Scenes from a busy week

Two dozen cookies for preschool teacher gifts.  Two dozen cupcakes for preschool holiday party.  Five trays of M&M pretzel treats for preschool friends.  One busy week.

Holiday Love

1. Wallpaper Snowflakes, 2. gypsy garland, 3. Snowflake in my window, 4. Untitled, 5. Bakers Twine Samples Close Up, 6. kraft-paper-box-packaging-bakers-twine-500x750, 7. little gift packaging + tag, 8. shari's packaging, 9. Pretty Polka Dots, 10. Couldn't resist.... {My first Explore!}, 11. happy friday!, 12. mantle, 13. A Very Merry Christmas to All!14. happy friday! 15. mantle 16. A Very Merry Christmas to All!

Some of my favorite things right now...

paper garland

snowflakes in windows

vintage bottle brush trees

hand stamped packages and shipping labels

baker's twine

christmas light bokeh

starbucks peppermint mochas

Snow

It's days like today that remind me why I do love the change of seasons.  It doesn't get much prettier than newly fallen snow.  Today's was gorgeous.  Not to mention the fun of sledding and snowball fights with my two favorite four year olds and my Dad.

Vintage Bottle Brush Trees

309: 12.6.07, originally uploaded by girlhula.

I would love a forest of my very own. And actually, I'd take the maps and the letters, too.

Elf on a Shelf

This little elf is on its way from Etsy (er, I mean The North Pole) to our house and should be arriving any day.  He's coming, along with a letter from Santa that contains strict instructions for EJ and Olivia and will be with us until Christmas.  His job is to watch over them and report back to Santa nightly with any naughty behavior.  Then, the elf returns to our house every morning and finds a hiding place.  EJ and Olivia have to find him and make sure he is placed back on the mantle for the day so that he can continue to watch over them.   There are also some rules for EJ and Olivia to follow.  They are never to touch him.  When they find him each morning, they are to tell one of us and we are to put him back on the mantel.  The elf is not allowed to talk to them although EJ and Olivia are allowed to talk to or write to him.  He can, however, leave notes from Santa or in reply to something they asked of him.

I'm excited for his arrival.

PS - this oh-so-sweet idea isn't my own.  Google "Elf on a Shelf".  There is even a book.  I just fell so in love with this tradition that I decided to start one of our own.

Family Planning

Do you hit a slippery slope once you're a mother of three?  Is it because going from two to three really isn't that big of a deal (as I've heard many say) that the then thought of four isn't unimaginable or out of the question?  That's where I am right now.

I never in a million years thought I would be here.  Contemplating the idea of another baby.  I don't know that it's actually another baby that I'm after but instead the sadness of losing the one that I have.  Or, the idea of never experiencing any of this again.  It could also be stemming from the fact that I had planned to get rid of the baby clothes as Piper grows out of them and now that her newborn and 0-3 month clothes no longer fit, I can't quite bring myself to start packing them up and shipping them out the door.

I always wanted three kids.  That was always my plan. Gene wanted a ton of kids.  He had a sister who died when he was little and basically grew up an only child.  He always told me that the thing he wanted most for his kids was for them to have siblings.  So, his plan was for at least three but was also hoping to talk me into more.  Then, when we had such a hard time conceiving and weren't sure we'd end up with one child, let alone several, we were extremely content and happy when we found out I was pregnant with twins.  And even more so when we found out it was a boy and a girl.  Perfect.  Then, EJ and Olivia blessed us with their presence and my idea on having three changed.  They were a handful (especially the first year) and I was more than happy to declare that two was enough for me.  Gene still wanted more, but didn't push the issue. 

A few years went by, the twins got a lot easier, and the idea would occasionally creep into my mind about another.  However, I was quick to put that idea on the back burner each year.   "Maybe next year", I'd think to myself.  "Next year" came as quite a shock when I found out I was pregnant last November.  After all of the effort we had to put into conceiving the twins, I never expected I would be one of those people saying "Ooops!  I'm pregnant".  That kind of thing wouldn't happen to me.  But, that was me one year ago.

