but wanted to put this out there so folks can mark their calendars. We'll have dinner catered in afterwards like we did with Maddyn's and have the bounce house and toys outside for the little ones again.

We've had lots and lots of visitors- I'm trying to get those photos uploaded and posted to Shutterfly as well. I'm hoping next week will be a picture, thank you note, benefits, overall 'catch up' kind of week.

Stay tuned, more to come!!

Hospital Photos of Halas

I'll be taking my own "professional" photos of Halas this week. But here are the few that the hospital got of her:

http://www.our365.com/newbornportraits/babydetail.aspx?birthid=59f16406-a36d-4e07-883a-e3a27fd9dc89&babyid=d497b519-6d00-41b0-9981-62553e662b62

password: wags

Welcome baby Halas Nicole!!

On Friday, 7/30 at 1:23pm our daughter Halas Nicole was born. She was 8lbs 3oz. and 20.5 inches long. Having a scheduled c-section was a completely different experience this time around. Laboring for 30 some hours first really tired me out last time and made my recovery much harder. This time, I checked in about 2 hours before the surgery and was able to actually spend time with Halas in recovery.

To those that have asked, yes, we stuck with our love for all things football and the name Halas came from good ole Papa Bear George Halas. Maddyn and Halas, quite the pair! We plan to use the nickname of Halle (pronounced Hal-lee) as well- either is fine!

Aside from a few issues here and there along the way, recovery has gone very well!!! I have had some swelling and retention that was alarming at first, but they told me it's common. The hernia has caused a few issues- but none that are unmanagable. Halas has been a champion nurser, so that has been so awesome compared to the challenges I went through at the beginning with Maddyn. Right now, my biggest issue has been engorgement- and I'm hoping to be over that in the next day or two!

We should get to go home from the hospital tomorrow. Maddyn has been staying with family the last 4 days and is excited to meet us at home and introduce "baby sister halas" to Rylee. She's had lots of fun coming to the hospital and getting the royal treatment from the nurses and everyone. She's really been an AWESOME big sister so far, so we are hoping the helpfulness and excitement lasts once we are all home.

I posted some photos from the first few days on the Shutterfly site. You can view and download them there. I plan to get out my good camera and get some fancy shots of the baby and Maddyn this week. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted better. Now that I'm home I'll have more time for photos and blogging :)

Thanks to everyone for the gifts, cards, emails, calls, messages, etc. We miss you all and are looking forward to catching up soon!!

Less than 12 hours to go....

In less than 12 hours I'll be checking into the hospital and having this baby! Crazy! I'm a bundle of nerves, but super exicted to finally meet this little girl!

Dave and I will do our best to send out texts/messages/emails to folks with the details and photos shortly thereafter.

I have some belly photos from these last few weeks I'll post below. Amazingly enough, I ended up gaining 30lbs less than I did with Maddyn. Crazy! Our photograhper also posted another set of "sneak peaks" of our family photo shoot here:
http://ginacristinephotography.com/Blessed_Bebe/?p=348

Love these just as much! When I get all of the photos, I'll post them for you all to see :)

Thanks to everyone for the nice messages of support and encouragement this week!! I'm sorry if I haven't gotten back to you all- Its been a crazy week. But look forward to catching up with each and every one of you soon!!!

Sneak Peak- Family/Maternity Photos!

We had our family/Maternity/Maddyn's 2.5 year photos taken last week (I was too big and tired to do them myself for once). There is a sneak peak up at this link:

http://ginacristinephotography.com/Blessed_Bebe/?p=230

Once I get the images, I'll post up here or on Shutterfly for your viewing pleasure. But there are some really good ones in the sneak peak!

We have another U/S tomorrow, so will post any photos I get from that this week too!

Belly Photos- a comparison

Just for fun, here is a comparison of belly shots from both pregnancies. I weight about 30 lbs less this pregnancy than I did last. That's good- but unfortunately part of it was due to the horrible hyperemesis at the beginning. You can't really see a diff until the last few shots so far.... I'll try to get ones these next 3 weeks too!

Way Behind....1 more month!

Yes, I know I'm way behind. I have about 2 months of photos uploading to Shutterfly now, and lots to update the blog with!

