Never Again

Whoopsie!  I totally forgot to post about our road trip to Illinois.  It was pretty horrific, so honestly I think I was just trying to block it out for sanity reasons...

The drive TO Illinois wasn't anything extraordinary.  We left the area by 7, after a full day of work.  Ariel, Travis and I were supposed to share the driving responsibilities, but an hour into Ariel's first turn threw that out the window.  She got pulled over because the license plate lights were out on the truck (we had no idea).  She was mugged a while ago and has never gone back to get her license renewed.  I don't really understand why, but that's how it goes.  She's been using her Passport as a photo ID in the meantime.  When the cop pulled up her driver's license on his computer, it turned out her license was expired.  He was really nice and let her off with a warning, but that took her off the drivers list.  Less sleep for Nikki.  We stopped at the first truck stop we passed and bought replacement bulbs so we wouldn't get pulled over again.  The entire trip took us 17.5 hours.  Before kids, the trip took us 16 hours, so I didn't think that was so bad.

The drive back was a horrific nightmare that easily competes with the Hurricane Ike evacuation.  Here's a quick overview of the Ike drive: 4 humans, 3 dogs, 3 cats (One of which was mewling incessantly and peed all over herself.  After the Benedryl she drooled all over her cage as well.)  Two hours into our hungover ride back, all the luggage fell off the roof rack into traffic on the Interstate.  Imagine all the headache/nausea-ridden people chasing down suitcases before a semi ran over it.  Good times.

But this trip may have been worse.  I think it was because it lasted three times as long.  The drive back from Illinois took us 22 hours and here's why:  We left at 5 pm and I was the first to drive.  It was POURING rain, so we had covered the bed (with all our Christmas presents, luggage and Ariel's new moped) of the truck with a giant tarp.  The radar on weather.com showed a giant red rain cloud over our entire route.  We decided to change our path so our entire drive would not be in rain.  

Two hours into our trip (still in Illinois), all traffic was being directed off the Interstate.  All of it.  No cars going, no cars coming.  We stopped at a gas station for dinner and to see what was going on.  When we got out of the truck, we noticed the tarp had split in half and all our belongings were soaked.  No tarps for sale at the gas station.  Traffic was being redirected because there had been a hazmat semi accident/chemical spill TWO DAYS PRIOR and they were still cleaning it up.  I remember saying, "Starting this trip off with a bang."  There was no advance warning about what we were supposed to do.  How hard is it to get a road sign out there?  We were redirected onto some tiny two lane road without street lights.  Because it was so late, it was mostly 18-wheelers out on this winding, dark, wet road.  SO SCARY.  Three miles later, we were back on the Interstate headed to the nearest Walmart for a tarp (20 miles away).

It was 45 degrees out and we weren't up for spending the remainder of the trip soaking wet, so Travis picked up some rain ponchos when he got the new tarp.  My hands were numb by the time we got the tattered remains of the old tarp off and the new one on.  That stop took us an hour and a half.  Three hours later we stopped for gas and noticed the second tarp had tore in half as well.  We gave up on it at that point. 

Travis and I took turns driving 50-60 mph in the torrential down pour.  It finally let up when we got to Mississippi.  We made a stop for gas at some point.  Aiden had to use the restroom so I took the time to check Mila's diaper.  At some point unbeknownst to us, she had a complete poopy diaper blowout.  I couldn't believe none of us smelled it.  Maybe it was packed under her well enough we didn't notice?  Maybe we were all too stressed to notice anything aside from the task at hand?  Thankfully I had an extra set of clothes for both kids in the cab of the truck.  I threw Mila's clothes directly into the trash since I knew the stain would set before we made it home.  I didn't want to carry her through the gas station, so she got a bath by baby wipes in the parking lot.  Between cleaning her and her car seat I think I used half a pack of wipes.

Back on the road again... I think it was 7 am when we stopped for breakfast at a Waffle House.  The kids were both awake (Aiden didn't sleep much) and I wanted to give them a chance to stretch their legs.  We had a greasy breakfast, refueled the truck and got back on the road.  About an hour after breakfast, Aiden decided it wasn't sitting well with him and regurgitated the entire meal.  Thankfully he complained first so I had a bag handy, but some of it made it down his front despite our efforts.  Stop #352.  Wipe bath #2.  Hoping there were no more stops for clothing changes or our kids would drive the rest of the way naked.

That was it.  I think.  Travis, Mila and I were all on the tail-end of horrific colds during the drive.  Ariel was on the front-end of her's.  Aiden made it through it all without ever getting it.  We hadn't slept all week because Mila was teething, so she thought waking up between 4 and 5 every morning was necessary.   Needless to say, it was the worst drive of my life.  I was absolutely exhausted and thankful I had taken Monday off from work to unpack and do laundry.  I was hoping to take a nap that day, but of course I didn't.  I took a couple breaks to read though.  

I think, at this point in the kids' lives, the longest road trip we will tackle is 4 hours.  When they get older, perhaps we'll try it again.  I remember taking lots of road trips when I was a kid and I remember them fondly.  Though most of them were in an RV, so we had room to sprawl out.  No different than being stuck inside on a rainy day at home, really.

See why I was blocking it out?

SHOPPING!!!

We had a much needed lazy weekend.  Last week we had Halloween and celebrated my sister's birthday.  The weekend before that was filled with lots of festivals.  The weekend before that I was in Florida for work.  BUSY TIMES.  This past Saturday and Sunday we took turns doing fun things.  Saturday morning Travis took Aiden and went grocery shopping while I stayed home with Mila and cleaned around the house.  Then he took Aiden to play golf in the afternoon.  They had a good time riding around in the golf cart and hitting balls.  I'm glad Aiden enjoyed it.  Maybe that's something they can grow to do together.

Sunday I met my friend Linsey for lunch and went shopping at the outlet mall that just opened last month - WITHOUT KIDS.  It was great to get in some conversation without interruption.  I am so excited to get some clothes for work that are non-maternity.  I started my new job when I got back from maternity leave.  My new job requires casual business attire, which is the complete opposite of my t-shirt and jeans level of dress at the previous position.  I had one pair of slacks and a few tops that fit the bill, so I have been long overdue for these new clothes.  Two and a half outfits are nowhere near enough to complete my wardrobe, but it's a good amount to get me started. 