I was nervous about the idea of another baby.  The work involved with having a newborn in the house again.  Juggling the twins and the new baby.  But, it's really been a very smooth transition.  Obviously, so much so, that I would even be entertaining the idea of another.  I know I'm crazy to think it. And, I'm sure in the end it will not happen.  Being totally honest with myself, I'm sure, as I said, it's more that I'm having difficulty letting go.

Piper was such a surprise and couldn't have been a bigger blessing!  I've been enjoying my time with her so very much.  I love kissing her chubby little cheeks and having someone drooling all over me again.  I'm looking forward to having a little one toddling around the house again and experiencing life in everyday things for the first time.  EJ and Olivia just love her to pieces, too and I'm so happy that they're getting to experience having a baby in the house.  They just adore her and Piper is so intrigued by them.  I enjoy watching the family dynamic develop before my eyes a little more everyday.

I asked EJ and Olivia if they wanted Mommy to have another baby or if Piper should be the last addition to the family.  I think I was hoping they'd both say no and that would seal the deal.  They both said yes.  Olivia said she wanted a baby brother next.  EJ then told me that God has walkie talkies and can hear everything we're saying (I think he's thinking more along the lines of the baby monitor we have for Piper) and that God heard their request and he's going to put a baby in my belly while I'm sleeping.

Walkie talkies, God and babies all in the same sentence.  Sounds as crazy as I do for thinking about another.  I'm chalking it up to the hormones.

Happy Halloween...

...from my little Buzz Light Year, Witch, and Pumpkin!

Swine flu?

Swine flu?, originally uploaded by °Giulietta°.

Or, excuse me, H1N1? I guess I'll never know if that's what I've been inflicted with all week. I do know, however, it's been quite a long week. Gene has been away for work all week so I've been on my own with an infant and two four year olds. I missed trick or treating last night and EJ and Olivia's Halloween parade and party today at preschool. I've been worried sick about my three little ones catching this... especially Piper. While my fever is gone, my head now feels as though it's about it explode and I'm counting down the hours until my husband returns home this evening. I may just climb into bed as soon as he arrives and not get out until Sunday. Or actually, maybe Monday, when he has to return to work.

beautiful.fall.day.

Wonderful Weekend

I couldn't have asked for a nicer birthday weekend. Well, maybe a few degrees warmer and less precipitation would have been nice. But hey, I had a weekend away in a historic, quaint and beautiful little town which was only a short walk over a bridge from New Hope, Pennsylvania... another historic, quaint and beautiful little town. We had never been to the area but will definitely be making a return trip. The twins would go crazy for the coal fired steam engine that makes its way through New Hope everyday.

I started off my birthday morning with breakfast at my in-laws, complete with a heart shaped blueberry muffin, sprinkled with powered sugar and topped with a lit candle. After breakfast, we dropped off the kids at my parents and headed on our way.

The weekend was complicated a bit by the fact that I'm breastfeeding a nine week old. So, for a week prior to our planned getaway, I was married to my pump so that I could stash away enough milk for Piper during my absence. I was so proud of myself that by Friday evening, I had more than enough milk to last her the 24+ hours that I would be away. But then, there was the pumping schedule that I would have to adhere to on our trip. So, that meant being a slave to the clock and having to make plans around the every three hour pumping schedule. But, it all worked out just fine and wasn't as difficult or as much of a nuisance as I thought it would be. And, I have 30 ounces now stashed in the freezer for later!

The weather also wasn't as bad as I had expected. For the most part we were able to walk everywhere we wanted/needed to go without getting wet. Most of the time there was just a fine mist in the air. But, it was misty enough that I didn't feel comfortable using my camera (to which I was very disappointed). I was so looking forward to using the new lens that Gene bought for me for my birthday. However, said camera, lens and new camera bag remained in the car the entire weekend.

Other than not being able to get out with my camera, the weekend was everything I had hoped it would be. It was full of antique shop perusing (with price tags much higher than I would be willing or capable of spending), window shopping, coffee drinking, dinner eating (complete with a birthday dessert spread compliments of our waiter that included three desserts, berries, whipped creams and candles), wine drinking, and champagne brunch eating goodness.

