gumdrops cont....

Poor Nicholas

Sent: 2004/05/01 03:00 PM
He had us up ALL night last night (and we are NOT used to that at all!). He was throwing up, had a high fever, stuffy nose and was just plain miserable. We called the on-call dr. at about 1 a.m. this morning and she said to give him Tylenol and see how it goes. Well, it did not go well, though his fever did drop. We just got back from urgent care and the poor little boy is getting 4 more teeth (he just got his other top tooth in, so he has 4 already), has an ear infection and possibly strep throat! I cannot understand how he has gone all this time without even a cold and now this. Maybe it was the baby music class I took him to on Wed? He has not been eating solids for a little over a week now either, he only wants his bottle. He is so exhausted, he finally just fell asleep for a nap and dh is out filling his precriptions and getting some pedialyte. The dr. said to only give him the pedialyte for the next day, no formula. She said that because he has so much nasal drip in his throat, he is gagging and choking and throwing up and formula will just make it worse. I would think he would be starving if we do that??

I posted in the stats, and I tested this morning
BFP!!!

I did get 2 lines, one was lighter than the other, but a line is a line, right? I do not feel pg, other than my breasts having a strange feeling in them once in a while. So different from when I was pg with Nicholas. I had 2 DARK lines with the HPT when I was pg with him and my breasts were KILLING me! So, I am cautiously optimistic. I go in for the blood test this morning and will have results sometime late this afternoon. I will update you when I know!

I put the HPT on the counter so dh would hopefully notice it when he was getting ready for work, and I went back to bed. He did not see it! He was getting dressed and I asked him to go back in and look. He says "what does that mean?" DUH! He was so excited when he left for work. He has already figured out how we are going to tell people at Nicholas's first b-day party on July 3rd!!!

I am definitely pregnant!
I just got my blood test results and they confirmed it! WOO HOO! My progesterone and HCG levels were great and I get to go in next week Thursday for my first u/s (the good part about going to an RE, you get lots of u/s's!!). I am just so relieved that this one took and we did not have to go on to IVF.


Josh Groban calms the crying baby

Sent: 2004/05/16 10:38 PM
At least it works on Nicholas! I was driving home from Wisconsin tonight, flipping radio stations trying to find something to sing along with to get Nicholas to stop crying (we were like a half hour from home and had been driving (with only one stop) for about 4 hrs, he was not happy!). I finally found some "light" station that a Josh Groban song was playing on and cranked it. Instant silence from Nicholas! I am going to be buying his CD tomorrow!

my first u/s is in 2 hrs

Sent: 2004/05/20 09:18 AM
I am so nervous that they will either a) find out that I am not pg anymore (I still do not have any symptoms!) or b) there will be more than one baby.

Wish us luck!

Nicholas just walked half way across the room by himself!
He has taken one or 2 steps on his own and has been doing that for a few weeks. He also has been walking very well using his puppy walker, for over a month now. He has even been showing off, only holding the walker with one hand while walking. This morning, I put him down in his bedroom and he has mirrored closet doors that he loves and walked right over to them! Where's the video camera when you need it! My little boy is growing up!!


Well, there is a reason this pregnancy feels different!

Because there are TWO babies!!!


As soon as the RE got the u/s positioned just right, it was clear. TWO! Dh almost fainted! He was holding Nicholas and the nurse asked him if she should take him. OMG! I cannot believe it! I am only 5 1/2 wks pg right now, so, as the RE said, there is still a chance that one of them might "resolve" itself, but he said that he was clearly seeing 2 sacs (heck, I saw 2 of them!) and they were both the same size!! He is going to monitor me weekly for awhile now, before turning me over to a high risk OB, so, hopefully we will be able to see more next week. I am just so excited!! Dh is a little freaked though! He kept saying "they will all be in college at the same time!".

Now, what kind of vehicle can we trade in our Jeep Liberty for that you can fit 3 car seats in the back?

He isn't eating!

Sent: 2004/05/23 11:20 PM
what options do I have for veggies, other than green beans? I have tried cooked baby carrots, some asparagus, brocolli and peas. He will only pick up the green beans to eat. He will not take pureed veggies from the spoon anymore either. He LOVED carrots and sweet potatoes too. Now, he will not touch them.