Sometime Friday night/Saturday morning, Mila's first tooth broke through the gums!!  I can't believe it!  She's only five months old.  I know all kids are different, but Aiden was eight months old when he got his first tooth.  It's crazy.  Mila has been a little fussy lately between this teething and her mild ear infection, so I've been giving her Tylenol every day.  Not every four to six hours, but once or twice per day (usually before bed to help her get through a night of sleep). 

I did some online searches and found that other moms have found a correlation between Tylenol and constipation.  I could not find any reputable sites that said there is a direct cause and effect here, except with Tylenol with codeine.  I know these are just mothers' opinions, but I'm wondering if that might be what's going on with Mila.  She has been having bouts of constipation and it seems to be around the same time as when I give her Tylenol.  Only one way to check - cut out the Tylenol.  There's only two weeks until she's old enough for Ibuprofen, thank goodness.  

If she didn't have a proper bowel movement today at daycare, then I'm going to offer some watered down prune juice.  It's just so sad!  I did see a direct correlation between rice cereal and constipation, so I'm not offering her that anymore.  I'm so bummed that it seems like constipation is a common problem for my kids.  I was hoping they would get their bowels from their father.  HA.  I suppose if we physically worked our butts off all day long and ate as much spicy food as he does, we might be able to keep up.  Instead, the kids and I are stuck relying on yogurt, probiotics and bulk fiber to take care of things.  Sorry if that was too much for some of you, but it's just life.

I hope my baby girl is feeling better tonight!  It breaks my heart when she's not her normal perky self.  Both of the kids are getting over coughs as well.  I am ecstatic to announce that we've gone five days without waking up at night from a coughing fit.  Even if it's not a full eight hours, having a night of consecutive sleep can do wonders for a person's psyche.

4 Month Well Baby

My baby is growing up!!  I took Mila for her 4-month check up last week.  I thought her appointment was Thursday at 12:45.  Turns out it was at 11:45.  I was an hour late and they couldn't fit us in.  So all that running around, carrying Mila in her car seat and disrupting her day for nothing!  We rescheduled for the following day at 4:30 with a different doctor.  Mila's pediatrician wasn't available for another two weeks and I didn't want to postpone her vaccinations that long.  

So here are the stats:

• 14 lbs (75th percentile)
• 27 in (95th percentile)
• 2 shots and 1 by mouth

Before her vaccinations

The doctor gave us the go-ahead to try rice cereal, veggies and fruits.  We started with rice cereal this weekend.  Mila didn't want to have anything to do with it.  The look of disgust on her face was hilarious.  we aren't supposed to try new food for five days so I'm going to keep offering the cereal to see if she changes her mind (this way, if she has an allergic reaction, I know which food did her in).  I don't know if it's a dislike of the flavor or the texture.  Aiden hated the cereal as well, but he really got into pureed food.  I'm going to try a jar of store bought food before I start making my own again.  So, Wednesday or Thursday I'll offer her something different. Aiden's first food was carrots.  I'm thinking I might do the same for Mila.  Or maybe peas?

Not big on rice cereal.

Force feeding

Mila was super cranky this weekend.  She never had a fever, but it might have been related to the vaccinations.  I'm hoping that's all it was.  A big problem for us is her need to observe her surroundings.  She will get so caught up in watching people around her that she WILL NOT GO TO SLEEP.  I've started putting a burp cloth over her eyes when it's nap time to cut back on environmental overload.  That usually works, but it was a no-go this weekend.  I feel really bad about it too because my friends babysat for us Saturday night and had to deal with Baby From Hell.  It's sad really because she's usually such a happy baby.

Mila likes her mirror.

I am amazed at some of the similarities and differences between Mila and Aiden.  The sleep thing is just like her brother.  One major difference is the closeness.  Mila LOVES to cuddle.  Sometimes she gets so angry when you put her down.  When she's tired, she will rest her head on my shoulder.  It's the sweetest thing!  Except when I need to make dinner and don't have time to hold her.  Usually I can put her in the bouncy seat in the kitchen and she is content just being in close proximity to me.  Aiden is the opposite.  For the most part, that kid has a don't-touch-me policy.  Every once in a while he'll ask to sit on my lap while we read books.  It surprises me every time.  

Mila and Aiden interact more and more every day.  There are always the stressful days when Aiden is cranky and whines the hours away.  Helps me to appreciate the good days more and more.

Somniphobia

I am afraid of going to sleep.  Every night, I avoid going to bed, because I know it's going to suck.  I toss and turn all night long.  Then I am guaranteed to wake up between 3:30 and 4:30 when Mila has her congestion cough.  She usually can't breathe through her nose, so she wakes up angry.  I have to use saline spray and a booger bulb to clean her out, but by that point, she's wide awake and takes some coaxing back to sleep.

Even when Travis gets up with her, her crying keeps me awake.  WIDE awake.  When my alarm goes off I feel like I'm in a partial coma.  But in the middle of the night when Mila wakes me, WIDE AWAKE.  Ugh.

So, now I dread going to sleep because I am guaranteed a crappy night of sleep.  Mila has her 4-month check up this week.  I'm hoping the doctor will offer some fabulous, fix-it-all advice.  Preferrably in the form of a prescription.  Mila has also had these random bouts of inconsolable crying for the past week.  I wonder if she has an ear infection, or something more serious.  She doesn't have a fever though.

I've thought about taking Tylenol PM, but then I worry about Travis waking up with the kids if they need him.  He can sleep through a hurricane.  I used to be able to sleep through hurricanes.  That was BC.  Before Children. 

50% of my kids are diaper-free

Aiden has been Pull-Up-free for five days now, with ZERO accidents.  To celebrate, we went and bought more underwear this weekend.  We loaded up on the superhero underwear.  

I cannot get over how much growing both Aiden and Mila have been doing lately.  Aiden has been bringing home worksheets he did at preschool where he traces letters.  Last night he was retracing the 'A' worksheet when he asked if he could cut it.  (He loves using scissors.)  Sure why not?!  We're just going to throw it in the trash.  He then proceeded to cut on the lines between each row of letters!

Last Thursday when I picked him up from daycare, I was talking to him about what we should bring in for Show and Tell the following day.  It was supposed to be the color of the week, red, or start with the letter of the week, 'A'.  I asked him what starts with the letter 'a', not really expecting a correct response when he rattles off, "Ant... Alligator... Acorn... Apple..."  I'm sure he's just regurgitating what he's learned at daycare, but it surprised the pants off of me!