And, to top it all off, Piper slept 10 hours for my parents last night. She's been sleeping through the night at home but we weren't sure how she'd do in a new environment, in addition to just getting her two month vaccines on Friday. But, I'm happy to report she was the fantastic sleeper she's always been. I was so worried she's have my Mom up all night.

Could my birthday weekend have gotten much better? I don't think so. Other than the fact that it's extending into this week and I'm looking forward to a birthday dinner tomorrow night with my family!

Lambertville, New Jersey

We're headed to the Delaware River Valley tomorrow morning thanks to my wonderful parents. They offered to keep all three kids for us this weekend so that I can get away for my birthday. So, despite the rain and cold weather, I'm looking forward to a weekend full of flea markets, antique shops, coffee shops, cafe lunches, a relaxing dinner, a bottle of wine and sleeping in.

And then, in the meantime, trying to figure out how I'll ever repay my parents for all they've done for me.

1. Metal cage..., 2. A "Doors Reunion" , 3. love knows hidden paths, 4. lambertville shopping, 5. he liked to break the rules...but only a little, 6. bridge (another perspective), 7. five for a friend, 8. Dreamy, 9. well-uncared for, 10. My, what big hands you have, 11. End Seat (105/365), 12. Up Close and Personal, 13. Waterfall - New Hope, Pa14. Not available15. Not available16. Not available

Two Months Old

10 Things About Piper at 2 months Old:

1) She's sleeping through the night.
2) At last weight check this evening, she's 11 pounds 12 ounces.
3) She hates to have her arms swaddled.
4) She has quite the appetite (hence the almost four pound weight gain in two months).
5) She smiles and coos
6) She loves to suck on her fists
7) She has a bit of a temper and definitely lets you know when she's not happy about something.
8) Her eyes are turning blue.
9) She is entering the "old man hair" stage as she's starting to lose the hair on the sides of her head.
10) Her gummy smile just melts my heart.

Of course I couldn't catch that gummy smile with the camera today no matter how hard I tried.

Happy two months, Piper!

Ugh.

I went running today for the first time in almost a year. And, it certainly felt like it had been a year. Unfortunately for me, I seem to have this issue with walking if I become tired. It's like quitting or failing... even if I have a good excuse. A good excuse like just having a baby or not running once in the last 12 months. But no, I had to keep going and finish, albeit very slowly.

I can tell already that I will be paying dearly tomorrow.

Piper

Had I put in a request ahead of time for the perfect baby, she would have met all of my requirements. This little bundle has just been a joy.

I had been preparing myself for the worst as far as infant care would go. The long sleepless nights, difficulties with breastfeeding, hours of crying, difficulty trying to juggle a new baby with two older preschoolers, etc. And while there was definitely a transition period full of sleepless nights, difficulties with breastfeeding and juggling three kids, it was nothing like I thought it was going to be.

The sleepless nights ended after four weeks when she started sleeping longer stretches. She now goes anywhere from 8-10 hours a night. The breastfeeding difficulties I had (clogged ducts, a bout with mastitis then supply issues) are all behind us. The hours of crying never happened as she's been very pleasant and really only cries if she's hungry. Juggling three kids hasn't been nearly as difficult as I thought. EJ and Olivia show no jealousy towards Piper and if anything, may show a little too much affection at times.

I really don't want to jinx things but Piper is such a good baby. She goes to sleep for the night easily, which for me was always one of the most stressful times of the day with the twins. Trying to get two infants off to sleep every evening was never an easy task, especially with one who always wanted to be held to sleep. Now, I must add that I was pretty lucky with EJ and Olivia, too. They started sleeping through the night at 12 weeks and never looked back, with the exception of the occasional illness or teething. But, up until 12 weeks, the night shift was VERY difficult at times. There were often mornings when the sun would rise and I had yet to sleep. This would sometimes happen consecutive days in a row and I literally thought I would die from sleep deprivation. So, I was preparing myself for the same this time around. But, it never happened.