Also, what kind of fruit, other than bananas? He eats bananas, but I still have to feed him the banana chunks, he has texture issues with picking up mushy food. He will eat it if I put it by his mouth, but he will not pick it up without making a face and then putting it back on the tray.

HELP!

Dh told me I look pg

Sent: 2004/05/26 11:52 AM

bloated, yes, pg, no! Plus, I haven't been sucking in my stomach around him! I am only 6.5 wks! My stuff is tight already, but I think it is just because I am so bloated. I am living in sweats. I know I will show earlier than I did with Nicholas and I showed early with him (like at 12 wks), so I am prepared for it, but this is a little early. Or isn't it?

2nd u/s tomorrow

Sent: 2004/05/26 01:39 PM
dh and I cannot wait! We want to be more sure that it is actually twins. I think it will be real for us when we see 2 heartbeats. I will be 6 wks, 4 days tomorrow. Is that too early for heartbeats? My RE said it is more likely that we will see them at next week's u/s (I love getting so many u/s's!). I just want to see them beating. I had the most terrible dream last night that I went for the u/s and was no longer pg. I HATE these dreams that I am having!!!!!!!!

we just saw 2 heartbeats!
I am SOOOOO relieved! We saw the 2 up on the screen and immediately saw the little hearts going. I was bawling! We even got to hear them through the u/s machine, something that I did not know could be done at this early stage! Dh and I are walking on clouds. Little Baby A and Baby B were the same size and their hearts were beating at the same pace. I am in love! We got a group picture of the 2 of them on an u/s printout, so once dh hooks up the scanner tonight, I will post it. They look like 2 little tadpoles

baby name help

Sent: 2004/06/01 03:33 PM
I have said on here before that if I ever have a girl, her name would be Amelia, after my great-great grandmother, whom my grandmother just has the most amazing stories about what a strong woman she was. Anyway, my mom and grandmother went to Minnesota last summer (where my grandmother's family all lives/lived) and they took some pictures at the cemetary where the relatives are buried. My great-great grandmother's stone said Emelia Braun Voelz. It seems Amelia was actually originally spelled Emelia. When she moved here from Germany in the 1870's, her name was Americanized to Amelia.

So, I REALLY like the original spelling. We could call her Emi for short too (dh does not Amy as the shortened version of Amelia). But, dh is more fond of Amelia. Plus, he thinks that people will think we are trying to be funky with the name by tweaking the spelling a little just to be different. Plus, she would probably have to go through life spelling her name for people.

So, what do you think. Amelia or Emelia?

Nicholas is officially walking and I can't keep up

Sent: 2004/06/02 04:37 PM
I am soooo tired! He has been taking steps here and there since Mother's Day, but Friday night, he just exploded and has been RUNNING ever since! He is finally just now taking his first and only nap of the day. I do not know if I can handle this with a pregnancy!!

Dh and I actually got a glimpse into our future the other day at a McDonald's on our way home from Wisconsin. We saw a family with a 3.5 y.o. boy and 18 month old twins, a boy and a girl. The 3.5 y.o. was crying, the twins were running wild and the whole time the father kept saying "I told you we shouldn't have stopped here!". They then packed up and it took them a good 20 minutes to get everyone into the minivan. Dh went to talk to them and they offered some advice for us for after the twins were born. They called that time "the dark ages". We are scared!!

baby shoe shopping is a nightmare!

Sent: 2004/06/05 03:34 PM
Since Nicholas is walking, we figured we would buy him his first pair of shoes that are good for walking in, not just to look cute in (though he has not worn shoes like that for about 3 months now, he hates things on his feet!). He instantly had a meltdown at the store. Then, he saw some little kids in the corner playing, so he ran up to them and sat down to play with them (this kid is NOT shy!). DH grabbed him and I tried to get the shoes on him. I am not sure how big to get them, should I get them to wear with socks or no socks? I could not get them on his feet with socks and he screamed and screamed and squirmed his way out of dh's arms. After about 20 minutes, we left the store without shoes. I guess he will just have to go walking outside without shoes? I do not know how to do this without him having another tantrum!