Mila WAS sleeping through the night for a few weeks, but then she developed a nasty cough.  When it was really bad, we found that she slept better in her vibrating chair.  It kept her elevated so the congestion would drain properly.  But now that she only has two or three coughing fits per day, I want her in her crib.  The chair makes me nervous.  Sadly, she has one coughing fit per night.  It always wakes me up and for some reason it always happens between 3:30 and 4:30 in the morning.  It wakes her up enough that she realizes she's hungry, so she won't go back to sleep.  

I think I've figured out the trick to getting her back to sleep.  She doesn't like to be swaddled, but at the same time, she keeps herself up with all the restless arm movements she does when she's fussy.  She rubs her face a lot, which inevitably knocks the pacifier out of her mouth.  Now, I just hold her arms on her chest until she calms down.  Then I leave her to fall asleep.  It works!  I taught Travis this morning so he can help me out.  We take turns getting up with Mila at night.  We need to work together to get her back in the habit of sleeping through the night.  It's amazing how much more aware I am when I get a full-night's sleep.

(PS - I still have not seen her roll over.)

3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days

Mila will be four months old on the 18th.  It's depressing how quickly time flies.  She rolled over for the first time three weeks ago (front to back) and I have yet to see this happen.  Travis has seen her do it three times.  They said she does it all the time at daycare.  She mostly sleeps when I have her in the evening.  I was hoping to see her in action this weekend, but it was a no go.  I haven't even walked into the room to find her already on her stomach.  I'm starting to wonder if everyone is making it up.

I've been looking at photos of Mila recently and I've decided she officially no longer looks like a little newborn.  She is a big chunky girl that can hold her head up just fine.  We're working on the torso now.  I can't quite prop her up on my hip yet. 



It cooled down enough for us to take Mila outside this weekend.



She loves to look around. When Mila's on the ground, she immediately rolls to her side so she can watch whatever Aiden is doing. When she's on her stomach, her head is held up high. If we're holding her, she will turn her head towards the action - sometimes that means she's trying to swivel her entire body around.

She is such a good baby.  She is always so happy and alert.  Mila is already exhibiting characteristics that remind me of her brother.  She HATES sleeping.  She fights naptime tooth and nail.  Sometimes, the only way I can get her to sleep is by putting a blanket over her eyes.  Her teachers said she barely sleeps at daycare, which explains why she falls asleep on the car ride home and doesn't wake up until the next morning.  I wake her up for a couple bottles before going to bed, but she always goes right back to sleep.  Crazy kid.

Mila drools SO MUCH.  I forgot Aiden did this.  He used to get a rash on his chin from all the drooling he did.  I used to have to put Vaseline on his chin to help protect it from the saliva.  Ick.  Mila hasn't reached that point just yet.  Instead of teething rings, I give her a burp cloth to chew on.  Gives her something to do AND it absorbs the drool. I think because of this, her favorite toy has quickly become the little blanket with a plush giraffe head sewn in the center (similar to this).  If I give her multiple toys to chew on, that one always ends up in her grip.  When she's drinking from her bottle, she likes to hold onto a blanket as well. I need to go buy another one we can leave at the daycare!

Aiden loves her.  He is always giving her hugs and kisses.  If he can't find her, he asks, "Where's Mila?"  When she cries, he shushes her and says, "It's okay Mila!"  He likes to do goofy things to make her laugh.  They're going to be such a pair. 



Sunday morning cartoons with Aiden and Phage.





Wrong Side of the Bed

Most morning I get annoyed when Aiden wakes up at the same time as my alarm.  That means he's following me around asking me questions or trying to get me to help him with things.  I set my alarm at a time that allows enough time to get ready (myself, pack a lunch, eat breakfast) and then to help Travis dress the kids for daycare.  That means I don't have time to pause every three seconds to talk to Aiden.  Ergo, the annoyance with his early waking. 

I have learned that if I set him at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal or oatmeal he will leave me alone except when he needs a refill.  I usually get parental guilt when I walk by the table to do something in the kitchen and he asks, "Will you sit with me, Mommy?"  Ugh.  I would love to sit with you!  But I have to get ready for work, so I can't.  Poo.

I have decided that the mornings where he wakes up early are WAY better than the days when he sleeps in and we have to wake him up to get ready.  He is SO GRUMPY if we have to wake him.  This morning, I turned on the lamp on his night stand and propped the door open to help him get rolling.  I went back to the bathroom to continue what I was doing.  Aiden got out of bed and shut the bedroom door.  I stuck my head out in the hallway to see if Travis had done it, but he gave me the same look.  We opened the door to his room to find him turning off the light. 

"It's still dark out," he says.

It was all I could do to get in the hallway before I burst into laughter.  He kept saying he wanted to go back to sleep.  I really wish he could understand that this is how we feel EVERY WEEKEND.  Someday...

The Solution

Hopefully it's not dangerous, but we've found the solution to Mila's nightly cough attacks.  LET HER SLEEP IN THE VIBRATING CHAIR.  It's slightly elevated so she's not lying completely on her back, allowing for the mucous to drain.  It's really very fantastic.  We've done it for three nights now.  The first two nights, we put her to bed in her crib.  An hour and a half later she was hacking up a lung so we moved her to the chair.  The third night we just put her straight in that chair.  Last night was the first night I have slept all the way through the night. 

Like I said - FANTASTIC.

Can you die of sleep deprivation?

Mila's sniffles never went away after her stay in the hospital.  It got worse the weekend after and now it seems to be slowly dissipating.  The problem now is that the mucous seems to have thickened, making her cough all night.  Last night she developed a raspy cough/voice.  Poor thing. 

Before bed, I turned on the vaporizer, hoping it would help loosen things up a bit.  Her cough kept waking me up until I finally got out of bed at 2 AM and did the saline spray and booger bulb.  I think that helped her breathe better.  But her cough persisted.  It got to the point where I had a momentary anxiety attack that she might have whooping cough.  I suppose it's still a possibility, but after visiting the Mayo Clinic website I decided there's not much I can do yet.  She doesn't have a fever and she doesn't cough to the point of turning red or blue, or vomiting.  According to Mayo, that's when I should take her to the doctor.  Hopefully we don't get to that point. 