We're down to our last month before Baby Waggle number 2 gets here, and the time is flying by. My c-section is scheduled for 2pm on July 30th, if the baby is not here by then. We've gotten most of the baby stuff out/ready, and now it is just las minute preparations. I have to go get some clothes- since the reality of "reusing everything of Maddyn's"- wasn't exactly what I thought. All of her stuff was fleece and not really August appropriate. But aside from that type of stuff, all is pretty much ready. Thanks to mom for all of her help- she's done most of it!!

I've developed a hernia which has put me on modified bed rest- aka, limit walking/stairs/no lifting, etc. They are watching it, and based on the hernia, I might have to go early. Other than that - my platelets and Amniotic Fluid are great- they are taking weekly counts/Ultrasounds to make sure it stays that way- but so far, so good!

We have had a crazy busy few months, but looking forward to a slower July. Hope all is well with everyone. Will get those photos uplaoded to Shutterly and those videos uploded here! There are some fun ones!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my mom friends out there! I worked all weekend, but did get time to spend with maddyn today, so it was nice! Yesterday we has swimming and the weather was rather chilly, but we did get to go out to dinner last night too. So it was a fun time :)

We took a video of Maddyn bouncing on the big ole' ball yesterday, and her laugh is pretty funny, so I'll upload it here. I've also got a few photos from today which I'll upload on Shutterfly in just a little bit!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. And Congrats to Em & Luke- baby Edith was born on Friday. Baby and mom are doing well :)

U/s Photos and more

I've been so sick and busy this time, I've been awful at updating the blog. But with Baby #2 coming soon, I figured I better get on the ball!!

My hyperemesis is down to about one really bad day a week. This week it was Tues- ugh. But I am managing to get through it. The meds appear to work better now that my body is not as fatigued. My appts are going well, but the stress from work isn't helping my Blood Pressure. So I've been to the hospital a few times for that. No other signs of pre-eclampsia, so that's good. They really think it's just stress right now. My platelets get checked every 2 weeks as well as they give me an u/s every 4-5 weeks at this point to check amniotic fluid. They want to keep checking so we don't have the problems we did last time.

So far, baby girl is looking great! She's much more active than Maddyn- pretty much non-stop movement to the point of craziness, but all is good. The u/s pics never turn out good b/c she moves too much. But I'll upload them here anyways. Maddyn continues to be excited as ever for her baby sister- so let's hope that lasts!

I've uploaded some recent photos of Maddyn on the Shutterfly site. I realized I've been pretty lax with that, so I need to sharpen up my skills again before the baby gets here! It's hard to believe that the 3rd trimester is here already! I have some belly photos I've been taking on the way, but probably won't get to those today. I'll upload them all at once so you can see the progress. I don't remember being this big last time, but apparantly I was!

Hope all is well with everyone!!

Ultrasound photos (I already uploaded the 8w and 14w ultrasounds in previous posts. So here are the 19 w and 26 w ones):

Its a girl!!!

I've been awful at updating, but we did find out that Maddyn will be having a baby sister a few weeks ago. She's thrilled and we're glad she'll get to have someone to share clothes with, have a best friend for life, and pretty much fight with throughout her teen years ;) The baby is looking great and all is well!

I'm doing much better. I'm still down to 1-2 bad days a week, but compared to where I was- a HUGE improvement. The meds seem to be helping finally as well. I'm extremely exhausted right now, more than anything- but starting next week things should die down a little, so hopefully that will help. We have a very busy May.

We hosted Easter today and that was a fun and busy day. I captured some great moments- as it was the first time Maddyn has truly "gotten" the Easter Bunny. She loved it.

More fun videos to come as well. One of them is 350+ MB so I have to find somewhere I can upload it that it will work ok.

Hope everyone had a great and Happy Easter!

March -busy times!!

I have been absent, and I apologize. I will be better going forward. I need to get loads of photos and videos up on the blog and shutterfly site.

We have officially moved Maddyn to her big girl room. She's moved into the front guest room, and out of the nursery. We (knock on wood) had a very smooth transition, and she is in love with her big girl room. Since I was still not 100% mom helped us paint the room- and I was creative again this time. AKA- that means more work for everyone. We still have to do some smaller finishing touches like shelves, knick knacks and letters, but I posted a few teaser photos below!