Irish Tenors on PBS + Nicholas=

Sent: 2004/06/08 10:17 PM
A baby doing the Irish Jig! I wish I could show you the video! He was just dancing away. Just when I think he cannot get cuter, he does!

My HCG #'s

Sent: 2004/06/10 01:08 PM
These are the numbers the nurse gave to me at this morning's appointment. My first HCG was pretty low.

May 10th, 2 wks past IUI, HCG 72.45
May 20th, 5.5 wks pg, HCG 3679
May 27th, 6.5 wks pg, HCG 25,575
June 3rd, 7.5 wks pg, HCG 76,958

wives tales on baby heartbeats

Sent: 2004/06/10 01:24 PM
I have about 12 more weeks or so before we will know the sexes and it is just eating us up!! So, we are playing guessing games. I am 8.5 wks right now and each baby had a heart beat of 176/minute today. I do not remember what Nicholas's hb was early on, but later on, it was always just under 150 beats/minute. I think the wives tale says 150 or higher=girl?

9 wks and already feeling "fluttering"

Sent: 2004/06/15 03:58 PM
I have felt it a few times today. Is this normal to feel this early in the second pregnancy or do the twins have something to do with it??

what does/did your 1 yr old eat?

Sent: 2004/06/16 08:29 PM
Nicholas is kind of a picky eater. What he used to like in purees, he does not really like in bite sizes. He currently eats:

green beans
bananas
apple slices (peeled of course)
pancakes
bagels
scrambled egg yolks
Gerber pasta stuffers
mac n cheese
grilled cheese
whole wheat toast
chicken
rice, mixed grain or oat cereal
apple sauce
peas
Gerber fruit or veggie puffs
gerber fruit wheels
jarred baby food fruits


Any other ideas for what to give him? He will not touch carrots anymore, even though he loved the pureed ones I would make. I do not like giving him biter bisquits because they are so messy. I also do not give him juice. We are starting to transition him to whole milk. He is up to 3 bottle of half and half a day. He also does not like to eat anything that I feed him with a spoon unless it is fruit or cereal.

just had a great conversation with a friend who has twins

Sent: 2004/06/17 03:43 PM
I finally felt comfortable telling her that we too are having twins since I am 9.5 wks and the twins are looking great as of today's u/s. Her boy/girl twins are now 3 1/2, but she went into labor at 28 wks and had them at 30.5 weeks. They spent 9 weeks in the NICU and were on heart monitors and oxygen (1 for about 4 months the other for about 9 months) after they were able to go home. they also required a nurse to come in every day for 2 months while they were home to monitor them at night. Unfortunately, one is not doing very well. He has behavioral issues and also needs to go to an occupational therapist. Poor little guy. But, she had a lot of great advice for me and said to just rest every day, even if I am feeling well. She also said that her OB told her to take 2 prenatal vitamins every day. My RE had not told me that, I do not go to an OB for a few more weeks, so I am wondering if I should start that?

told some friends about the twins and these were their responses

Sent: 2004/06/21 12:01 PM
These are all quotes:

*are you crazy?
*Heidi's dr. told her not to get pg for a year after the birth of our daughter, why on earth would you do something like that if it is not safe? (Heidi had a c-section and complications, so maybe that is why Heidi's dr. told her that!)
*Poor Nicholas. He is going to be so neglected.
*What are you thinking?
*Better you than me!
*Well, I do not know how you will be able to do it.
*You are going to go crazy.
*Did you use infertility drugs?
*Are twins in your family or did you use infertility drugs?
*Are you going to breastfeed?
*Isn't this kind of selfish to do so soon after having Nicholas?


We told these people (all are dh's friends from work or law school and either do not have kids or have only 1 and do not plan to have more) because they are unable to make it to Nicholas's b-day party, where we plan to make the announcement. These are the responses we got. Not one "congratulations!" in the bunch. Why do people feel the need to make me feel bad? This is such an amazing thing for us. They did not know about the infertility issues and still do not, I just told them it was an act of God that we are getting twins. Anyway, I was not at all thrilled with these "friends" this weekend!

give me boy names!

