Bryan has already torn out the first floor bathroom vanity and floor and painted the ugly mauve ceiling white for the next project. This one has a deadline of August 25th as we get ready for a full house for Noelle's 2nd birthday party!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
The Finished Product
With 10 weeks to spare, Bryan finished our basement guest suite this week. We do still need to get a new bedspread set (the full spread we are using from before is wantonly small for the queen bed upgrade!) and some curtains, and we are still deciding whether we want to add a 2nd TV to our household and put it in the room, but otherwise it is done! Here are some pictures!
Bryan has already torn out the first floor bathroom vanity and floor and painted the ugly mauve ceiling white for the next project. This one has a deadline of August 25th as we get ready for a full house for Noelle's 2nd birthday party!
Bryan has already torn out the first floor bathroom vanity and floor and painted the ugly mauve ceiling white for the next project. This one has a deadline of August 25th as we get ready for a full house for Noelle's 2nd birthday party!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Labor and Delivery
Over the past few days I haven't been feeling great. Nothing I could really put my finger on, just weak and tired and not feeling exactly right. I chalked it up to working a ton, commuting 55 miles each way, and the outside temperature and tried to take it easy on Tuesday. On Wednesday about 10 am though, I just felt gross so I left work and when I got home decided to take my temperature. It was a little high at 99.5, but nothing really concerning. So I took a regular strength Tylenol and a nap, drank some juice, and felt a bit better.
Bryan had one of his firm dinners last night so I convinced him I was well enough to get Ellie from daycare and entertain her for the evening so he could go. At about 6:30 though, my chills went away and were replaced with my skin feeling about a zillion degrees so I took my temperature again and it was about 101.5. I took another Tylenol and called my doctor's office just to check in, and to my surprise they told me to head over to labor and delivery to get checked out.
An urgent call to Bryan and to a mom's group friend to watch Noelle ensued, and we were off to JHU at about 7:30 with Noelle's overnight bag ready just in case. I was freaking out a bit. I mean we had done absolutely nothing to get ready for Alien, and if there was something wrong, we were going to be dealing with a very premature little guy on our hands as he is only 28 weeks and in the 2.5 pound range right now. But since I hadn't had any bleeding and could still feel him moving, I hoped for the best and by the time we got to the hospital I was feeling much better.
When they got us to our room and took my temperature, it was only 99. A relief but also not very helpful as they couldn't tell what was wrong with me, and whether it was just the Tylenol keeping my temperature normal. They checked me out a little, but were much more concerned with how Alien was doing, so hooked him up to monitor his heart rate and any contractions I was having. It was clear from the trouble they were having keeping him on the heart rate monitor that he was moving a ton, something that made them and me feel better. His heart rate, when they could get it, was in the normal 140-160 range. I was having a few contractions, but most weren't strong enough for me to feel, and none were in any kind of regular or disturbing pattern. After about 2 hours I started to feel feverish again so they took my temperature and it was back at 100.4. At that point, since they still didn't see anything specifically wrong with me, they did a quick ultrasound to make sure there wasn't anything wrong with the fluid around the baby or anything that looked like an infection might be affecting him. Thankfully everything looked great. He continues to be in the position he has been chilling in for the last 6 weeks or so, transverse, but still has plenty of time to get his head down for delivery.
So feeling confident that the baby was fine despite me clearly having a fever, the doctor felt ok discharging us with directions for me to rest and take Tylenol until the fever goes away on its own. So the evening was a bit scary, but it was better to be safe than sorry. This morning I am feeling a lot better. I still have a fever but I think another day of rest and fluids should put me firmly on the road to recovery.
One lesson learned, I forgot just how uncomfortable the beds at JHU were. I think that the epidural is a must have there just so you can't feel the pain in your back from the bed! And Bryan's little reclining chair looked horrid, particularly when you are still wearing your suit and tie! The accommodations affirmed our desire to have Alien and come home as quickly as possible, assuming all goes well. But we are looking forward to going back, although hopefully not for at least 10 more weeks, to meet our little guy!
