Our Crazy Life!

The past few weeks have been quite crazy. We have a lot going on these days. I am currently trying to wrap-up the school year, dealing with some crazies, searching for a new job, battling weekly SVT episodes and extreme nausea...all while trying to cherish every moment and be the best mom I can to London. This has been a challenge. I feel like I am constantly too tired to play with him. We haven't been to the park (in our neighborhood) in a week. There are some days I am so out of breath due to asthma or I am just too tired and nauseated to get up. It sucks. I am hoping this second trimester calms down on the health drama. London is fantastic and is about to turn 19 months next week. He is learning new words daily and is saying over 50 words on a regular basis. He had his eyes checked and they are perfect so we really have no idea why our pediatrician felt he needed to see a specialist...maybe they have a quota of referrals...who knows...bullshit. Anyways, he is scheduled to have his third and hopefully FINAL hypospadias surgery on June 15th. I cannot wait until it is over with and he is all fixed up. I don't want to hear that "hypospadias" word ever again! London's pooping is back on track thanks to mirilax and the only thing we are still working on is getting a good night's sleep and staying in his crib. Over the past few weeks he's been waking up in the middle of the night sobbing and calling out, "my mama!"...I can't ignore it because he sounds so pitiful so I find myself putting him in bed with me and he snuggles and falls right asleep. I know it is a bad habit but I feel guilty for being away from him all the time and I can't just lie there while he needs me. Maybe I'm a sucker but for now, I'm giving in. I am hoping that this summer his sleeping will be more on track since I'll be home with him everyday. Two weeks ago my parents came to visit and London had so much fun bonding with them. They fit right in at our house and London refers to the guest room as "nana and papa." He still knocks on the door and yells to them. It's super cute and also a little sad. We had a great time and it reminded me of how awesome my parents are. They are so helpful, energetic, and happy! They make you feel good to be around them. Maybe it's because they are retired, but I have never seen them so happy and full of life. London just loves them.

Yesterday was my birthday and I ended up in the hospital. I had an svt attack for the 3rd time in about 2 weeks. When I was admitted to the hospital my heart rate was 230 beats a minute. I was freaked out as usual but thinking about the baby scared me the most. They hooked me up with 15 heart wires (I counted them as I had to rip all the stickers off me when I got home) and luckily as soon as I laid back in the hospital bed to get them attached my heart reset itself and went back to normal. Kary and London were with me but they had to wait in the front while they wheeled me away. Little London was yelling for me and that made me feel even worse. When they got in the room London jumped on me and just started wailing, "maaaaama!" and hugging me tight. I think he was really worried. I quickly distracted him with my cool red light finger cuff and showed him all the cool wires hanging off mama that made me look sort of robotic. He calmed down and we luckily were discharged in less than an hour. But....alas, we had a $233 copay and who knows what other bills will be sent my way for the 30 minute hospital encounter...Oh well, the coolest part was when the doc did a sonogram and showed us that the baby was fine and the heartbeat was strong. We even got to watch the baby jump up and down. It was Kary's first time seeing that baby so that was cool. It made me feel so much better that the little one is safe and sound. The doc reassured me that these episodes are not dangerous to me or the baby unless other symptoms are present or if they are really prolonged. That is a relief. But, it is still a terrifying experience that I'm sure I'll have to experience a bunch more in the next 28 weeks. My sweet husband got me a nice new camera for my birthday so my pictures will be much better in the future!

♥ Baby #2 ♥

I had a sonogram on April 12th and it was amaaazing! For some reason, I didn't get an early sonogram with London so this was a new experience. The cutest part was London was there and got to see the "bebe" too. Unfortunately, Kary wasn't able to make it. I was so grateful to be able to see exactly what was there. Despite being about 1.5 inches long, our new baby is adorable! I saw little leg nubs kicking and a big giant head with an ear forming. I could see his/her backbone and the baby kept crossing his/her leg buds making a heart. It was so cool. The heartbeat was a very fast 197 and for some reason I kept thinking girl as I was watching "her." It may be wishful thinking since we already have so much girl stuff...haha. London wants a "bebe car." I am actually fine either way...I would be very happy with a another mama's boy! All baby boys loooove their mamas.
All my blood work came back great and the baby is measuring right where it should be. The due date was adjusted a little from 11/8 to 11/11 and the OBGYN said we can use either date and expect him/her sometime that week.
I have been sooo nauseated and have had some bad SVT episodes over the past few days. I am trying to keep my stress level down which is virtually impossible considering my current place of employment. I am hoping this next week and a half flies by so I can get out of the icky first trimester. I am already starting to show and my students are starting to ask about my belly. I will have to tell them soon. So, far stuff is going pretty well and Kary and I are getting excited! :-)

I already love my little mutant fetus baby :-)