I started a nighttime routine with Piper around four weeks when I transitioned her out of my room and into her crib. I feed her, put her in her crib while she's still awake and guess what? She goes to sleep on her own! It's heaven.

She started smiling and cooing around four weeks and it's only gotten more consistent and frequent as the weeks have gone by. She now smiles at me when I get her out of her crib in the morning and it's the sweetest thing to see. I love her little smiles and coos. I love the sweet little rolls on her thighs and her triple chin. I love that her eyes are turning from gray to blue. I love that she found her fists this week and spends much of her awake time trying to figure out how to get them to her mouth. I adore this little girl to pieces and it makes me sad that it's all going by so fast. This baby time with her is flying by so much more quickly than it did with the twins so I'm trying to soak it all up as much as I can.

Vocabulary

Oh, the vocabulary of a four year old. Olivia just pulled my bra out of the laundry basket and said, "Oh Mommy, here's your boobie holder!".

:)

Fall

Oh Fall, I try to love you. I really do. Everyone else seems to love you and your chilly mornings and crisp evenings. Now don't get me wrong, your colors, pumpkins, apples and cider are great and all and my birthday falls in October so obviously that scores you big points, but I want my longer days back. I want my crickets chirping and my fireflies. I want my warm, dewy mornings so that I can sit on the patio and enjoy my coffee outside. I want my 9 pm sunsets so that I can squeeze in that run that I've put off all day. (OK, that last one was a bit of a stretch since I haven't run since last fall before I was pregnant. But, point is, I'd like the option now).

Summer went by way too quickly this year.

Oatmeal

No-Bake Cookies, originally uploaded by Brown Eyed Baker.

I have read that eating oatmeal is supposed to help increase your breast milk supply. I wonder if this is what they had in mind? I guess it's doubtful. However, it seemed like the perfect excuse to make my favorite childhood cookie tonight.

Nobody mentioned exactly how you are to consume the oatmeal.

My New Life

And I must say, I do love it. I was totally expecting to be overwhelmed and wishing these early days away. I was overwhelmed with the twins' early days and the constant 'round the clock feedings. This time? I guess I'm armed with the most helpful tool I could have... experience. I know that the middle of the night feedings will come to an end. I know that the 'round the clock care will come to an end. I know that the evening fussiness will come to an end. I know that the unpredictability of everyday will come to an end.

Other things I know? I know that this tiny, beautiful, little baby girl is just days shy of being a month old. I know that this first month has flown by already. I know that she's almost two pounds heavier and at least an inch taller than the day she was born. I know that she's already growing out of her newborn diapers and clothes and some of her 0-3 month clothes. I know that her legs are growing chunky and cheeks plumper. I know that she's already giving more sleep at night. I know that the breastfeeding woes that I experienced in the early days have passed.

The single most important thing I know? Piper is my last baby. This will all be over in a blink of an eye. So, no matter how tired I am or frazzled I can become, I'm trying to savor every sweet moment of it. These tiny baby feet are growing with each passing day and I know it won't be long before I look back at this photo and wonder where the time has gone.

Piper Johanna

Piper Johanna arrived on August 15th at 2:40 in the morning. August 15th was my due date so she was actually quite punctual!

My water broke (partially) around 11:15 pm in the evening and we made it to the hospital just shortly after midnight. I was having constant contractions every two minutes so I thought things might happen quickly, although I had no idea just how quickly.

When we arrived at the hospital, the nurse did a strip test to confirm if, in fact, my water had broken. Unfortunately, that came back as inconclusive (which it did when my water broke with the twins as well so I guess my pH must be out of whack or something). So, I was told that I may have to go home, since they couldn't confirm if my water had actually broken, despite the fact that I was having strong, regular contractions. I knew I was in labor (having done it once already before). However, I guess the nurse was not convinced. And, since it was a Friday night and I was only one of three L&D patients (and let's thrown in the fact that they were having a big birthday party at the nurses station for one of the nurses) so I, apparently, was an inconvenience. I was taken off of the monitors and told to walk the halls or whatever I'd like to do for the next two hours until they were to check me again. If I wasn't making any progress, I was going home. If I was making progress, I would stay and they'd call my doctor to come in. This was around 12:40 am.

