Disney World Day 1

Well our first day at Disney World we did not make it to the park. Oh well.

We got up at 5:30 to take an 8am flight. Lucky that we used the local airport near us that is in the same town we live in :).  Another benefit of driving ourselves to a local airport, we packed the car the night before. We got Evie up right before we left. We were very smart and kept her in jammies. Woke her up, changed her pull up and put her in the car. Yes she is potty trained, but don't want to deal with "gotta pee" and the mess that could go with an accident during take off and landing. But she was fantastic and did not pee in the pull up at all.

The airport is maybe 15 minutes away. About half way there, we realized we forgot Evie's pillow, so had to turn around and grab it. Not a big deal, but an added little stress. She sleeps so well with her pillow that we didn't want to forget it.

We got to the airport. Decided to park in the parking garage over the long term parking. The rational behind this: we get in at 9:30 at night, would rather not wait for a shuttle to get to the car an possibly clear off snow. Those with kids, if traveling during the winter - DO THIS. You do not want to sit there and dig your car out at the end of the trip. Checked in quickly (Southwest did not have a line surprisingly!) and got through security fast. Was able to pick up breakfast at the airport once through security and we ate on the plane.

The way down is around 3.5 hours. So much faster than our previous flight to California. Food, potty, movie, etc kept her entertained. I brought some gel window clings that entertained her for a good 20 minutes. Best $1 spent at Target for the trip. She pulled them off and put them on. They were Valentine's Day themed, so had X and O. Was able to teach her those two letters to. The flight attendants were quite entertained with her, they had never thought to bring those on the plane and work SO WELL!

Also for this trip, I wore sea bands. The trips to California I was queazy and did not feel well. The result of pregnancy. The sea bands helped so much. Worth the $7 to have them incase you need them.

Orlando Airport is HUGE. So happy I brought my ergo and was able to wear Evie on my back. Baby bump in the front and 2 year old on my back. Where southwest gets into Orlando Airport, you need to take a tram to the main terminal. Then you walk a ways to get baggage. Then even further to the car rentals. All on different floors. So if flying into Orlando, make sure you have a stroller or carrier for you kids!

Should have gotten a good full picture of Evie and I and my bump, but here is us when waiting for our luggage to arrive. Some how (knock on wood) we are very lucky and our luggage arrives very quickly. Do not know how that happens, but I'll take it.

Went to Alamo to pick up our car. Was very quick and a large line formed behind us. Alamo is nice since you get to pick out your car in the lot. Orlando Airport is amazing in that the car rentals are across the street and you don't need a shuttle. We had to go through the whole line of midsized cars to find one we wanted. Ended up getting a Toyota Corolla. Not a bad car and drives well.

Left the airport. Florida knows lots of tourists travel from the airport. Within 5 miles we hit 2 tolls. $2.25 I believe is what we spent on tolls. Not bad, just wish they had one toll. Directions were easy from the airport to Disney. Have to say everything is labeled really well. Did not need our garmin at all :)

Got to the Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House. So cool when you walk in. We checked our luggage when we arrived. Before kids we never did this, but with kids, it is worth the tip to have people help with luggage. Checked in and got our room keys. But our room was not ready yet. It was 3pm. So we walked around the main floor. Evie and I went outside and saw giraffes while Nick ran to the car to put the parking pass in it. Then we wandered around more and found Evie's YiaYia and Papou! We all met and went to lunch at Mara (the quick service restaurant there) since we had the quick service dining plan. 

Lunch was yummy. I had a african stew which was yummy. Evie even loved it! Checked and our room was not ready yet, so let Evie run around the playground they had. AFter still not ready so we chilled on a couch. The 2 year old had not had a nap yet, so was starting to get cranky. Finally at 4:45 or 5 our room was ready! 

 

Was able to quickly unpack and we headed out to Port Orleans Riverside Food Court. They have a great pasta bar where you choose your pasta ( fettuccine, spaghetti, penne ), sauce, chicken or shrimp, and a ton of veggies to put into it. Was yummy and a TON of food. 

