23 weeks and an answer

This week marked another visit to my doctor. It was for a basic checkup and the infamous scan to hopefully determine if this was a little boy or girl.

First let me say this. I really like my doctor. He is pretty non interventional. He believes to a certain degree to just monitor things and not use medical intervention unless needed. His staff though at times is different. This time the nurse the brought me back weighed me (up 5lbs) then got the heartbeat and measurement as well as my blood pressure. She never did tell us what the heartrate, bloodpressure or measurement was. She went about it and just ignored that I was trying to ask her. Oh well. I can put up with a mediocre staff for a doctor I like.

The only real problem I had to address at this appointment were the bad cramps that I started getting last week. At first I thought it was just all in my head but 2 afternoons and nights of it convinced me otherwise. I called the office and the nurses were great on the phone and told me to take it easy this past weekend, drink plenty of water and fluids and stay out of the sun. So this weekend that's what I did. It mostly worked but it was still happening a little. So today I asked my actual doctor. I gave him all the symptoms that I've been experiencing and he agreed that it sounded like I've been having contractions. He said to just watch it but didn't put me on any restrictions (besides reminding me not to climb on helos). So right now I still have them when I'm up for too long, but I also know that I did the right thing by calling in the first place and he encouraged me to call again if it gets bad.

So for the big news. We had the ultrasound. He checked the head, spine, feet, hands and face and everything looked good. Of course he also checked the parts. And lets just say that my gut feeling was right.



The big news is Butters and Mac will have a little sister.

Yes to my absolute shock it really is a girl. Even though my gut was telling me one thing its been wrong before so I was doubting what I really thought. So right now it looks like we will have a little girl due right around the time our beloved UAH Chargers should start home games.

Poor W is outnumbered and I am trying to get it through my head that we are actually going to have a baby girl around here!

cloth diapering bug

So a while back I posted about the new hair brained idea that I had about cloth diapering the next one and Butters as well. Its not that I'm out to save the planet, but more to save money.

Since then some things have happened. While I like the BumGenius 3.0 diapers we have, Butters is at the top of the weight limit for them and they really don't fit as well for an active toddler as I would like. So I took a gamble and got a pack of prefold diapers and 2 thirsties covers as well as some Imse Vimse flushable liners. I don't use pins or a snappi with them, but just fold them into what I've seen called the newspaper fold and the cover holds the inside in place and on top of the pre-fold I put one of the liners. So far this has become a favorite way of diapering Butters during the day. The large thirsties cover fits him really well and the flush able liners are amazingly sturdy. I had heard that you could actually throw them into the washer if they weren't dirty and was skeptical but shocked at the result. I've washed liners through both the pre-wash and hot cycles every time and they hold up really well. Most of the time I can get 4 to 5 washes out of each liner if its not dirty.

Right now I actually like the system we have. I use primarily the thirsties covers and pre folds at home. I really love being able to just swap out the liners and only have to use one cover for the day unless it get dirty. The BumGenius are still good for at night. They generally work well even though he is a little big for them. Also I tend to keep one extra insert as well as one BumGenius when we go out in my purse or diaper bag. The system works well for us and right now I am only doing diaper laundry ever 2 days which to me is very reasonable.

Also I've read a lot about wet bags and such. Right now we aren't using one. I find that the plastic bags we have left over from grocery shopping work well and when they get dirty or just nasty then they get thrown out. I know its not the most environmentally friendly thing, but it works for us.

So I'm 23 weeks pregnant and lately I've been giving a lot of thought to what to use for the new baby. Right now I think a version of the system we use with Butters will work well. Recently Thirsties came out with a new cover called the Duo Wrap. I love this idea and they are very affordable. I am planning on combining them with pre folds like I do now. Since an infant tends to need more diaper changes I think this will work well with changing just the prefold when needed. Also I would like to get about 4 more one size diapers. The question is if I am going to get the BumGenius or another brand. Right now I am looking at the FuzziBunz and Smartipants as well as the BumGenius. I of course want to get the best most durable and have been slowly doing my research on everything.

So these are my thoughts on everything so far. If anyone has any recommendations or advice I would appreciate it.

An emotional check up

So last week marked my 19 week check up and things got a little emotional as they can during pregnancy. I didn’t have W by my side this time to stop the on-flux of tears that soon came but I got through and when I met him at the airport the tears started to flow and flowed more once we go home.