So, I walked the halls for about an hour, with contractions coming one on top of the other (sometimes less than a minute apart). They were becoming unbearable and I decided to see if a soak in the tub would help. I filled the tub, which seemed to take forever, and finally climbed in around 2 pm. I knew I still had another 40 minutes or so to wait until they would check me again. Within a few minutes of being in the tub, I was experiencing contractions like I had never had before, and they were excruciating. After two of these contractions, my water (what was left of it) broke again in the tub. I had Gene call the nurse and she checked me again. At this point I was 5-6 cm. I was 3 cm when I arrived so my nurse knew I was staying. She called my OB to come in to the hospital, called in another nurse to start my IV, and call anesthesia as I was begging for an epidural.

Over the next 15 minutes, a nurse is jabbing my arm multiple times trying to start an IV as I'm suffering thru one horrendous contraction on top of the other. The anesthesiologist arrives and my nurse sits me up on the bed so that he can start my epidural. As I sit up, I feel this enormous amount of pressure and feeling like I have to push. But, it had only been 15 minutes since I had been checked and I knew I was only 5-6 cm. I should have a few more hours, right? There's no way I'm fully dilated.

The nurse checks me and I'm complete (10 cm) and the baby is coming. My OB has not arrived at the hospital yet and I hear my nurse requesting that the resident OB be paged. Great. They can't get my IV in my arm, I'm without my epidural and my OB isn't even going to be able to deliver my baby. And, all the while, I can't really focus on any of this because I'm lying there, eyes closed, clinging to Gene's arm, trying my best to deal with the pain.

Thankfully, within the next minute or so, I hear my OB's voice as he walks into the room. He throws on his medical coveralls (or whatever those things are called), checks me and tells me that I can start pushing. I pushed for three hours with the twins so I was expecting this part might take some time. Well, maybe it was because I knew the harder I pushed, the sooner it would be over or, maybe I was just better at it this time around, or maybe it was because I've already birthed two children, but after three pushes, Piper entered the world.

She was taken by the staff right away because there had been meconium in my water so they wanted to make sure she was sufficiently suctioned before handing her off to me. Thankfully, she was such a good crier that they didn't have to suction her lungs.

Two hours and forty minutes after arriving at the hospital, Piper was born. I actually ended up signing all of the consent paperwork (allowing the hospital to deliver her) AFTER she was born because she came so quickly. Despite the horrendous pain, and the scary moments of realizing that she was coming and no one seemed ready, I was thankful for how short my labor was in the end.

I still not happy with how my L&D nurse handled things. Contractions coming every two minutes upon arrival to the hospital should have warranted a bit more service than "walk the halls for two hours and then we'll decide if you're in labor", especially for someone having gone thru labor once before. You know when it's the real thing. She should have checked me sooner. She should have called my OB sooner. She should have completed the paperwork and medical history sooner. But, in the end, I had an uncomplicated delivery and a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Better service is at the bottom of that list.

Waiting and Wondering...

Less than two days away from my due date. I was 3 cm on Monday at my appointment and it's now an hour shy of Friday morning. I found this site that has a helpful contraction timing calculator that I've been using for the last hour. Do you think I'm in labor??

Or tap the S - key to begin
Start Time End Time Duration Frequency
10:53:05 PM 10:54:46 PM 1:39 5 m, 18 s
10:47:47 PM 10:48:50 PM 1:2 5 m, 45 s
10:42:02 PM 10:43:28 PM 1:24 5 m, 1 s
10:37:01 PM 10:38:32 PM 1:30 4 m, 37 s
10:32:24 PM 10:33:31 PM 1:6 5 m, 28 s
10:26:56 PM 10:28:45 PM 1:48 6 m, 1 s
10:20:55 PM 10:21:53 PM 0:57 4 m, 57 s
10:15:58 PM 10:16:34 PM 0:35 4 m, 39 s
10:11:19 PM 10:12:54 PM 1:34 6 m, 52 s
10:04:27 PM 10:05:22 PM 0:55 4 m, 18 s
10:00:08 PM 10:01:45 PM 1:36 ----
Print Results

Based on the above and what the dr. tells you, I'd say yes. However, I've had this pattern before and the contractions always seem to fizzle out. I guess time will tell.