4 o'clock rolled around and she was ready to eat.  It was Travis' night to feed her, but it still kept me up.  I feel like a zombie today.  I hit snooze three times and finally got out of bed after Travis' alarm went off.  I got up to make coffee and Aiden came running out of his bedroom immediately demanding milk and cereal.  I swear he was waiting at his door for one of us to get up.  I still don't understand why that kid only sleeps 7-8 hours a night.  Is that even okay for a small child??

A Frequently Used Snooze Button

Things are a little better. Mila can do an 8-hour stretch of sleep. The trick is timing it to be when we go to bed as well. I've been trying to get her to take her last bottle at 10, but most of the time she doesn't want to wake up. Because of her stuffy nose she wakes up angry several times per night. She goes right back to sleep but it still wakes me up.

We're attempting to transition Aiden out of Pull Ups at night. He's doing great without them at naptime. Sometimes he does good at night, sometimes he wets the bed. We should probably hold off on this until Mila is over her cold. Too much at once!

I've started to fear going to bed. Being awake but tired is much easier to handle than falling asleep and having to wake 3 to 5 times throughout the night.

I don't remember it being this difficult with Aiden. I need to go back and read my blog posts from after I had him. Maybe it's one of those things that you just forget. There is a conference room down the hall from my desk that is usually dark. It calls my name as I pass by every time. I just want to curl up under that conference table and never get up again.

Tonight is Travis' night to get up with Mila if she wakes up. I'm thinking about sleeping on the couch because even when it's his night I still wake up. The couch isn't my favorite place to sleep but at this point I'll do anything for consecutive blocks of sleep.

Last night Travis, Mila and I all passed out as soon as we put Aiden to bed at 8:15. I had set my alarm for 10 to feed Mila one more time. I woke to the sounds of Aiden playing in the living room. I'm assuming he'd had free roam of the house since we fell asleep. When he woke up at 4 AM because he wet the bed he fought going back to sleep. WHY DOESN'T THAT KID LIKE SLEEPING???

Looooong Weekend

I am EXHAUSTED.  Mila was released from the hospital yesterday at 5 pm.  She never developed more than a fever and a booger nose.  She was really tired on Saturday, but I'm sure that's because they kept her up so late with the poking and prodding.  Her doctor was an infectious disease doctor, which turned out to be a godsend.  He didn't freak out about her fever and immediately do a lumbar puncture.  Apparently that's standard procedure when babies under two months have a fever.  Because she was exhibiting cold symptoms (she also had a slight cough) and her brother had the exact same thing at home, he didn't jump the gun.  I am very thankful.  She was poked enough (blood draw and a catheter to get urine).  No need to get her in the back as well!

I stayed at the hospital all day Saturday.  Travis came back up late that afternoon to trade me places.  I went home for a much needed shower, ate dinner and went straight to bed.  We postponed my birthday party that was originally planned for Saturday night.  For dinner we ate leftovers from the dinner my mom made for my birthday on Friday, since I didn't get any - fish tacos.  Aiden woke up once in the middle of the night.  I heard his door open so I went to see what he was doing.  When I asked what he was doing, he said Phage pooped in his room.  I didn't see or smell anything, so I asked him where.  He pointed to a few spots by the door.  I picked them up with a tissue and realized it was vomit, not poo.  When I went to flush it in the toilet, I found a giant clump of cat vomit wrapped in toilet paper already in the toilet.  Aiden had cleaned up Phage's mess.  Aiden likes to help, but sometimes I think he tackles tasks bigger than he's capable of doing.

Travis said Saturday night was fairly uneventful - just the regular vitals checks from the RN.  Her last recorded fever was Saturday afternoon.  I fed Aiden breakfast and headed up to trade spots with Travis.  I was hoping he'd go home and rest, but he chose to clean the house instead.  Someday this refusal to rest is going to catch up with him.  I spent Sunday afternoon with Mila just watching TV and playing around on Pinterest and Facebook (all accessible on my phone).  I was ecstatic when they finally let us leave at 5. 

For dinner, my mom and Travis made broccoli-cheese soup with bread.  We have a lot of food from the cancelled party we need to eat.  We'll save the canned and boxed foods, but the perishables won't last until we can reschedule.

Last night was miserable.  Mila's nose was completely stopped up last night . She won't drink more than an ounce or two of formula before she gets too angry about not being able to breathe.  Since Travis had horrible sleep at the hospital Saturday night, I stayed up with her last night.  She was awake off and on until midnight.  She had horrible gurgling out the nose until that point.  When she woke this morning she seemed to be able to breathe better.  Not perfect, but MUCH better than last night.

The daycare won't use the booger bulb.  I'm really bummed because I know that means she will have a really hard time eating today.  I asked if they had any other kids sick last week and they said there were a few that went home in Aiden's class.  Bummer.  Hopefully we've seen the worst of it.  I need some sleep.

Baby-Gear Shopping is Fun

As always, we had a BUSY weekend.  I really should have split up our Easter festivities over two days, but I had too much going on Saturday to fit anything else in.  I had an overdue oil change scheduled, shopping to do and a date night with Travis.  I had a coupon to Babies R Us and a play mat that I needed to exchange, so I took the opportunity to buy a new stroller/car seat combo for Mila.  A friend accidentally broke the handle on Aiden's stroller and his car seat was getting kind of old.  Travis and I agreed that we would feel better getting a new set.

I'm having a hard time flipping over to the girl mind set for baby stuff.  I actually felt guilty buying a stroller with pink on it.  Partially because I know Travis will be pushing it from time to time.  He didn't seem too worried about the pink though.  I settled on a newer version of the one we had for Aiden and honestly I can't wait to pull it out of the box!  I also bought a few other items while at the store (bottle drying rack abd plush elephant).  I couldn't believe my entire spending was under $200 between the coupon and gift exchange.  Very exciting.

After the oil change I went to Target to buy Easter goodies for the family (Aiden, Ariel, Robert and Travis).  I made sure to get a few extras for myself.  My current fave are Peepsters, by the makers of Peeps.  YUMMMM.  I also bought some pants and more muslin blankets for Mila (PERFECT for swaddling).  We seem to have a shortage of bottoms for that girl and I don't want her running around half naked!  And I would reuse Aiden's muslin blankets, except he still sleeps with him.  I don't want to take everything from him to give to the baby.