So first the good news. I of course had a list of questions and luckily was able to manage Butters and my niece long enough to get them all answered. First thing are the results of the quad screen all came back negative. So what does this mean in normal terms? Basically that the indicators that they can check for in my blood that would show possible downs syndrome, spinal defects and other chromosomal abnormalities. All the results for me were negative so no worries on that end. Also I need to add that my ob operates on a no news is good news philosophy. So if something had of come up positive I would have known before yesterday but I wanted to ask anyway.

There was the first question regarding if I was feeling any movement and that was a definite yes. Some days it more like a ball pushing out on the right side of my abdomen more than anything, but there is defiantly movement there! Also this kid is pretty low so many times the movement is centered on my sciatic nerve in my back or bladder! But either way I and W have been able to feel quite a bit of movement which is reassuring many days!

The next question was regarding the much more prevalent cramping and pressure I’ve been experiencing with this one. He assured me it was a normal thing to happen with the second and not to be alarmed unless they turn into contractions.

The final question that I had was about scheduling my next appointment. He won’t do the gender screen until 22 weeks exactly so I wanted to schedule the appointment for that week so that Mac could still be here to see for herself. He said that was fine and we will hopefully be finding out the gender on June 30th. I am very excited to finally have a day set!

The last thing that actually happened at the first of my visit was my weight gain. When I went back I stepped on the scale and it said 134lbs. This is up 9 total pounds in 19.5 weeks and the nurse said something along the lines of wow you’ve gained a lot of weight. Now most people know that my weight is a fairly sensitive issue so when she said this it killed me. We went back to the room and took my blood pressure (didn’t get the exact reading but it was around what it normally is) and the heartbeat which was in the upper 140’s to 150’s which was fine. She measured me and for about 19.5 weeks I was measuring 22 weeks so that should say something right there. The nurse asked about my diet and I assured her that I wasn’t eating huge portions and nothing out of the normal. I exercise as much as I can and stay active. I actually only have small cravings for junk food (and only eat a small amount when I do crave it) which is nice and normally stick to dried fruit as my major craving. She said something along the lines of well maybe you just hit a growth spurt and it will even out. By this time though the damage was already done and all I wanted to do was crawl into a ball and cry.

So next my doctor came in and after we discussed everything else I asked about the weight gain. He told me that I was doing everything right and that every pregnancy is different. As long as I’m not eating junk food every day and just maintain a healthy lifestyle I will gain the weight that I am supposed to. So as reassured as this makes me I can’t help but still wonder if I’m doing the right things. Then after W got back I collapsed in tears. I just completely had a melt down and cried for a good 5 or 10 minutes. I know its hard for him to see me that upset about something but he understands that my weight is a sensitive issue and being told by a nurse that I gained too much really hit me hard. He tried his best to let me completely soak his the shoulder of his shirt with tears and calm me down. The truth of it was I just needed to cry and get it out and I think he of all people understands that.

So now I have a month to look forward to with 2 kids. W went out to get Mac from Sacramento for a month and after a long travel ordeal that I’m sure he will be blogging about later.

NICU memories

The thoughts and memories of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children never seem too far from my mind these days. I can still vividly remember where his small bed was on both the critical and progressive sides of the unit. The procedures that we went through just to be able to go to his bedside every time we went to see him are still vivid memories. I in great detail remember the care routine that became second nature every time we went to see him. I remember the shock and almost laughter when they told us we had to complete a checklist of baby care items and even do a car seat test. Then there was the shock of the neonatologist asking us the morning he was discharged if we were ready to take him home. The memories are pictures in my mind as well as from W’s camera that I will never forget.

I’m not saying all these things to be nostalgic about how Butters once looked so frail and now is the 35lb toddler that bulldozes everything and everyone in his path. I talk about this because in some ways I am mentally preparing for it become a reality again.

Since my doctor is already talking about this baby following in his/her brother’s footsteps in being big and possibly coming as early as 35 weeks or so hence the reason I feel that it’s best to not forget those things that happened with Butters. Sure I hope for the best. Of course I hope that we will have an uncomplicated birth and this one will be able to room in with us at the hospital then be discharged with me. But, there is a part of me that after Butter’s birth and sudden onset of breathing difficulties knows the routine and doesn’t want to forget it all just in case we see it all again. I don't want the surprise, shock and fear that all went along with his sudden admission to the NICU. I want to be prepared and remember what happened last time just incase it happens again. I am almost half way through my pregnancy and I have had these thoughts on and off since I found out. I guess I just want to be prepared for what I know could happen.