Guess What?

Today is Monday... and I don't have to be at work!

counting down the days

counting down the days, originally uploaded by NyKuLei.

Two more days of work. Two more weeks of pregnancy. It's a lot to process and a lot of changes on the horizon.

Becoming a Mom to an infant again. Becoming a Mom of three kids. Leaving a job that I've had for the last eight years to a full time stay at home Mom.

Most are exciting. A few are worrisome. All are weighing on my mind.

Nursery Planning and Etsy Love

I've long been a fan of Etsy. However, I've reached a new level of adoration for the site over the last few weeks as I've been working on the nursery. Most of the decorating will be done with creations made by Etsy artists or vintage items purchased thru the site.

So far, I'm having a baby mobile custom made by the Perpetual Childhood shop. It will be similar to this one but will be mainly white with just a touch of pink.



Then, I found this fantastic artist who makes textile cards and small art pieces with recycled fabric and paper. Her work is beautiful! I contacted her after seeing her work and she offered to put together a collection of cards to be framed and hung in the nursery. I just got a note from her tonight saying that the cards are finished and she's shipping them out tomorrow. I can't wait to see them! Here is one of her cards:



You can check out the rest of her shop, here.

Lastly, I bought some Amy Butler fabric from Etsy that I'm thinking will go well in the room and my Mom has offered (since I can't use a sewing machine) to make some pillow covers for me. And, I'm also planning to do several swatch portraits (<- click link to read about them) with the fabric as well. I received half of the fabric today and am hoping the other half arrives in the next day or two.

While the nursery has been painted and the furniture is in place, I'm anxious to receive the rest of the goodies in the mail so that I can get started with the actual decorating! I found a vintage signage letter from Three Potato Four over the weekend that I'm waiting to arrive as well. The nursery theme is kind of vintage modern so I'm hoping all of this will work together well and the end result is what I'm picturing in my head.

So Long

So Long 2008, originally uploaded by mycuteladybug.

We're headed to the beach in the morning and will be home on Tuesday. Our last trip away as a family of four.

A New Pregnancy Page

One more page for the baby book. Guess I should get around to taking a few more belly shots since this one is now 6 weeks old.

Only 6 more weeks to go!

Some Photos

I've been terrible with updating my blog lately. Just seems there's too much to do and not enough time to do it.

I took the kids to the park a few weeks ago and am finally getting around to posting the photos. I took my camera and in order to force myself to learn how to shoot in something other than the program modes, I threw it into manual mode and started snapping. It took me at least 10+ photos of nothing but bleached out faces and backgrounds before I got the settings to where they would give me a photograph of something that you could at least make out. What can I say? I've got a steep learning curve.

I had fun playing with some actions and textures on these, too!

He Loves Me

He Loves Me, originally uploaded by tlheyman.

Gene brought these flowers home for me last week. I've declared Calla Lillies my new favorite flower. They were so pretty, in fact, that it gave me an excuse to play with my camera and Photoshop. Aren't they lovely?

Under Attack

My roses are being skeletonized by sawfly larvae. Also known as rose slugs (thank goodness for Google)! I planted four rose bushes last year and each is currently being chomped away by these little green worms. It's making me crazy.

We moved into this house two and a half years ago. Because it was a newly built house, it only had one small flower bed in the very front with a few shrubs and a bunch of mums (as it was Oct. when it was finished). The minimal landscaping that was there was strictly for curb appeal to help the house sell. So, needless to say, it needed a lot of attention, which I was more than happy to tackle.