Went back to the hotel and just chilled. We were all exhausted. We watched animals outside our balcony (AMAZING). We all went to bed early to start the day relaxed.

Were not sad we didn't go to a park. Would have been nice to get in to the room and put Evie down for a nap. But oh well. Was a fun day since we were staying in such a nice hotel :)

Back into running

I have not run since I was 6 weeks pregnant. I think I tried once after that, but had a cold, fall allergies, and first trimester exhaustion  so I stopped running. That is 11 weeks of less than normal activity. I have gone to the gym here and there to use the elliptical and do some weights. I am doing my weekly dance class, which is a good workout once a week.

But today, I forced myself back running. I used the treadmill at the gym at work. I was afraid I would fall off. Had no clue where I would be after taking a long break.

I did pretty well. Took it easy since:
- 1 - it has been a while
- 2 - I am pregnant.

Was not as bad as I thought it would be. I peed before I started working out. The second I started running had to pee again. Surprise Surprise. Amazing how 11 weeks of pregnancy and the weight of the uterus, baby, etc on the bladder make this happen. So stopped after 6.5 minutes of running and a 1.5 minute warm up to pee. Then got back on (happy the treadmill didn't reset!) and ran for another 7 minutes. Well with a quick walk in the middle and at the end to cool down. Did 1.1 miles total. Not great, but a good start.

I will continue this till my bump can't take it anymore. Then will move back to the elliptical. I could have gone longer, but don't want to push myself as hard as I would have not pregnant.

And I did NOT fall off the treadmill. Was not as hard as it was when I tried it at the beginning of the year. I guess I mentally and physically remembered how to run :)

Baby #2!

Yes I have been slacking on this blog. I have some things I want to write up, just have not had the time.

But anyways, we are expecting Baby #2 in May 2013! Estimated Due Date May 11, 2013, but I am adding 2 weeks onto that so I can be surprised if it does come early/on time.

We are very excited! Evie and this baby will be 2 years 9 months apart! Hopefully they will be best friends. Evie still has no idea there is a baby coming. I tell her there is a baby in my belly, but then she says it is in hers. Maybe as I get bigger, she will understand.

This pregnancy has been going really well. Not much morning sickness. Not many aversions  Yes cravings for fatty foods, fried foods, etc. Same cravings I had when pregnant with Evie. Exhaustion is there still. Most likely since I have a toddler at home and cannot relax when I come home from work. I do miss those after work naps, but a lot of 2nd time moms say the same thing.

So right now I am 17 weeks pregnant! This pregnancy has been flying by. Almost half way there and I do not know where the time has gone!

Definitively have a noticeable bump already. I had round ligament stretching early, and if I sneeze just right I know I pull something. Had more odd pains this time around. I am using a mini snoogle to sleep with sometimes since I just cannot get comfortable. Started wearing maternity pants at 8 weeks. I could have made real pants maybe last a week longer, but they were getting tight. One reason I think 2nd time moms are in maternity clothing earlier are: you get bigger earlier, and you remember how comfy maternity pants are!

I have been exercising this pregnancy too. I was running but fall came, allergies picked up and I was not taking full breaths. I had a cold too so that did not help. I am doing a great dance class once a week - dancing for birth. I started this dance class before I got pregnant. It is a good work out, fun, builds self confidence, and full of women so you don't have to worry if you look stupid dancing. Just go out, feel the music, work out, and have fun! I am going to start running again on the treadmill during the winter. There is a color run 5K in Boston in July of 2013 I want to do, so have to make sure my body can do it quickly after birth. I miss running and need to get back on the grind.

But no pregnancy is around without drama...

I wanted to have a homebirth with this baby. Started seeing a midwife practice. They are welcoming, answer my questions and don't make me feel rushed.

BUT their office organization sucks. The main person who handles calls works with her 7ish month old there and 3 year old there. I do see that as a big distraction. I am a working mom too, but would not get any work done, and done well if I had my kid with me at work. Even as a newborn.

Early November, I met with HR about if they knew Midwives and Homebirth were covered by our insurance plan. We are a self funded insurance, which makes things tricky (meaning our company actually pays the claims up to a certain price). NH has a law that insurance covers midwives, BUT this does not apply for self funded plans.