I don’t know what it is about me, but having been through the experience once before the more I know about the situation the more it bothers me. I know that what happens is out of my control and I try to keep that in mind, but it’s really hard. I’m just one of those people that want to be prepared for everything and this is no exception. I guess its an engineer thing. :0)

A change in diapers for us

As some of you know that follow my twitter feed the last few weeks have been talks about what to do as far as diapering for the next little one. After doing a good bit of research and number crunching I came to the conclusion that the BumGenius 3.0 diapers would be best due to how much they resemble disposables. The diapers say that they will fit babies to toddlers from 8 to 35 lbs and being that Butters is at the high range of that weight limit I decided that since I had a 4 day weekend I would try the four of the diapers I had out on Butters and see how they worked.

I got one of the diapers from A Nurturing Moment (shown above while Butters was napping) here in town and the other 3 (pictured) from diapers.com with a $10 off coupon. I knew I would be washing them a lot but I wanted to give it a good shot.

My goal was to go from Friday to Monday night with only using the new diapers. As of tonight I can now say that I accomplished my goal. I wanted to do this with just the diapers and liners I had to be sure that I liked them and that they would work.

So in the process I learned a few things:
1. Changing them while out isn't bad at all. I just kept a balled out Walmart or Publix bag with me and the dirty diaper went in there and was tied up. Once I got home it went in the bag with the other dirty ones or straight in the laundry for washing.

2. I got some Bummi's flushable liners but so far they are just ok. They tend to stick to his bottom along with the poop and I just take a wipe and wipe the whole mess off. No big deal but I was just hoping to be able to flush all of it. If anyone knows of any better liners or a better way to use them please let me know.

3. Butter's diaper rash all went away with no cream. I just kept the diapers on him and the red baboon butt that he gets all went away with no treatment. That was great to see!

4. Blowouts happen no madder what. I learned this Sunday night when Butter's stomach wasn't feeling to good and his diaper got nasty. While luckily most of it was contained in the liner and diaper we still had a blowout situation but I think that happens with any diaper at some point.

5. At night Butters requires at least 2 doublers. He tends to be a heavy night wetter so having the diaper stuffed a little more than during the day seems to help.

6. I really need to increase my supply of these diapers. 4 diapers is just not enough for him to get through a day. I say this but the laundry part really wasn't a problem. It took a pre-wash cycle in cold, full wash cycle in hot, then one extra rinse followed by the dryer on medium. This is what the website recommended and so far worked well.

Overall it was a great weekend experience. I would like to do laundry a little less but that is just going to require us to obtain more of them. Right now I have some on our Target registry and I am passing the word around that as far as new baby gear that would be helpful. Last is a picture of him being as active as always. The fit was still good even though he is at the top of the weight limit. At this point we haven't gone to not using disposables at all but I am starting to work these into rotation with the Huggies that we have and hopefully start saving a little money.


Just as a side note. I estimated that he uses about 5 to 6 diapers a day. So to have a good toddler supply where I only have to wash every other night we would need about 12 to 15. But I estimated this weekend that I saved 24 disposable diapers (average) which amounts to the price of one of the Bum Genius 3.0 diapers. Not too bad for a 4 day weekend!

15 weeks

So this week marked 15 weeks and another doctor’s visit. The basic stats were blood pressure 118/80 (which I was told was good), +2lbs and we did get a good heart beat that was right at 156bpm. The nurse was skeptical about getting a heart beat so early on but luckily since I’m so small it wasn’t a problem. The 2lb weight gain was kind of a shock considering how sick I’ve been in the evening and at night. I asked my doctor about size concerns. He looked at my chart from last time and after everything that happened said that he wouldn’t be surprised if I went early. He said that since Butters was big my chances of having another big baby are pretty good. He did say that he would be happy if I went into labor at 37 weeks (which would put this one being born right around W's birthday) with no intervention depending on how big this one is. I wanted to ask a lot of what if questions but I know it’s far too early for that and there’s no need to at the moment. Also we found out that we won’t find out the gender of this little one until around the first week of July. Hopefully we will still have Mac for the big day.