18 Month Check-Up

London had his 18 month check-up on April 4th. I was expecting it to just be a normal check-up with perhaps a slew of screaming and poking and prodding. London cried, as always, when he saw the nurse. He was happy when he got to stand on the scale though. He danced as the scale beeped. It read 24.2lbs. London weighed 23lbs at his 1 year exam which was 6 months ago. This is a concern for his pediatrician because he's not gaining weight like he should be. A huge part of the inability to gain weight is that he has a very poor appetite, which is due to major constipation. Soooo, she recommended miralax (works amazing!), phillips milk of magnesium and a pediasure shake every night before bed. So far, so good.
Toward the end of the check-up she started to check his eyes a second time and asked me if I have ever noticed that his eyes are red in pictures. I said no and she went on to say that she didn't see as much red behind his lens as should be there. I really have no idea what that means but he is scheduled to see a specialist at the Charlotte Ear, Eye, Nose and Throat office on Friday. Kary is taking him and I hope all turns out ok and that he isn't put through too much in the process.
Over the past few weeks London's vocabulary has tripled. I have been keeping a list and here it is: mama, daddy, dog, car, milk, what's that?, up, yuck, papa, nana, black, work, cracker, cheese, snack, na-night, walk, park, look, clock, pee pee, ba-bye, cake, cool, out, girl, baby, teeth, on, banana, tickle, poop, gege (great grandma), whoa, Risa, pool, hot, my, cookie, kite, key, stop.....I'm pretty impressed with my smart little man :-)


We took London to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC on April 6th. He loved it. He was quiet and amazed by the animals. There were a lot of "What's that??!!" questions and it turned out to be a fantastic day.

Deja Vu Number 2! :-)

On Monday, April 2nd, I went to my first prenatal appointment for baby 2.0! I brought London with me which added a nice bit of chaos to the experience. I arrived and started with the usual hand scan (seems like just yesterday I was scanning at my weekly appointments). They called me back and had me pee in a cup. Now, usually I am quite a pro at this, but adding the London dynamic made it tricky. I was basically peeing in a cup over the toilet while London was down on the floor stacking "sanitary" cups that were about to have other pregnant lady's pee in it...yikes! We got out quick. They tested my urine and confirmed me pregnant. I got a due date of Nov. 8th...according to my cycle I think it's supposed to be the 11th but I'll trust the doctors...haha. But, 11/11 does sound cooler than 11/8.
They weighed me and I must have lost a few pounds due to the extreme nausea and food aversions I've had the past few weeks. I weighed in at 124lbs. We'll see what that scale says in trimester 3. I am hoping I won't gain 40 like last time.
I got an exam and Dr. Rollins kept hugging me. She was so excited to see London and gave him lots of attention, stickers, and kept showing him pics of her babies on her phone. She is the coolest! Unfortunately, there is a 1 in 7 chance she'll deliver this baby. Hopefully, we can work something out because she is fantastic. She always sits and talks and never rushes or acts all doctory...and she is smart and knows her shit. Oh yeah, and she's a total weirdo like me. She was wearing tattooed tights and mary janes...haha.
So, everything seems to be going just great with baby #2. I am going in for an ultrasound on April 12th. I didn't get that with London so that will be a change. It was so funny because as I was sitting in the stirrups I was thinking to myself, wow am I really doing this all over again?? The body destruction, the late nights, the rib pains, out of breath, contractions!!!..aaah! Then I looked down and saw my beautiful son clanking the stirrups up and down as I slid out of them (awkward I know!) and all the apprehensions and pain melted away. It is soooo worth it. I can't believe my heart is going to grow even more to love another baby and I can't wait to see London rocking it as a big brother.


It's Official: Due November 8th :-)

Baby Names

Names

Pregnancy

Little Boy!

London is quickly becoming less and less like a baby and more and more like a little boy. He is growing fast and changing every day. It seems as though he has learned more new words this week than he has in the past few months. He started to tell us when he makes a "yuck" (poop) or when he goes "pee pee". He knows the letters D, O, G, I and P. He knows some colors and knows most of his body parts. He is obsessed with "cackas" (crackers) and of course still way into "cars". His new favorite thing is to demand to be "up" and wants to sit on high things. He also loves to point and yell "up" when in stores with tall ceilings.
London has been running everywhere and hates to be held in public. This makes shopping trips very difficult and most end up in extreme tantrum and meltdowns in the middle of the store. People scatter when he lets out a high pitched scream and I go into "get out!" mode and find the nearest exit. In his defense, he is a really good kid in public for the most part, but if he's bored or tired, he'll let everyone know. I had to take him to the eye doctor and gyno this week. That was quite the experience. He was not horrible, but it sure made the whole visit much more difficult. He is busy and needs to know what everything is and how it works. His favorites were the stirrups and the eye exam chair...haha. Perhaps, he'll grow up to be an obstetrician or an optometrist...
London is communicating more and more with words and seems to really understand humor. He loves to make silly faces and play peek a boo behind pillows. He loves to throw down pillows on the floor, hide among them and crack up when I ask where he is. He also loves to grab our toes and yell, "tickle tickle!" When we scream or laugh he cracks up and is so proud of himself. His newest words are: up, papa, daddy work, where ___?, bebe (baby)...I think he's up to about 30 words that he uses regularly but if you have only met him a few times, you'd swear all he says is, "What's that?!"...definitely his most favorite catch phrase.
London has had horrible constipation issues and we are seeking help tomorrow at his 18 month appointment. He struggles to poop every day, his appetite is crap because of it and every push is straining and painful for him. We are hoping he can get some relief soon and just poop regularly for once!
This week I am on spring break and we have been enjoying playing and being together. The weather has been amazing. We are taking him to the zoo Friday and we're super excited about that! I can't wait to see his face when he's face to face with the gorillas.

Here are a bunch of photos taken over the past few weeks.
Oh yeah, and Happy Birthday to Daddy, Brixton, and Grandma!