I call up the midwife practice about this, and they don't get back to me until almost a week later. Frustrating. They said they heard different and would look into it and mail me something before my next appointment about what would be covered for having a birth there, at home, splitting the care up to billing insurance all at once and billing prenatal and birth. My appointment comes and they still have not run the numbers. OK the  person pulls it up on the screen, says she will finish it today and get it in the mail to me.

That was 2 weeks ago. Talking to my husband, he is too stressed that we will get stuck with a 6K bill, which at this point seems possible and I am worried about it too. I have called and left messages (no one ever picks up the phone is seems).

So at this point, we have decided to go back to the OB I used with Evie. They were fine with me calling and setting up appointments. I see them next week.

I am fine and happy with this decision. We know what to expect financially  The drive is so much easier (and tell you the truth 30 min one way to the midwives was annoying with being stressed at work). And I had no issues with their care with Evie. I enjoyed all my care I had there with Evie. Her birth was fantastic and smooth.

My plan is to leave the hospital ASAP. Preferably a few hours after birth, but will spend the night if necessary. Still going to do med free, going to try to hold off on induction (but I remember how it is at the end and just want to be done). Now to decide if we want a doula.

Now ultrasound pictures! These are from the NT scan around 11ish weeks.


And the creapy 3D ultrasound Pictures. I still find these odd, and prefer the 2D ones.

 I do have some bump pictures to share too. 

An old one, we are not good at taking weekly. We were trying but failed. This one is between 11 and 12 weeks. (Why does blogger make it so hard to format?)

From last week, 16 - 17 weeks

Breast Cancer Walk

More than 2 years ago, my aunt (and god mother) was diagnosed with breast cancer. I remember the phone call and thinking “Is this real? It can’t be”. Waiting and Waiting to hear more, about surgery, more diagnosis stuff, etc. I just could not believe this was happening. So young for cancer. 

She had a mastectomy and a tram flap surgery. Then came chemotherapy and radiation. She shaved her head before the hair started to fall out. She rocked a scarf on her head! Still full of life, laughter, and love. The chemo and radiation was hell on her. 

Now every 6 months she gets an IV drug (Zometa) which strengthens her bones. Soon she begins a 5 day a week hyperbaric oxygen treatment (think stuck in a clear tube absorbing higher concentrations of oxygen) -  2 hours each day, for 6 weeks. Sounds like a great time right?

But Deedle (what I will always call her ever since I was a toddler) is doing great. Busy but great. I cannot believe how far she has come.

To support her, Nick, Evie and I are participating in her team’s Breast Cancer Walk October 14th in Boston. The team is open to more teammates. I would love some friends to join us! You will get a free lunch and a ride to and from the walk so you don’t have to deal with Boston traffic (from a town in MA). Will be a lot of fun - and come on it is just a walk not a run! Oh and if you are contemplating it - you get a free shirt. The team name - ’50 SHADES OF PINK’! Come on such a great team name!

If you can’t join in on the walk, think about donating. A little bit of a donation goes towards free mammograms to help detect cancer early!

To join the team or to make a donation please visit:

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?team_id=1231626&pg=team&fr_id=47450&fl=en_US&et=ArC9EZTyh4cHd1lvrx-3pA

(or my personal page to donate to my small goal)

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/MakingStridesAgainstBreastCancer/MSABCFY13NE?px=30066860&pg=personal&fr_id=47450

And if you want to read about my Aunt’s Cancer story, which is quite humorous you can read her blog here.

http://keval-cancer.blogspot.com

My Darling Evelyn

Edit: going through the draft posts that I never posted, I found this from a year ago and I have to share. Brings tears to my eyes.

To my sweetheart,

I have been wanting to write this for a good month now. A letter to you for your first birthday. This has been a gradual work in progress.

I cannot believe it has been a year from when you entered this world. One Whole Year. I have cherished and held onto every second with you. I cannot believe how much you have changed. Looking at your clothing that you were swimming in a year ago and now looks oh so very small.