So far my main food cravings are tuna salad (made with low fat mayo and plenty of sweet relish), decaf iced coffee, instant oatmeal, sweet breakfast cereal, Tommy’s Pizza and anything with a strong citrus flavor (orange juice, chunked pineapple ect). The citrus seems to be linked to my nightly battles with getting to sleep. It seems as if I don’t have enough acid on my stomach so eating a few bites of citrus gives me enough acid to digest food and not get so sick. Ironically I don’t want soft drinks at all right now. I’ll normally have a couple of sips then they just don’t taste good anymore. I am much more preferring crystal light iced tea, lemonade or Capri suns to drink rather than soft drinks.

I’m still with out an appetite most of the time though. I eat last at night around 8pm and normally can’t manage to even think about eating until after 8am the next day. I know this isn’t entirely healthy but I’m doing to best I can. After around 9 I tend to snack on stuff that I’ve got at my desk to keep me out of the vending machine. Oddly enough I haven’t really wanted sweets that much. A random sweet craving can normally be tamed with a chocolate chip granola bar. I honestly do find myself snacking more at the office I think due to only having this type of food around and not as home as much. I have snack stuff at home but the stuff I really crave is at work. I don’t consider what I snack on that unhealthy. I’ve been really working to not look at a clock so much when I eat but rather eat when I feel like I need to. I’m mainly doing this so that I can not worry so much about when I’m eating but rather focus on just eating when and what I need to (with in reason).

Respect or lack there of (vent)

One of the things that I deal with in my job and throughout my career as an engineer or in school is respect. During my undergraduate days it wasn’t a big deal. Around the time that I got to my upper level classes the guys I was in class with generally got the idea that the women left could cut it and basically gave us the respect we deserved. The same stands true for graduate school. I receive the amount of respect that I should and am very rarely talked down to in a class setting or talking to a professor

When I got my first engineering job I expected for there to be a lot of problems with the guys in the office and hanger but I was surprised at what I found. I was respected and seen as someone who knew what they were talking about. I got a little bit of resistance from guys when I went on trips but a few hours into it that faded and the problems were no longer an issue. In part I have to say that this was easier for me since the manager that I had was a woman and had in a way cleared the path. Granted we were complete opposite personalities but I think she did make it so that when I was starting out in the field it wasn’t as hard as it could have been.

At my current job it’s all different. Apparently I scare the guys I work with to a degree. When I initially got here things were fine. The boss I had at the time was great and I had no problems except for another woman in my group (but she has since left and that’s a whole other story). When this boss decided to leave the guys up north appointed one of the other guys in my group supervisor until someone else could be found. This is when things started getting bad. The comments about my eating started, the guys in my group started talking much worse. Things just snowballed very quickly. With in a few months of him leaving I found myself in a bad situation. The lack of respect that I got and continue to get when it comes to school and my knowledge of things would amaze you. I sit next to a guy who mainly complains about his older daughter. Calling her all kinds of names and even cussing her out on the phone right beside me is a little much. I also at least once a week get treated to a rather heated argument with his wife. The other guy that sits right on the other side of the cube wall from me has basically proclaimed that he has very little to do with his three kids and considers himself a sperm donor and the kids are his wife’s problem. This is the same guy that had the bravado to say that W must give Butters Benadryl sometimes so he will sleep and W can play video games!

I used to be able to overlook all this stuff, but after having Butters I could never imagine talking like his. Yes W and I have our disagreements but I try not to have them in the office and not bring it into the work place at all. I’m also not saying that Butters is always an angel and does no wrong. What I am saying is no madder how bad of a night I have with him or how much his 2 year old antics frustrate me I don’t talk bad about him at the office. Same goes for Mac when she’s around. I would never talk to others about how bad they are or what all they did wrong. That kind of stuff to me is meant to stay at home and not air out your “dirty laundry” at the office.

Also I want to make a distinction here. Talking to friends that have kids the same age about the interesting behaviors and quirks that are going on is completely different than talking about your kind in an entirely negative manner.

I’m not trying to sound feminist or anything about the respect issue but I get a little irritated when I hear the same things every week at work. I do my best to show these guys respect but at times it’s very hard when they show basically none to me in return. I guess I feel that inappropriate comments and complaining about your wife, kids, dogs ect should be kept out of the workplace to an extent and not voiced so loudly that everyone around can hear it. Also I really wish these guys would show a certain amount of respect in the work place towards myself and their own families in the way they talk about them.