We will decide what colors to keep in the nursery once we know boy/girl for baby #2. Speaking of, we find out Tuesday morning. So stay tuned!!!

Aside from that Maddyn has had a rough few weeks. She was diagnosed with the startings of pneumonia and has had a tough few weeks with her cough. We're ready for her to be healthy again!

I am doing a little better. They put me on a steroid which seems to be helping better than the other meds were. I'm still on all of the meds though. I'm now 20 weeks and down to about 5 good days a week and 2 terrible ones. It makes it easier to tolerate, since I have 5 days to pick myself up- but I'll be ready to be 100% again. The doctor also has me in prenatal aquatics and yoga to help me get my strength back slowly. I have been so weak, it's been tough.

Work has been insanely busy, and I've been doing lots of 10+ hour days. That's making me terribly exhausted, which isn't really helping. I'm hoping that it will get a little more normal in the next few weeks. It's really taking it's toll.



I was able to head up for a quick trip to see Megan & Em this week. It was great to have the 3 pregnant best friends together- even if only for a short trip. It will be nice to have all of our kids the same age again!!!


Amy got engaged a few weeks ago, so that's also some new news in the family. They are in the beginning stages of planning, but lots of fun wedding planning ahead. Maddyn is excited for Todd to become Uncle Toddy officially!



Other than that, Dave's been super busy at work and we have been trying to maintain some level of normalcy around here. Once we have the gender and things start to get tamer, I'll be loading some videos and pictures on the two sites soon! Maddyn's been full of funnies that i can't wait to post.

Until then, her big girl room:

Snow Day = Lots of Laughs!

We are getting lots of snow today/tonight, and Maddyn was in a great mood after school today. Dave asked her if she wanted to go outside and play in the snow, and she happily said yes!


I got a few short videos and all you hear is her crazy belly laugh. She loves it when Dave or Rylee or even herself falls in the snow. Thought I'd share the videos- they're good for a laugh! Each one is 15-20 seconds. She's definitely her mommy's girl- she loves the snow!!!


It's definitely things like this that can brighten my long hard days of being sick :)

Maddyn is going to be a big sister!

After much time trying, we're blessed to make that announcement. Maddyn has loved this news, and she's already been telling Dave and I that she'd like a baby sister, not a baby brother. LOL- we explained that we can't pick, and she told us NO Baby brothers. So we didn't quite get through. We'll know soon enough, but it is rather comical.

I've been in the hospital numerous times, as I've been diagnosed with hyperemesis. You can learn more about hyperemesis here: http://www.hyperemesis.org/

It's been horrible. Sleeping on the floor at times, b/c it's too hard to get up- and just throwing up anywhere from 2-9 times a day. IVs help a little, but nothing truly helps. They had me on Reglan and Zofran and nothing really seems to help at all. I'm exhausted and have lost a ton of weight. Not fun.

I'm past the 14 week mark, and b/c it has been so bad this time, the doctor thinks it might not last as long as with Maddyn. With Maddyn it was not every day, and it was bearable at times. This time, it's every day and non-stop. So I hope that means it won't last till 26 weeks. Yikes! I've tried every 'remedy' under the sun, including accupuncture- and none have worked.

So, right now, it's just one day at a time, and hoping that it gets better soon. I appreciate all of the cards, care packages, notes, messages and texts people have sent over. I'm sorry i haven't gotten back to everyone. Right now, I'm putting my energy into work (I'm working from home) and Maddyn as much as I can.

My due date is my birthday, but it looks like I'll be a scheduled c-section on July 30th unless we decide not too. We have some time to decide.

I'll try to post more as I'm feeling better- to provide more updates. I am so truant on photos it's not funny. But I will be trying to catch up here when I can.

Some ultrasound photos:

8 week photo:




14 week photo:

Happy New Year!!

I've been so busy, I haven't had much time to do photos. So I've uploaded 4 or 5 albums tonight. Crazy enough, some of them are as old as October. So be sure to check out the Shutterfly site.

I still have to upload Disney, Maddyn's Birthday, and Christmas but I'm getting closer :)

In the meantime, for a good laugh- here is a video of Maddyn playing football with Dave tonight. Her laugh is pretty cute!

Happy New Year everyone!