We have started going to Le Leche League meetings lately, after some battles with biting. Made me reminisce about our breastfeeding relationship. From not being able to latch, syringe feedings, what felt like constant pumping. To the nipple shield and still more pumping. To finally getting a hang of it just in time to go back to work. To pumping at work and still nursing strong. To starting to wean the daily sessions. To us happy with our morning (wake up) and evening (before bed) sessions. But we made it a year breastfeeding! And we are going strong still. A very rough start, that we made it through. I absolutely love our time nursing. You staring up at me, playing with my hair, your smiles, your cuddling into me, your nursing while you are starting to doze. You getting ready for bed but still want to nurse, but then want your pacifier, then decide that you want to nurse more. Loving every second.

Yes the worst part of this past year has been me having to work full time. I know we both want to spend more time together, but that is how life unfortunately is. In the perfect world, I would love to be able to work part time and spend more days with you. This thought has crossed mommy's mind many many times, and as time goes on, I am starting to look into it more. But with that, you have really enjoyed day care. You really enjoy your teachers. You are happy going into the building. You sometimes dive out of my arms into your teacher's arms (very cute and makes me happy you love them!). You have recently moved into the toddler room **tear**. You are still adjusting, but I know you will love it just as much, especially now since you have so much more play room! You love the socialization, the change of scenery.

Your sleeping patterns have become wonderful over the past 4(ish) months. You sleep from 10-14 hours at night! I know, who would have thought when I was a zombie mom waking up every 3 hours to nurse you / cuddle. Sleep training you was one of the hardest things I have ever done. But you sleep so much better because of it. You know you are safe. You know you are loved. And you learned that one of your favorite things in the world is close by and you can sooth yourself any time you want (your pacifier).

Oh the pacifier, or Ba as we call it. You love that thing. Many times you will have one in your mouth, and one in each hand. You like to clank them together or bang them on the railings of your crib. It makes you happy. You are taking after your aunt (but I will not let you use one till 5). We are starting the process of weaning you from it. Trying to not have it during the day and only during nap and bed time. But some how you are able to sneak one downstairs after a nap and you keep finding the ones you hide around the house. It always gets me to laugh. You even like to crawl around with one in your hands....

Speaking of crawling, you are such a mover now! Not walking yet. But a crawling machine. A cruising machine. And a climbing machine (if we let you..). You are a kid who doesn't do something till you know 100% sure you can do it. You rarely rolled. The night you learned to crawl, you did small / slow crawls for a minute, then you were off! When you learned how to pull up, you just did it! We didn't have to teach you how to get back down, you already figured that out.You are standing well (letting go of what you pulled up on). I know walking is a month or so away. But you love your freedom to get what you want.

And little missy, YOU HAVE TEETH! Looking back at those gummy smiles and now the teeth. Such a difference. You got your teeth a little later than most kids, at least the ones we know. They have come in interestingly. You got your front bottom teeth first. Then your 'vampire' top teeth (a month apart per side). Then the middle front teeth. Then a fun nursing biting two weeks. And now you are working on your top molars. The bottom ones were slightly popping out, but I think they went back down. So you have 6 on the top and 2 on the bottom...

And with those wonderful pearly whites, you love to eat! Really. You will eat almost anything, depending on your mood. You love pasta, meat, pancakes, eggs, fruit (apples, blueberries, cantaloupe), veggies (spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, peas). You are a pro at feeding yourself. You didn't have purees very long, maybe 3-4 months total. Once we started you on finger foods, that is all you wanted. And everyone is so surprised about how much you eat, and wonders where it goes since you are a peanut!

And speaking of your size, you handled your first year appointment well. You had to do a finger prick blood draw. You were so tired, and everyone was anxious to get it over with. And you didn't even flinch. Not what we were expecting. Your check up went well. You are doing wonderful. The doctor told us to get you off the bottle by 15 months, and to start weaning you from the pacifier. She also confirmed (as a lot of them have) that yes you do have eczema, and a good moisturizing after baths helps wonderfully with it.