When I got home, I went through more baby stuff in the garage and then got ready for date night with Travis.  A friend at work gave us a gift card to Willie G's to promote one last date before the baby comes.  Since that restaurant is in Galveston, we left Aiden with Sue and headed off child-free.  It's always so funny going out without a kid.  When we were at dinner before seeing Pauly Shore a few weeks ago we sat down at the table.  We both announced to each other that we needed to wee before we got food and Travis told me I could go first.  I was about to tell him, no you go first, when I realized, "Why do we have to take turns?  There's no kid for us to stay at the table with!  We can pee at the SAME TIME."  Funny how parenting changes your way of life.

So, feeling like I was forgetting something, we made our way to Ariel's.  We left Mr. Lion there by accident on Friday and Aiden ALWAYS sleeps with him.  He woke up three times Friday night before waking up for the day at 6:30 and I wasn't up for another night of that.

Dinner was great.  We sat outside and enjoyed the water and making fun of all the sunburnt tourists.  We both ate seafood and we shared a giant caprese salad.  I even ordered a glass of wine.  That's the very first time I've imbibed alcohol in public while pregnant.  While my doctor assured me that one glass every now and then is fine, strangers tend not to agree.  I didn't really care that night.  The hot weather, combined with seafood, made a glass of cool white wine sound greatly appealing.  Travis had to finish it for me though.  Ha!

We were going to get dessert there, but nothing sounded very good.  Instead, we walked a couple blocks to the Nestle Toll House Cafe for cookies and ice cream.  OMG that place is amazing.  I told a friend we went there and she said she'd never been, but she did gain five pounds when she walked by it once.  I'd probably worry more if I weren't pregnant and still within the proper weight limits.  You really can't top a chocolate chip cookie covered in vanilla ice cream, fudge and nuts.  I'm so glad we live in a time when we can afford chocolate.

We sat with Sue for a little while before we took Aiden home.  I was thankful when he went straight to sleep when we got home. He hasn't been sleeping that well lately, so I really appreciated Sue wearing him out for us.

Seriously though, he FIGHTS going to sleep.  We put him down between 8 and 8:30 every night and he usually gets out of bed constantly until 10 pm when we go to bed.  And then he wakes up between 4:30 and 5 every morning.  That's only 6.5-7 hours per night!  It's not enough for me, so I can't imagine it's enough for a two year old.  What the deuce??  Does anyone have any advice on this situation?  I'm seriously contemplating giving him Benadryl.  Or maybe even melatonin every now and again so I can get ONE good night of sleep periodically.  But drugging him freaks me out a bit.  I should call the pediatrician and see what she thinks. 

Problem is I wouldn't get a GOOD night's sleep even without him waking me up constantly since I get up 1-3 times to pee.  I decided last night we are going to start shutting our cat Phage out at night.  He jumps on and off the bed frequently and it wakes me up each time.  When he jumps up, the jostle wakes me.  When he jumps off, the sound of him hitting the floor makes me wonder if Aiden is up walking around.  And by "walking around" I mean jumping off his dresser like he does from time to time (without my approval, of course). 

I really hope to sleep someday...

A Missing Husband

You know what's disorienting?  Waking up to find your husband is not in bed, when you expect him to be.

2:33 am - I wake up to a strange noise.  I lay in bed for a moment trying to decipher if it's Aiden or a cat.  I think cat, but I'm not sure.  I'll just get up to check.  Wait a tic, I'm cold.  I change into warmer PJ's. 

2:38 am - I get out of bed to go check on Aiden and realize Travis is not in bed with me.  His side is not even messed up.  When I get to Aiden's door, it's slightly ajar.  Which is weird, because I shut it when I went to bed for the night.  I check out Aiden - he's fast asleep, but his covers are all bunched around his face leaving his tootsies chilled.  I tuck him in properly and go to turn on the heat.  This is when I realize Travis is not asleep on the couch like he does occasionally.  Sometimes when he works late (like he did last night - got home at 10:15), he eats dinner in front of the TV and falls asleep there.  But he's not there.  He's not in the guest bed either.  I check the back door.  The light is still on, which is weird because Travis always turns it off at bed time.

2:42 am - I walk back to the bedroom to look out my window at the driveway for his truck.  On my way there, I try to recall if he told me he would be gone.  Last I remember, he was getting in the shower.  No word on leaving the house again until morning.  Maybe he got called out on an emergency job?  Unlikely, since his he's not on call and I never heard his phone ring.  Nope, truck is not in the driveway.  I sit down on my bed, adrenaline pumping, and pick up my phone to call Travis.

2:43 am - There's a text from Travis at 2:02 that says he's just going to stay at Ariel's til the morning.  Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  He had mentioned the morning before that he might go hang out with Alex (who is in town for spring break this week) either Wednesday or Thursday night.  I guess he decided on Wednesday night.  I respond that I had no idea he was going down for sure and it thoroughly freaked me out.  His response, "I kissed you and said I am going to hang with Alex."

Ohhhh, well he did tell me I guess.  No matter that I was asleep when he said it.

I laid in bed waiting for the adrenaline to leave my system.

3:15 am - SO HUNGRRRYYYY.  I've been awake for so long that my body has decided it's time to eat again.  Mila handles hungry about as well as Mommy.  Which means she's repeatedly karate chopping the interior of my stomach.  FINE.  I get up and swallow a strawberry Pop Tart (no icing) whole.  Mmmm... back to bed!

I don't think it took me too much longer after that to fall back to sleep. 

5:45 am - Stupid alarm.  Stupid work.  Stupid headache.  Why do I feel like I have a hangover??  It's not fair!  I don't even have the excuse of drinking to balance out the dull thud that is fogging up my brain.  Ugh.

6:07 am (one snooze later) - Coffee is brewing.  Aiden's eating Lucky Charms at the table.  Travis comes in the back door.  HUNGOVER for real.  He brushes his teeth, shaves and passes out in bed for a few minutes before jumping up and realizing he's going to be late for work.

I'm glad Travis got to see Alex while he is here.  He hasn't had a chance to get down to Galveston all week.  Alex is staying at Ariel's house near the beach with his 6 other friends.  However, I'm not too thrilled about being 7 months pregnant and being the sole caretaker of Aiden.  I am exhausted.  Even more so after waking up in the middle of the night for almost an hour.  I guess this is a glimpse of what's to come in two months.