Bryan had one of his firm dinners last night so I convinced him I was well enough to get Ellie from daycare and entertain her for the evening so he could go. At about 6:30 though, my chills went away and were replaced with my skin feeling about a zillion degrees so I took my temperature again and it was about 101.5. I took another Tylenol and called my doctor's office just to check in, and to my surprise they told me to head over to labor and delivery to get checked out.
An urgent call to Bryan and to a mom's group friend to watch Noelle ensued, and we were off to JHU at about 7:30 with Noelle's overnight bag ready just in case. I was freaking out a bit. I mean we had done absolutely nothing to get ready for Alien, and if there was something wrong, we were going to be dealing with a very premature little guy on our hands as he is only 28 weeks and in the 2.5 pound range right now. But since I hadn't had any bleeding and could still feel him moving, I hoped for the best and by the time we got to the hospital I was feeling much better.
When they got us to our room and took my temperature, it was only 99. A relief but also not very helpful as they couldn't tell what was wrong with me, and whether it was just the Tylenol keeping my temperature normal. They checked me out a little, but were much more concerned with how Alien was doing, so hooked him up to monitor his heart rate and any contractions I was having. It was clear from the trouble they were having keeping him on the heart rate monitor that he was moving a ton, something that made them and me feel better. His heart rate, when they could get it, was in the normal 140-160 range. I was having a few contractions, but most weren't strong enough for me to feel, and none were in any kind of regular or disturbing pattern. After about 2 hours I started to feel feverish again so they took my temperature and it was back at 100.4. At that point, since they still didn't see anything specifically wrong with me, they did a quick ultrasound to make sure there wasn't anything wrong with the fluid around the baby or anything that looked like an infection might be affecting him. Thankfully everything looked great. He continues to be in the position he has been chilling in for the last 6 weeks or so, transverse, but still has plenty of time to get his head down for delivery.
So feeling confident that the baby was fine despite me clearly having a fever, the doctor felt ok discharging us with directions for me to rest and take Tylenol until the fever goes away on its own. So the evening was a bit scary, but it was better to be safe than sorry. This morning I am feeling a lot better. I still have a fever but I think another day of rest and fluids should put me firmly on the road to recovery.
One lesson learned, I forgot just how uncomfortable the beds at JHU were. I think that the epidural is a must have there just so you can't feel the pain in your back from the bed! And Bryan's little reclining chair looked horrid, particularly when you are still wearing your suit and tie! The accommodations affirmed our desire to have Alien and come home as quickly as possible, assuming all goes well. But we are looking forward to going back, although hopefully not for at least 10 more weeks, to meet our little guy!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Mommy and Me
Bryan and Noelle have been spending a lot of quality time together since I have been at work so much. On Wednesday night when I got home from my 2 hour commute from Alexandria, Noelle was napping. This was very unlike her, and I noticed her breathing seemed a bit weird, so I felt her head and tried to wake her up because I could tell she had a fever. It wasn't too bad, just short of 101, but since I had to run Orientation at my site Thursday, Bryan (who had his own fever) and Ellie spent a fun day napping and lounging around the house. When I returned, they both were back to normal.
Today I had to work what I hope was my last weekend day of 2012. Being gone for 12 hours a day pretty much sucks, especially when you are already huge and it is always at least 95 degrees, but I am surviving. And Noelle and Bryan had another quality day. She helped Bryan "paint" the basement doors, watched some alligators on TV on a swamp people marathon, and went to her second favorite store, Home Depot. Bryan and Ellie are two stubborn peas in a pod. They love spending time together, but sometimes I think they are both relieved when I return since I am definitely the pushover of the family. I am pretty sure Alien is destined to be the calming influence on our type A family - although if he follows his in utero personality he is another crazy independent Saxton!
With all that daddy time, Noelle and I did get a chance to get a mommy daughter picture in recently. Since I am never in pictures it seems, I thought I'd post me and my little one!
I am pretty sure she looks more like her daddy these days but who really knows!