Your 1 year measurements are:
***insert

And speaking of the bottle, since mommy is writing this a good month late, I am happy to say that we are done with the bottle! Moving to the new room, they no longer held your bottle. So you didn't get much out of it. So one day I made the switch to a sippy. And they were surprised how well you did. That gave me encouragement to be done with them and we have not used one for over a week!

This has been the best year of my life. And each one will just get better. We have had a fantastic summer together. Trips to California. Visiting lots of family. Lots of play time outside. Lots of play dates with your (and my) buddies from mom's group. It has been one busy and wonderful summer.

And the best weekend of the summer, your first birthday. It was a fantastic day. Warm, but not hot. The back yard looked good - we had grass growing just for you. You had your splash mat out, your water table out. Lots of toys were out. You and your friends had too much fun playing. and you LOVED your own personal cake!

I love you Evelyn. Oh so very much. I look forward to the next and next year and next. You are the highlight of my day. You make any bad day end wonderfully. You are the absolute best thing in your dad's and my lives. We love you.

You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are greay
You never know dear
How much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away

Running

I have been doing the Couch To 5K (C25K) training program for the past 5 weeks. I realized I needed to step up my work out routine a bit, and wanted something I could 1 - do outdoors 2 - do with Evie 3 - do easily from home. So running was perfect.

I have always hated running. That is why I choose swimming in high school. It was the sport I liked, and I didn't have to run. I just always felt uncoordinated and could only run a short distance before getting exhausted. But I could swim for a while fine. Could roller blade forever fine. Just hated running.

But was time to put that behind me and I started the C25K program. I was lucky I had built up my cardio on the eliptical machine at work (was doing 30 minutes at a time) so I knew I could do a time with my heart rate elevated. But the first day sucked - 60 second jog 90 second walk. Every week it would up the time of jogging. Easing me into running/jogging for a longer period of time ( i use those two terms interchanging, since really what is the difference? I am kicking butt to run as long as I do and dripping sweet but going slow so....).

Now I can run for over 5 minutes. Actually longer - did 8 min Saturday and a 20 min total on Sudnay which included walking up a hill, there was no way I would run up that hill.I am quite surprised at my progress running. I am enjoying it. Enjoying being outdoors. Enjoying training myself to take deeper breaths (helps SO much). Enjoying the neighborhood and seeing other people out. And enjoying how I feel after a run!

I have not seen much improvement on the scale, but I am also building lots of muscle mass - I am also weight lifting 2x a week. My arm flab is less and not as giggly. I have muscle tone on parts of my arms (hello shoulders). I see some abdominal definition. My legs are looking smoother. But my weight is the same. Ehh I am seeing progress and feeling better so that is what matters. Also I am hoping running will help slim me down.

Also this weekend I started running with Evie. I have a baby jogger city mini. Great stroller. It is not a technical running stroller, but is working well for me. It does not have a running strap, but I made one out of a dog leash. I also added running with a dog. So much harder to run with a stroller than running alone. Then add a dog into that and yep. My arms get more of a work out with a dog and a stroller than single. Penny was the dog I choose on Sunday and she did good. Was exhausted but she needed it. She was a bit confused at first but got into it fairly quickly. Next week will alternate Penny one weekend day then Luna the next.

My work out routine is the following:
Monday - Work out Dance Class
Tuesday - Run
Wednesday - Weights
Thursday - Run
Friday -Weights (or off)
Saturday - Run with Stroller and Dog
Sunday - Run with Stroller and Dog

Monday is almost an off day since the work out isn't till the evening so I have over 24 hours between my work out on Sunday morning and my work out Monday night. But I feel good and am happy where i am right now :)

Adventures in Potty Training :)

We never pushed Evie to potty train. We wanted to go on her schedule, like we have done with most everything with her.

Around 18 months we got her a baby bjorn potty chair. I knew a lot of people who recommended this brand for a potty. I decided to get the one with the bigger backing (more chair like) so she could lounge in it since she could be sitting in it for a long period of time. We kept it in the bathroom. Every time I went, I would bring her in. She would sit in the chair (clothing and cloth diaper still on) while I went to the bathroom. Then she would watch me wipe and put it in the toilet. I would then give her some toilet paper to put into the toilet too (she loved this part) and I would let her flush.