Succinct

Again, I have little time, but I have lots to talk about.  So just a quickie.  Aiden has been getting up before 6 for the past couple of days and it reminds me so much of myself.  When I was little if I woke up even a tiny bit, I would get up immediately.  I didn't want to miss anything.  I don't know if that's what Aiden is thinking, but I can't help but think of myself when I was little.  I did sleep in when I was a teenager.  Though if family was in town or if it was a holiday, I was up at the break of dawn. 

Travis gets so annoyed with him.  I do get a little frustrated he's up before my alarm some days, but at the same time, I know this won't last forever.  He won't always want to get up and lay in mom and dad's bed for a few minutes before the day gets moving.  And the fact that we're so much alike gives me a bit of a soft spot as well. 

I sure hope Mila is a daddy's girl so he can get a taste of this.

Some Joe

It's annoying when things don't go exactly the way I'd like them.  Yes, I know that's life.  But it doesn't stop me from feeling a little off.  Aiden has been waking up really early lately.  I don't know why.  We haven't changed his nap time or bed time.  This morning he came out of his bedroom one second after my alarm went off, which meant he was already awake in his room.  I hit snooze and stayed in bed.  Aiden silently walked around to my side of the bed.  When I didn't react to his presence, he went out to the living room and turned on the light (he climbs up on the couch to reach the switch). 

He played for a few minutes but came back when my alarm went off the second time.  I asked him what he was doing awake already and he ran away whining, "Nooooo...."  I think he thought I was going to make him go back to bed.  You see, that's what I do when he wakes up before the sun is up on weekends or before my alarm has gone off during the week.  I just let him run off to the living room while I forced myself out of bed. 

I've been pretty exhausted this week.  We've stayed up late every night for one reason or another - Curt's in town, the puzzle is all too addicting (we finished it by the way), I can't put an e-book down.  I've gone to bed between 11 and 12 for four nights in a row now.  It's not a habit I should keep.  I usually go to bed by 10.  But in order to get eight hours of sleep I need to be asleep by 9:45.

To top off this exhaustion is the fact that I'm limited on the amount of caffeine I can have.  My doctor said one cup of coffee a day is fine.  But I feel guilty whenever I have caffeine.  For some reason, I feel like Mila is a lot more active than Aiden ever was.  She's always flitting away in there.  But when I have caffeine she goes NUTS.  Almost to the point where it annoys me.  Plus I feel bad that I'm forcing her to take a drug she didn't ask for.  I dunno.  For all I know, she's loving the energy, doing log rolls all around her live-in swimming pool. 

The nice thing about the coffee is it helps keep me regular, if you know what I mean.  I haven't had nausea in a while, so I haven't needed the Zofran.  That means one less thing causing constipation.  I'm still taking stool softeners, probiotics and eating a prune or dried apricot everyday.  Plus, doc told me to drink three LITERS of water a day.  I don't always get the full three, but that combination has kept me pretty regular and I'm loving it.  There are days when I'm BM free.  Those days I contemplate a cup of coffee just to keep things moving.

So I guess I'm going to sit here for another hour or so feeling guilty about how badly I want that cup of joe until I actually go get my fill. 

On a side note, did you know that coffee is sometimes referred to as Java because back in the day, the sole exporter of coffee was the island of Java?  And one theory for the term 'cup of joe' is because the soldiers used to stay warm in the trenches with a metal mug of hot coffee.  GI Joe's drinking a cup of joe. 

The Sweetest Thing

I had another 4 o'clock wakening this morning, but this one was a lot different than yesterday's. I've been using a sleeping mask at night for a few months now. So last night, when I thought I heard something next to my bed I started to pull up my mask. It was only up an inch when a small child flopped on top of me.

Aiden snuggled into my neck for a hug and just laid there. I was so exhausted that I didn't say anything and I just laid there as well. After a moment, he rolled over into the crook of my arm and stayed there for 30 minutes. At that point, he got out of our bed and I asked him if he was going back to his bed. He put up his hand, I took it, and walked him back to his bed and Mr. Lion.

I don't know why he came in to visit me. Perhaps he had a bad dream? Perhaps he woke up early, but decided he wasn't ready to wake up just yet? No matter the reason, it was the sweetest thing. Aiden does not cuddle. Unless he is sick, he likes his own space. As long as he has been strong enough to push me away, he has never been a fan of cuddling. He's his own little person, with his own personal space. If it never happens again, I will be happy with that moment. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll cross over to the dark side eventually.

Travis, The Amazing Rocket

At 3:45 this morning, I woke suddenly to Travis catapulting himself out of bed and running from the room. He had thrown the comforter over me and scared the wits out of Phage (our cat) as well. Phage had been laying by my feet on the bed and was now standing on the floor hissing in the direction Travis had just run. My heart was racing and I assumed that he had heard someone trying to break in and went to check on it.

When he didn't come back immediately, I had a moment to ponder what the hell was going on. Generally, if Travis thinks he hears someone outside our house, he looks through the windows first. And that usually wakes me up so I'm aware of what's going on as well. Since he had so quickly propelled himself from our bedroom, I thought it might be something else. As I strained to hear what he was doing, I thought of fire, or maybe the cats were getting into something they shouldn't?

That's when I heard Travis lift the toilet seat in the bathroom. I hopped up to go see what was going on.

"Oh I think I had a dream that I needed to hop out of bed really quick."

Huh? I'm laying in the bedroom having a heart attack and you just had a bad dream? What the deuce?? Eh, well as long as I'm up I might as well use the bathroom.

Funny thing is, every morning when he sleeps in through all the snoozes on his alarm and I go into wake him up, that's how he gets out of bed. It's like he's been prodded with electricity to get him going. Hilarious. Every time.

Rough Start

If you do not handle talk of bodily functions well, you should probably skip today's post.

Monday morning was not a good time for Aiden and I. Aiden had diarrhea a couple times on Sunday, which is very unusual for him, but I attributed it to all the juice he drank at the Ramby's on Saturday evening. I rethought that when he began to projectile vomit all over the back seat of my car on the ride onto the island Monday morning.

Aiden started coughing, so I looked in my rear view mirror to check on him. Then the fountain began. I was in the middle lane in halted morning rush hour traffic. The cars couldn't get out of my way fast enough. I pulled over in front of Sonic, which if you don't know the island, is only 2 blocks after the end of I-45. He continued to spew milk during the entire ride from the center lane to the side road, all the while I'm forcefully whispering, "Oh no, oh no, oh no..."