Today I had to work what I hope was my last weekend day of 2012. Being gone for 12 hours a day pretty much sucks, especially when you are already huge and it is always at least 95 degrees, but I am surviving. And Noelle and Bryan had another quality day. She helped Bryan "paint" the basement doors, watched some alligators on TV on a swamp people marathon, and went to her second favorite store, Home Depot. Bryan and Ellie are two stubborn peas in a pod. They love spending time together, but sometimes I think they are both relieved when I return since I am definitely the pushover of the family. I am pretty sure Alien is destined to be the calming influence on our type A family - although if he follows his in utero personality he is another crazy independent Saxton!
With all that daddy time, Noelle and I did get a chance to get a mommy daughter picture in recently. Since I am never in pictures it seems, I thought I'd post me and my little one!
I am pretty sure she looks more like her daddy these days but who really knows!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Bubble Wrap
When our replacement back splash came last week it was a small piece of granite in a large box with about a ton of bubble wrap. So we decided Noelle needed to see just how fun it could be to pop the bubbles!
Checking it out
A few tentative steps
OK I think this could be fun
Wooo! I'm a bubble popping machine!
Checking it out
A few tentative steps
OK I think this could be fun
Wooo! I'm a bubble popping machine!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Ocean City
When making plans for the summer, I decided it was time for our little one to experience Ocean City. We love the peace and quiet of the Outer Banks, but I wanted Noelle to experience the board walk and rides of Ocean City. And especially when I remembered Bryan had never been to any of the "northern beaches" I was set on us spending a weekend at the shore this summer. Well the weekend became a really long day instead since work has been crazy and Noelle's sleeping has been less than stellar the past week or two, but we traveled to OC for a fun day this past Saturday.
I actually don't have bad connotations of Ocean City like so many people in MD. My best friend's family has always had a house there and I spent many long weekends in my teenage years at their house. Since it is in a neighborhood with lots of families and is in northern OC, I never experienced the red necks and drunken college kids that frequent the boardwalk area of the beach. This past Saturday was no exception. We spent the late morning and early afternoon on the beach with Catherine, her parents and sister, her brother's family and in-laws, and some of the neighborhood families with several generations. Noelle checked out the water, although decided it was much too cold for her liking, and spent most of the time on the beach playing in the sand, the baby pool, and trying to steal food from whoever was eating their lunch at the time.
After a few hours on the beach (pretty much BSax's limit of outside downtime), we went back to the house, showered, and headed down to the boardwalk so that Noelle could experience the kiddie rides and some Dumser's ice cream. The carousel and boat ride were huge hits, with the fire truck, cars, and balloons being other fun options. Noelle preferred daddy's milk shake to the ice cream she was supposed to share with mommy and mommy was just fine not sharing with her darling daughter!
After a couple of hours on the boardwalk, we returned to Catherine's parents house to have crabs (some of which were caught by her dad and other family on the boat that day), and some grilled yummy goodness. I am happy to report that Noelle was a fan of her first crab meat. A true Marylander! I think when she turns 3 she'll be ready to pick her own so she better look forward to the rest of this summer and next summer when I'll give her some of mine! Noelle enjoyed a wagon ride and played with Catherine's niece and nephew while I continued to chow down on some crabs and then when she was ready for bed we hit the road for home.
It was an exhausting but fun day and we hope to make it back to OC next summer for a longer trip! In the meantime we are looking forward to a relaxing trip to the OBX next month.
I actually don't have bad connotations of Ocean City like so many people in MD. My best friend's family has always had a house there and I spent many long weekends in my teenage years at their house. Since it is in a neighborhood with lots of families and is in northern OC, I never experienced the red necks and drunken college kids that frequent the boardwalk area of the beach. This past Saturday was no exception. We spent the late morning and early afternoon on the beach with Catherine, her parents and sister, her brother's family and in-laws, and some of the neighborhood families with several generations. Noelle checked out the water, although decided it was much too cold for her liking, and spent most of the time on the beach playing in the sand, the baby pool, and trying to steal food from whoever was eating their lunch at the time.