We got to a point where she wanted her diaper off too when I went to the bathroom. So off it came. Then she wanted to wipe herself. And she did and threw it in the toilet. Then we could not get the diaper back on, so she just started to go naked around the house. Seemed easier to get her to go naked. Then the potty chair moved from the bathroom to the living room. She would eat on it and watch something on TV. This seemed to work well. She would sometimes poop on it. Yes we got poop before pee. She was getting to a point where she would say poop run over and sit on it. Awesome! To keep her on it we were trying stickers, m&ms, snacks, whatever. Nothing really worked for her, but we found praise worked the best.

Her day care room was great.  She would tell them when she wanted a change - right after she went in her diaper. Then they started to notice when she had to go (grabbing her crotch or her bum). They took her to a real potty and put her on. They let her sit there for a good 5 minutes and cheer when she went. Since she was going on the big potty at day care, we decided to do the big potty at home too. We got a toddler toilet seat at Lowes. The smaller seat is integrated into the regular toilet seat so she is always on the big potty and does not have to worry about falling in.

Every time she peed we would cheer. She would get to wipe herself and clap. Big smiles all around. Her day care room kept up with her and she would pee / poop 3 times a day. They were not a potty training room so they could not always take her to the potty. She wore trainers to daycare once and a while if they had the manpower to take her to the toilet. She was doing good.

Finally she moved to the potty training room (they have a potty room inside the room). She went in trainers all day. The first week she would have maybe 2 accidents a day (during nap and maybe once in the day). That quickly changed within a few days to dry during nap. Now she is having maybe 2 accidents a week at daycare! 

About 3-4 weeks ago, we started venturing outside the house in underwear. We would put her in thick trainers so if she did have an accident it would be absorbed. We put her potty chair in the back of the car so we always had a potty with us. I put prefolds under her when she was in her car seat to help absorb any accidents. I brought so many changes with us as well as a diaper in case we gave up. The first week was on and off of accidents. She would use her toilet seat before we got in the car when she saw it. She would maybe have an accident in the car and sometimes not. The past 3 weeks she has been amazing and holding it and using the seat if she has to once we reach our destination. I love having the seat in the car, you never know where you will be and if they have toilets and training toddlers cannot hold for long!

This weekend we had a good day and an ehh day. Saturday she had a few accidents. She didn't want to go on the potty after breakfast so I didn't push her. Then she peed while playing. Oh well. She had one more I think. But was good for daddy when mommy needed some time outside the house (the two year molars another post...). Sunday she was great. She would tell me when she had to go or run to the bathroom. SO PROUD!

She does get distracted sometimes and does not want to potty and would rather play. That is when she has accidents. This only happens at home for some reason. But she is getting better. I would say she is 80% there.

We still do a diaper at night. She loves to have a sippy of water in bed with her. I need to wean her off this and wean her off her massive amount of water she likes to chug before bed. But she isn't 2 yet, so no pushing the bed time training (think we will wait till she is in a big girl bed and we put a potty seat in her room for her to use).

But yeah I didn't believe I would have an almost potty trained kid before she is 2! I really attribute this to her cloth diaper usage. She became very aware of when she would pee and poop and wanted to train herself early.

Some needed potty training items

• baby bjorn potty chair
• AquaDuck faucet extender
• toddler toilet seat
• Baby Bjorn Stool (or whatever stool works for you, I liked the matchyness and Evie likes the bear on it)
• potty seat for the car (we use the chair we used at home since she uses the toilet)
• Many MANY rags to clean accidents (we are lucky we have hardwood and tile downstairs)
• Cloth Trainers - we did a combination of cheapy Gerber and our favorite Blueberry trainers. The blueberry trainers are cute, fit my petite girl well and are VERY absorbent. I wish we had more than 3. I have heard great things about the Hanna Anderson Trainers. I would say no to pull ups, they still pull pee away from the kid like disposable diapers and it just means more laundry but hopefully a quicker training period.
• Underwear (I had the hardest time finding non character ones, finally found some good ones by green dog at Macy's)
• Many books to read while on the potty (worked for my kid)