He finally stopped as I was getting out of the car. I immediately jumped in the back seat and assessed the damage. Aiden was covered from chin to knees. His toy train and airplane were lost in the mess. It had sprayed over the edge of his car seat onto the backpack we bring to daycare with his nap time gear and an extra change of clothes (which we needed at the moment). It was dripping down the back of the center console onto my sun screens.

My first thought was how the hell am I going to clean this up? I'm in my car! I didn't even have the diaper bag. I grabbed the blanket we leave in the car and tried to wipe Aiden and the seat straps up the best I could. I took him out of the seat, stripped him of all his clothes and brought him to the trunk of the car to wipe him down with the baby wipes I thankfully keep in the car. After he was as clean as he was going to get at the moment, I pulled the extra set of clothes out of the back pack. I was happy to see they were dry. I don't know why it was so important to me to dress him. I guess just doing the familiar thing. I set him in the passenger seat, desperately hoping he didn't have anything left to cover the front of the car as well.

I tried to wipe up the car seat with the baby wipes, since I had to put Aiden back in the thing to get him home. My attempts were futile. I was barely getting anything off the seat. I finally decided to clean the straps the best I could and then lay another blanket on the seat before setting Aiden back in it.

After he was strapped in, I called the daycare to notify them Aiden would not be in that day. Then I phoned Travis to see if there was any chance he would be able to come home early. I had a HUGE assay to do at work. If I postponed it, I would have to throw away everything I had done already. Not only was that not cost effective, it was a waste of my time. Travis said he would check with his boss to see when he could get off and I started the trek back home.

Travis sent me a text saying he would be off at lunch. I was plenty fine with that because every hour before his normal time off work would be better for me.

About half way home, Aiden started coughing again and saying "ow." I looked fearfully in the rear view mirror to see all color was gone from Aiden's face and lips. Then a little more come up. By this point it was all water, no chunks. Thankfully? I'm not really sure if that is better or worse. All I could do was tell him we would be home soon.

When we got home, I left all the windows rolled down. No sense allowing that smell to concentrate before I had to climb in after it. I gave Aiden a quick bath, then set him in front of the TV with Mr. Lion, his puppy pillow and a blanket. He sat there and watched Elmo in Grouchland one and a half times. He was content to sit and not move for that much time.

I threw out what was left of the milk he had drank that morning. It didn't expire for another week, but there wasn't much left and I wasn't taking any chances.

I went back out to the car to tackle my next task. I pulled the car seat out and set it in the driveway. That way anything that fell off during the cleaning would not land in my car. I took the cover off for the first time ever and threw it in the wash, along with everything else that had been coated. I thought about wiping it down with paper towels and some sort of cleaner, but quickly threw that idea out the window when I thought of the hose. It was the best way to get "things" out of the cracks and crevasses. Next in line for the hose were Aiden's toys and my sun screens.

I need to point out that I am eternally grateful (I have been watching a little too much Toy Story lately) for the car seat protector we have used since Aiden was born. We originally bought it to prevent his car seat from leaving permanent dents in the leather. But now I know it has another purpose: vomit catcher. I didn't have to clean any vomit off the seats of my car, except for the few blotches that had fallen off Aiden when I pulled him out.

I can only imagine what my face looked like through all of this. I'm sure it was the same face I wore the entire ride back from Galveston with partially digested milk coating my back seat.

I cleaned the house while Aiden relaxed. After 30 minutes, he started saying he was hungry. I was really nervous about giving him anything. I gave him 2 ounces of water and one animal cracker. When that stayed down for 15 minutes, I offered him some more. Another 30 minutes after he had finished his snack, he started complaining about being hungry again. I made him some cinnamon toast, which he happily scarfed down and asked for more. I took my time making him a second slice, trying to give his stomach a chance to come to terms with all this food. He ate that entire slice as well, but was sated.

Until an hour later when he started saying, "Eat? Eat? Eat?" Most of what comes out of his mouth is in question form. I was trying to decide what would be easiest on his stomach. No dairy. Nothing remotely spicy. No acidic tomato based anything. Chicken noodle soup it is! Although I drained most of the broth out and it became chicken and noodles with a side of saltines. I gave him some Pedialyte to drink. He scarfed all that down as well.

I was a nervous wreck by this point. I kept thinking I was giving him too much food. But he was hungry. And nothing had come back up yet.

I put Aiden down for his nap at noon, following the same guidelines I used on Sunday. He fell asleep within 15 minutes. Travis arrived shortly thereafter for the swap. He used his "free time" during Aiden's nap to mow the front lawn, since it's been weeks since we've attended the grass. I went to work for five hours, making it home in time to finish dinner with Travis around 6:45 pm. Travis reported that Aiden hadn't gotten sick once under his watch.

It was a long day. Aiden went back to daycare on Tuesday with no illness to report. Phew.

Success!

I got Aiden to take a nap in his bed, on the weekend, during the DAY. I couldn't believe it! Ever since Aiden learned how to crawl out of his crib a few weeks ago, napping on the weekend has been nonexistent. I know he's not ready to get rid of naps altogether yet because he still sleeps 2 to 2 1/2 hours a day at daycare.

We had tried EVERYTHING. Letting him run loose in the bedroom (sometimes he fell asleep on his own, sometimes he didn't), laying with him, sitting on the bed next to him and holding him down (horrible)... I thought we were out of options. But then I started thinking about Blair, who sleeps in a big boy bed. Alexa has had some trouble getting him to sleep occasionally and I know they leave his door open a crack when he goes to bed. I decided to ask her why she keeps the door open and how she deals with him getting up. She said that every time he gets up, she tells him to go back to bed. And the door stays open so she can see if he's in bed or not.

We decided to give it a try. We left the door open, I sat on the love seat where I have a perfect view of Aiden in bed and Travis went outside. For one, we didn't want Aiden to be distracted by too many parents trying to tell him what to do. Two, Travis wasn't sure he could handle the game playing on Aiden's side. I told him to go outside and if it worked, then he could try it later.