After a few hours on the beach (pretty much BSax's limit of outside downtime), we went back to the house, showered, and headed down to the boardwalk so that Noelle could experience the kiddie rides and some Dumser's ice cream. The carousel and boat ride were huge hits, with the fire truck, cars, and balloons being other fun options. Noelle preferred daddy's milk shake to the ice cream she was supposed to share with mommy and mommy was just fine not sharing with her darling daughter!
After a couple of hours on the boardwalk, we returned to Catherine's parents house to have crabs (some of which were caught by her dad and other family on the boat that day), and some grilled yummy goodness. I am happy to report that Noelle was a fan of her first crab meat. A true Marylander! I think when she turns 3 she'll be ready to pick her own so she better look forward to the rest of this summer and next summer when I'll give her some of mine! Noelle enjoyed a wagon ride and played with Catherine's niece and nephew while I continued to chow down on some crabs and then when she was ready for bed we hit the road for home.
It was an exhausting but fun day and we hope to make it back to OC next summer for a longer trip! In the meantime we are looking forward to a relaxing trip to the OBX next month.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Updates
Things here are cranking along just fine. I am super busy at work, which is generally a good thing. Alien is 26 weeks and is measuring fine and has a strong heartbeat of 138 currently. He moves around a ton which is cool but a little unnerving. I can already see him move in my belly so I have to assume he is going to be a big boy. I can hope that is it just that he is in a better position for me to feel movement as he sits in front of the placenta instead of behind like Ellie was!
Noelle is doing well also. She is not potty trained but does ask to use the potty several times a day and also had her first ever poop in the potty at daycare on Tuesday. She is a weird kid because as far as we can tell, Bryan, Ms. Rose, and I all can't tell when she is about to or just went pee unless she asks to use the potty. Poop is another story, but for pee there is no facial changes, potty dancing, body movements, holding, or anything of the like. Thankfully she is a very verbal kid so I think she'll get the hang of telling us when she needs to go pretty quickly. She is about 50-50 these days for telling us, which is pretty darn good for an almost 23 month old! In other updates, Noelle has been a little more pleasant to be around. She was going through a phase recently where she was extremely difficult and defiant. She is definitely an independent little one, and she certainly has her moments, particularly in the evening if she is over tired, but generally she is back to her sweet and helpful self. My mom swears I was done my terrible twos by the time my brother came when I was 26 months so we are hoping for the same with Ellie!
Finally, our basement has made much progress as Bryan has totally finished the bathroom. I am horrible and haven't yet taken a picture of it, but I promise I'll post those soon. It looks great though! He also put all the light and vent fixtures in the bedroom and started with the ceiling so all he has left are doors and then the carpet is being installed the end of July. So hopefully we'll have our new guest suite ready to roll in August! This project has motivated us to move finishing the basement to the top of our household project list so we are definitely hoping to do that in the next year and a half or so. But I think we are going to go all out and hire a contractor or handyman for that one since we don't want another 6 month endeavor on our hands! Some things are worth the extra money!
Bryan is busy at work and with his work softball team (so far only a bad cut on his ankle and nothing broken this season!) We can't wait to get a family vacation in August to take some down time!
Noelle is doing well also. She is not potty trained but does ask to use the potty several times a day and also had her first ever poop in the potty at daycare on Tuesday. She is a weird kid because as far as we can tell, Bryan, Ms. Rose, and I all can't tell when she is about to or just went pee unless she asks to use the potty. Poop is another story, but for pee there is no facial changes, potty dancing, body movements, holding, or anything of the like. Thankfully she is a very verbal kid so I think she'll get the hang of telling us when she needs to go pretty quickly. She is about 50-50 these days for telling us, which is pretty darn good for an almost 23 month old! In other updates, Noelle has been a little more pleasant to be around. She was going through a phase recently where she was extremely difficult and defiant. She is definitely an independent little one, and she certainly has her moments, particularly in the evening if she is over tired, but generally she is back to her sweet and helpful self. My mom swears I was done my terrible twos by the time my brother came when I was 26 months so we are hoping for the same with Ellie!