The following spring and summer I spent countless hours planning the beds and picking out the flowers, shrubs and trees that would fill them. You could find me outside on any given evening, sometimes as late as 10 pm, hammering stakes in the ground to mark where a certain plant or shrub or tree would be placed. It was a major project but one I threw myself into willingly and 100%. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I spent the first summer here planting the front yard and last summer planting the backyard.

Because of the amount of time, effort and care that went into the gardens of this house, I take great pride in them. I anxiously await spring each year so that I can see the many plants and shrubs emerging from the dormancy of winter to return to their beautifully intended state. I love that each year they grow a little larger and the gardens are beginning to look as I intended. The colors are mixing and complementing each other and the plants all bloom at various times of the year so that something is always in full color. It's a wonderful thing. And, it's even more wonderful because I did the work to get it there.

So, needless to say, to find my beautiful roses being attacked by these nasty green monsters makes me crazy. I've been hand picking these worms off the leaves for the last two days.... which is the most effective organic method, they say. However, they're really hard to see and I know I'm not getting them all. I sprayed them with soapy water two nights ago but I'm not sure that was much help. I've read everything from sprinkling flour on the plants to dousing them with olive oil. But, bottom line is, from what I understand, roses are very prone to pests and diseases and unless I want to regularly treat them with chemicals, my roses are always going to be chomped up and diseased. Maybe I should have researched them a little more or taken heed to my neighbor's comment of roses being way too much work before I decided to make a bed full of rose bushes.

Olivia's 4th Birthday Wish

Beginnings

The beginnings of our first backyard garden.

Feeling Accomplished

I did 50 minutes of yoga today and a three mile walk at the park tonight. Warm weather is such a great motivator!

Day Twelve

of this awful UTI. I got it the day we were leaving to go camping and thankfully snagged an appointment before we left and was able to get on antibiotics. However, my first mistake, I guess, was going to my family doctor instead of my OB. My thought, at the time, was a uti was not something that had to do with my pregnancy so why go to the OB? I'm regretting that now, though.

My family doc gave me a 7 day course of antibiotics. Of course I've been freaked out taking them because of being pregnant and what it could do to the baby although the doc said they were safe. Well, they may have been safe but they didn't clear up the infection. So, after 7 days of diligently taking my meds and drinking a sea of water daily, I was still in pain. In pain so badly by last Saturday that I needed to page the on call OB, because of course, my family doctor had no "on call" options on the weekend. Lovely.

Thankfully, the OB on call called in a new RX for me. A stronger one. One that was a category c instead of category b (for pregnancy risk) but she assured me it was fine to take. Being desperate, I'm taking it. I was told that if I didn't feel better by Monday that I was to come into the office. Well, guess what? Not better by Monday. WTH?? So, I go in yesterday and they inform me that it's very unfortunate that my family doctor did not culture my specimen to see which particular bacteria was the culprit so that it could be treated appropriately and that they always culture their pregnant patients. Ok, so clearly that was mistake #1. They did a quick test on me and of course, the infection is still there. So, they sent it off to culture and we should know in a day or two if we need to change antibiotics. I'm assuming that answer is yes since I'm not feeling better yet.

Then, the OB prescribed me a urinary tract analgesic to help with the pain. I was more than happy to pick up this RX so that I could start feeling better. However, my first mistake was reading the fact sheet. I always read those fact sheets and always freak myself out by doing so. I should really just take the dr's word that it's safe and move on. However, I read it and it says that the drug can permanently stain your soft contact lenses. WHAT???? How does that happen?????? I know it makes your pee red but your contacts??? So, needless to say, I haven't taken a pill yet. That just seems strange beyond strange. It's excreted into your eyes??? Is it going to turn my baby's skin red too?? Ugh. I hate drugs.

Bag

I don't think I've ever been so in love with one before. Won't be able to bring myself to spend $135 on it, but it won't stop me from loving it!

You can find them here.

Camping

Fresh air * campfires * falling asleep to the sound of peepers * catching your first fish * smores * 75 degree weather * sleeping in a bunk bed for the very first time * throwing rocks in the water * no tv * roasting marshmallows * eating roasted marshmallows *

Camping. It's good for the soul (whether yours is four years old or thirty four years old).