Sent: 2004/06/23 11:58 AM
I need 2 of them, and I *think* we are going with Joseph Patrick if we have one boy. If we have another, we are clueless. For girls we have Emelia Grace and another ?, but at least we like other girl's names. We are fighting over which other girl's name to use now. I do not want the first letters to be the same either, even though they are twins. So, anything for a boy that does not begin with a J or a K (so I do not fall into FIL's demands of having K names to go along with their K names, the freaks that they are!). Thanks!

PSA-Never let baby play with the cell phone

Sent: 2004/06/23 11:44 AM
I never let Nicholas play with it, but he got it out of my purse one day and was chewing on it and drooling all over it. Then, it stopped charging properly. Dh took it in to the Verizon store to have it looked at and they said it is toast. They could tell it had been wet, so the warranty is now void. So, we have to buy a new cell phone for me now. Bad Nicholas!

back from 10.5 wk u/s and my RE released me to the OB

Sent: 2004/06/24 01:21 PM
the babies are looking great! They are measuring right on schedule and their hearts are beating at 181 and 173 bpm. We even saw some hands today!

I am sooooo happy I do not have to go to see creepy RE guy every week anymore. I liked having an u/s every week, but that is about all I liked with him. He also said to stay on the progesterone suppositories for only another week. I am SO happy about that. I see my new OB next Friday and not sure what to expect. Will I have to go every 2 weeks or just once a month like with a singleton pregnancy? Will I get a bunch of u/s's like I have been or are they now going to stop (I hope not! It is so reassuring to see them every week!)?

just got an angry call from 911

Sent: 2004/06/24 09:00 PM
I answer the phone and a woman, sounding very concerned asks if I am an adult. Then she asks if everything is OK, that she is calling from Springfield's 911 center. Apparently, they had 3 calls and hang ups right before she called me. Nicholas had been playing with the phone and called 911 3 times and hung up on them! He was hanging onto the phone the first time she called and he hit the talk button to pick up the phone and then hit end call. So, he hung up on her too. I told her my almost 1 year old had been playing with the phone (he literally had just picked it up a minute before!) My naughty little man. I was so embarrassed!! I apologized as much as I could, but she was clearly annoyed


what is the next step on the switch to whole milk?

Sent: 2004/06/30 10:30 AM
I have Nicholas on half whole milk, half formula bottles for all of his bottles now. Do I now start to introduce a bottle or 2 a day of just whole milk? How long do I do that before switching him completely to whole milk? He turns 1 next week Tuesday , so I want to get the switch taken care of pretty soon. We have done half n half bottles for about 3 weeks now, gradually getting up to all of his bottles being half n half. We are just loving this that his formula is lasting so much longer!


Nicholas is one year old today!

Sent: 2004/07/06 10:42 AM
Exactly one year ago today, at 1:36 pm, my little love was born. I cannot believe how fast this year has gone! He is now walking/running, clapping and dancing to music (he really has some moves, he gets his head into it!), eating just about everything on his own, drinking whole milk only now (and LOVING it!), using his sippy cup more than his bottle, loves swimming in his pool, "reads" (he does a lot of babbling every time he picks up a book, like he knows he is supposed to be talking when he has it since we read to him out loud), and calls me "ma" and runs to the door to great dh when he comes home from work, yelling "dada"! He also says the standard "baba", "yeah-yeah", "hi" and "t" for the cat and "d" for dog. He has 5 teeth and a 6th tooth is working its way in, I think. He had a great b-day party on Saturday. I will have to post pics of that when I get a chance to download them. But, here are some pics from the past year. Time flies......

Nicholas has been sleeping until 10 am

Sent: 2004/07/09 11:48 AM
Which means that I sleep in too! I love my little late sleeper! I am not a morning person.

no more church for us!

Sent: 2004/07/11 12:03 PM
I just do not have the energy for it! Nicholas and I went to 10:30 service. We sat down and made it through the first hymn before he wiggled so much I could not hang on to him. He then took off down the aisle toward the altar. I ran after him and I grabbed him and then took him out to the entryway because the nursery was closed today because of construction. He ran around out there and danced to the organ music. Then a father came out with his little girl, who was 11 months and had just begun to walk. Nicholas found it hilarious to go up to her and push her over. He kept doing it no matter how many times I took him away and told him no. Thankfully, she never cried and just giggled too, but I still did not like it! He would just walk up behind her, push and watch her fall and then laugh. So, after 20 minutes total at church, we left. It really is a 2 person job to handle him there and dh and I go to different churches. Any ideas for breaking him of his pushing habit? He also took her binky out of her mouth, even though he never uses one himself! He is such a bully!