Finally, our basement has made much progress as Bryan has totally finished the bathroom. I am horrible and haven't yet taken a picture of it, but I promise I'll post those soon. It looks great though! He also put all the light and vent fixtures in the bedroom and started with the ceiling so all he has left are doors and then the carpet is being installed the end of July. So hopefully we'll have our new guest suite ready to roll in August! This project has motivated us to move finishing the basement to the top of our household project list so we are definitely hoping to do that in the next year and a half or so. But I think we are going to go all out and hire a contractor or handyman for that one since we don't want another 6 month endeavor on our hands! Some things are worth the extra money!
Bryan is busy at work and with his work softball team (so far only a bad cut on his ankle and nothing broken this season!) We can't wait to get a family vacation in August to take some down time!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Potty Training Part 2
So potty training wasn't as successful as we hoped. In fact, by the end of Sunday, all 3 of us were practically in tears (2 of us actually were), and Noelle was so frustrated for the first time ever she threw something at me. So we had a family meeting - yes, we reason with our 23 month old - and decided we would chill out about the potty training for Monday. Noelle still wanted to wear pull-ups, and she still went in the potty the majority of the day, but when she had an accident no one got upset and if she didn't want to go potty, we didn't push it. The beginning of the day was again more successful than the end, but we were at least a happier bunch.
At 12:30 today Ms. Rose called me from daycare to let me know that Noelle had been totally dry up to that point and had even pooped in the potty for the first time ever. She did have a wet pull-up and a poopy pull-up later in the day (3:30 seems to be her point of doneness on the potty each day) but we are pretty excited about her progress. And we are thankful we have a daycare provider that is willing to work with our little one on this whole thing.
So after the weekend is Noelle potty trained? No. But she is doing pretty darn well for a little one not even 2 years old. We have 3 more months til Alien arrives so she very well might be done with diapers and pull-ups by October. But if not, we are ok with it. We are pretty sure having two super type A parents that have little patience for anything is probably not the easiest thing to deal with when you are trying to learn this skill! I can only imagine what learning to drive will be like for her when she is in her teens!
At 12:30 today Ms. Rose called me from daycare to let me know that Noelle had been totally dry up to that point and had even pooped in the potty for the first time ever. She did have a wet pull-up and a poopy pull-up later in the day (3:30 seems to be her point of doneness on the potty each day) but we are pretty excited about her progress. And we are thankful we have a daycare provider that is willing to work with our little one on this whole thing.
So after the weekend is Noelle potty trained? No. But she is doing pretty darn well for a little one not even 2 years old. We have 3 more months til Alien arrives so she very well might be done with diapers and pull-ups by October. But if not, we are ok with it. We are pretty sure having two super type A parents that have little patience for anything is probably not the easiest thing to deal with when you are trying to learn this skill! I can only imagine what learning to drive will be like for her when she is in her teens!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Potty Training Boot Camp
Potty training is super fun! No really! What could be more exciting than running to the potty every 15 minutes, having your daughter tell you she just peed on the floor seriously like 3 minutes after she last went to the potty, and basically being locked in your house during the long, holiday weekend? Ok, so potty training might be our least favorite part of parenthood thus far, but in the grand scheme of things Noelle is doing pretty well. Her sticker sheet is pretty full, her accidents have been confined to the non-carpeted floor, and she likes her Dora underwear.
Mom and dad are unconvinced that this whole thing is working. When asked Noelle goes pee in the potty but she isn't telling us when she needs to go which I sort of thought would happen by the middle of day two. Since Noelle was already going pee in the potty a few times a day and let us know most of the time after she pooped in her diaper we were optimistic that she was ready for this. But we aren't giving up yet! If by the end of tomorrow we haven't made more forward progress we'll send Ellie to daycare Tuesday in pull-ups and see what happens. Wish us luck!
Mom and dad are unconvinced that this whole thing is working. When asked Noelle goes pee in the potty but she isn't telling us when she needs to go which I sort of thought would happen by the middle of day two. Since Noelle was already going pee in the potty a few times a day and let us know most of the time after she pooped in her diaper we were optimistic that she was ready for this. But we aren't giving up yet! If by the end of tomorrow we haven't made more forward progress we'll send Ellie to daycare Tuesday in pull-ups and see what happens. Wish us luck!
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