AND IT WORKED! Like a charm! We laid him down for nap time together, like we do at bed time and used to do for nap time. Travis went outside and I sat on the couch. Every time Aiden tried to get up, I told him sternly, "Get back in bed." After a couple times of that, I told him he could have a book if he stayed in bed. He said okay, so I handed him the book and went back to my perch. Every time he sat up, I went in and asked him if he was done with his book. He always said no and laid back down. It took about five goes with this before he finally stayed down on his own. He pressed a few buttons in the electronic book he'd chosen and then rolled over. I gave him 10 minutes of lying there, shifting occasionally, and then I went in to check on him.

He was asleep, so I laid his book on the ground, covered him up with his blanket, locked and shut the door. It was amazing. The whole thing probably took 20 minutes. I can only hope that we can reenact this feat next weekend. It probably helped that he went to bed late the night before, spent the morning playing outside and went down late for his nap. We'll have to see how it goes next time before getting too confident.

After I had Aiden locked away (last time we left him inside for nap time, he got out of his room and pulled out all the DVDs), I headed back outside to sit with Travis. That morning, we slept in until 8 am (unusual, but expected since we stayed up late) then got up and watched Cars for the first time with Aiden. He really seemed to like it, but I have yet to see serious interest. I'm hoping to get him hyped up enough that he'll want to see his first movie in the theater, Cars 2, this summer.

After the movie, I made breakfast and Travis went out to fill the kiddie pool with water. He came in to eat, then we all headed out to relax in the water. While Aiden was taking his nap, Travis and I relaxed by the "pool".

You can see our veggie garden next to Travis. Some of the plants are doing well (tomatoes and cucumbers), while others not-so-well (onions and peppers). I think I might plant new onions this week. They are doing really bad.

After an hour and a half, I had to drive up to pick up our rings from their bi-annual inspection, cleaning and rhodium plating. On my way back, I stopped at the grocery store for a few items. When I got back, Travis fired up the grill and made our dinner. When we were finished eating and cleaning up, we all hopped back in the pool for a few more delirious minutes in the water. Aiden was so tired he laughed almost non-stop.

Travis and Aiden took a bath while I cleaned up the kitchen. Then when they got out, we relaxed on the couch for 30 minutes watching The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, a fantastic find by the Ramby's. It reminds me strongly of shows I used to watch as a kid, like The Muppets and Fraggle Rock.

It was an excellent Sunday. I quickly determined the Theme of the Day to be The Lazy Song, by Bruno Mars.

Best Sunday Ever

I have been so tired. I can't really remember not being tired. I've been trying to figure out why and I've decided it's because I don't sleep well. I was talking to my dad about this problem while I was sick and he recommended taking NyQuil to help me get some rest that might help me recover quicker. The thought of taking a drug that would knock me out gave me anxiety. Travis doesn't wake up for anything. He doesn't wake up for Aiden screaming, he doesn't wake up with me pushing him, he doesn't wake up with his own alarm! His alarm wakes me up, then I wake him up.

Because of that I am convinced that if there is a fire, or something wrong with Aiden, or someone breaking into our house, it will be up to me to wake up Travis and to take care of the situation. I finally broke down this weekend and asked Travis if he would let me have drugged sleep once a month so I can catch up a little. So now, every fourth weekend, I am going to take a Benadryl before I go to bed on Saturday night and Travis is going to get up with Aiden in the morning.

We gave this a try for the first time this past Saturday and it was A-MA-ZING. I set my alarm for 9 am (I didn't want to sleep the day away), popped one Benadryl, threw on a sleep mask (GREAT recommendation Alexa!) and laid back to enjoy the ride. Usually I get up at 6:45 with Aiden. On Sunday, I woke up at 8:30 to Aiden talking in his bedroom. I decided that I felt rested enough that I would just get up with him and let Travis sleep in longer. Sleeping in until 8:30 meant almost two extra hours of sleep and I was happy with that.

I rolled over to make sure Travis wasn't getting up and HE WASN'T THERE. Travis got out of bed and I DIDN'T WAKE UP. We got lucky and Travis was up going to the bathroom when he heard Aiden talking, so he didn't have to worry about Aiden not being able to wake him up. I was a little disoriented when I realized Travis wasn't even in bed. I can't tell you the last time he moved in bed without my knowledge.

I decided I would just lay back and wait out my 9 o'clock alarm. At 8:45, I was awake, but was still feeling the relaxing effects of the Benadryl so I turned off the alarm and just laid there, staring out the window. I finally rolled out of bed at 9:05. NINE OH FIVE. Ugh, it was sweet bliss!

I got dressed, went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and do the morning deed before heading out to the living room where Travis and Aiden were watching Thomas the Train (worst children's show ever, but Aiden LOVES trains). I took Travis' spot on the couch and he ran to McDonald's to grab breakfast for us. It was such a lazy thing to do, but I just happened to be feeling lazy. Actually, lazy isn't the word for it. I was rested and relaxed. Not tired, just relaxed. Not stressing about what the next step in our day was, not rushing around packing bags to go somewhere. Just sitting and enjoying it.

We ate breakfast at the kitchen table, then headed outside to enjoy the cool weather. Travis quickly got to work on the patio. Aiden followed him around with his Home Depot tool belt and tools from Blair's birthday party this year.

I was looking back through my posts and I've come to the conclusion that Travis started digging the trench for the drainage system that will divert water away from our usable yard on April 23rd. Three weeks later and the patio is complete!

After the patio was dusted with sand and watered, Travis grabbed a beer and collapsed on the ground. We let Aiden cool off by playing with the water hose.

Now all we need is the privacy wall to block us from the street view. I realized Sunday evening that we will still be able to enjoy the patio without the wall because we can watch Aiden can playing on the concrete drive while we sit in the shade of the patio.

We christened the new patio with a grilled dinner of Buffalo wings, pasta salad and melon. Aiden was a bit cranky by this point because he refuses to nap these days, but we still enjoyed our meal. I think we both will appreciate not having to walk around the fence to get to the patio. Also, it will be nice to leave our patio furniture out there all the time instead of packing it back in the garage at the end of the day.

I felt like we've been working on the yard renovations for months. Years maybe. I am so grateful to have Stage 2 done. (Stage 1: Drainage system. Stage 2: Patio. Stage 3: Stucco wall.) But, I think Stage 3 will be the most stressful. There are so many decisions to be made about the foundation and the inner make-up of the wall. If we make the wrong decision, the wall might sink and/or crack.

My dad emailed me the post layout yesterday, but I think we'll take a few days off before we get started on that. I need to take advantage of all that rest I got Saturday night!