Nicholas has to go to a pediatric orthopaedist

Sent: 2004/07/13 10:24 AM
He had his 12 month well baby checkup yesterday and his ped said his legs look a little more bowed than she would like at this stage, since he has been walking for over a month and a half. I had this problem when I was little too (and still have slightly bowed legs) so she said it must be hereditary. Nicholas has been standing up, with the help of things, since he was about 7 months old, so she said that may have contributed to it, but she said she is not an expert and that is why we have to go to the specialist. Anyone have experience with this? Will he need special shoes or something more?

My little guy is doing something new every day!

Sent: 2004/07/13 08:16 PM
Last week, he started to run toward the door to the playroom to leave every time I turned off the tv. He would drop whatever he was doing and run there and wait for me to open the door. Yesterday, he pet his toy dog and said "da". Dog, without the g. Before this, he was just saying "d" (still only says "t" for the cat). He also started to spin in circles while dancing at music class. Today, I said "time to go bye-bye" since we were going to the grocery store and he started to wave at me and ran to the door to go out to the garage and stood there waiting for me. We were at the store and he was saying "hi" to all the little kids he saw and waved at them. He just amazes me every day! Dh wants to fill out the Harvard application next week !

what are our babies doing?

Sent: 2004/07/15 11:13 PM
Your screen name: LisaMarie
Your babies name: Nicholas
Babies birthdate: July 6, 2003 (just turned 1 year!)
Current weight: 21 lbs.
Current height: 30.5 inches
Crawling or walking? walking and running and dancing!
How many teeth?: his 8th tooth popped in yesterday
Eating solids? yes
Eating table food? Yes, everything we eat, he wants to eat. He will have nothing to do with anything I might try to feed him with a spoon.
Bottle or sippy cup? both. He still takes his bottle for milk more often than his sippy. He does use his sippy for water all the time though.
Babbling or talking? a little of both. He says dadda, momma, t for cat and da for dog. He also says hi, baba and yeah, yeah, yeah as well.
Sleeping through the night? Yes

I had to take the bumper out of Nicholas's crib

Sent: 2004/07/20 11:42 PM
He was standing on it in an attempt to escape his crib and he broke off 3 of the ties that hold it up! He wasn't getting anywhere standing on it, it would just collapse under him, but I am so sad that he broke the ties. He is such a restless sleeper, I am afraid he is going to bumping his head during the night and waking up. Is there anything else I can do, other than try to fix the bumper, only to have this happen again?????

finally cut Nicholas's hair on friday

Sent: 2004/07/18 09:59 PM
I did a pretty good job, if I say so myself! He still has a lot of wave in the back, even though I cut a lot off, so the curls will definitely be coming back. I had to cut it Friday since he was getting his 1 year pics done on Saturday morning (and they turned out SOOOO cute!). I will post them once JC Penney puts them online.

anyone have a toddler that does this?

Sent: 2004/07/23 10:50 AM
Nicholas loves to dance. He usually bends his knees and claps to the music, bouncing his head up and down the whole time. It is really so cute. Once in awhile, he does this sway thing side to side too. Well, lately, he started to spin in circles while he dances. He just stands there, spinning around and around until he gets dizzy and falls. I am afraid he is going to hurt himself doing this! He has already fallen into the coffee table, the armoir and a wall or 2. What to do?!?!

I am feeling the twins move more and more

Sent: 2004/07/23 10:50 AM
Nicholas loves to dance. He usually bends his knees and claps to the music, bouncing his head up and down the whole time. It is really so cute. Once in awhile, he does this sway thing side to side too. Well, lately, he started to spin in circles while he dances. He just stands there, spinning around and around until he gets dizzy and falls. I am afraid he is going to hurt himself doing this! He has already fallen into the coffee table, the armoir and a wall or 2. What to do?!?!