He found the tiny Santa hat (from when he was a lot smaller) and was having a ball. We had also been watching a Christmas-themed Backyardigans, which I think is where he got the bit about the sleigh. Of course, I could never get him to wear the hat when it actually fit him…
Family MSU jerseys (Tom’s 40th birthday presents)… Any other game I’d actually be rooting for State, but today I’m rooting for CMU, my alma matter! GO CHIPS!
Thank you, pediatrician’s office, for LYING to me and telling me we could take Katie to get her two-month immunizations any time around her two-month birthday. Tom took her on base this morning and was told NO, it has to be ON or AFTER her birthday. C’mon, really? It’s six stinking days early. UGH.
So, now, you might be asking, What kind of pediatrician’s office DOESN’T do immunizations?
EXACTLY.
They told me it had to do with us having Tricare insurance, and that we had to go on base to the immunization clinic. So, not having any experience with this (this is our first pediatrician in the area), I assumed that was just how it was done and that was that. But when I was at my doctor recently, I asked about their children’s clinic and if they did immunizations, and she looked at me like I had sprouted a second head and said of course they do.
Interesting.
So, my best guess is that they’re just a really small office and don’t want to keep the stock? Or maybe there’s some sort of sign-up procedure that they don’t want to go through? Who knows. But long story short is I’m switching pediatricians because it’s stupid for me to have all of these monthly appointments for Katie and then still have to go on base to get her immunizations—because the point of going to a civilian doctor was to avoid having to drive on base all the time!
I got Owen a new football jersey for Tom’s birthday—and he LOVES it. He’ll dig it out of the dirty laundry and bring it to me because he wants to wear it.
We normally don’t buy each other birthday (or Christmas) presents—we just buy what we want throughout the year. But this year, I thought of the PERFECT gift(s) for Tom…and unfortunately, I kinda had to spoil it at almost the last minute to make sure he didn’t buy it himself! (He made a comment about “still needing to get” it and I just told him NOT to shop for anything the few weeks before his birthday. 😮
Tom wears my old (circa early 1990s) MSU jersey. Owen’s MSU jersey is too small (4T). I don’t have one (my old one doesn’t fit, which is why Tom wears it). MSU’s season opener is coming up soon. So I decided to get new jerseys for everyone (well, not for Katie—she has a onesie). I was going to get them all personalized, but not once I saw the price tag. 88| So, Tom just got one and the other two were from eBay. 🙂
I was going to wait until right before the game to give them to him (still before his birthday) but he had had a crappy day at work, so I decided it was time. And he LOVED them, of course…
When he saw that his was personalized, he says “How did you know my high school number was 72?!?” I said “I didn’t—I got your birth year!” (I should have kept my mouth shut to keep him really impressed—because truth be told, I never even THOUGHT about trying to find out what his number was.)
The best thing? Owen was even more excited than Tom was! He had to have his on right away, and then he made both of us put ours on, too. Then he and Tom had to play football in the living room (Owen is GREAT at recovering fumbles). And apparently his number is a quarterback number (or at least was from last season) so he thinks he’s a QB now. 🙂
Stay tuned for a family photo on game day.
Owen really likes the Avengers. It started with Iron Man and has grown into the whole crew, thanks to a kid’s movie on Netflix (Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow
So when we were thinking about potential Halloween costumes, someone mentioned they had Avenger costumes at Costco…so on our recent trip, we got one. We wanted Captain America or Iron Man, but of course they didn’t have either one of those. So we got Thor…which he’s completely enamored with because he LOVES the hammer.
The hammer was played with as soon as we got home, and the costume sat there for a day before he had to wear it (which was fine because we also wanted him to try it on—it’s a size 7-8 but they run small so we wanted to make sure it fit). Luckily he loves it and wants to wear it all the time, but we limit the time so it will hopefully last until Halloween!
This is him saying “Avengers assemble!” (from the movie) and making the arm motion!
Eleven years. Wow. It just kinda sneaks up on you every year (and even moreso this year since we’ve been a little busy with Katie).
We didn’t even try to get a sitter to do anything this year, though I’m sure our friends would have obliged. Instead, we made a family trip to Wilmington to go to Costco…and have our traditional Chinese meal (we did lunch instead of dinner, though).
Katie was a complete gem, sleeping the entire hour ride down, our entire hour in Costco, and about 75% of our lunch…then took a bottle and slept the entire way home. Of course, Owen was just as awesome, sitting in the cart with stuff piled all around him, not even noticing really because he was having fun with daddy’s phone. 🙂
We had a slight brush with fame at Costco…we saw Keith from Top Chef Texas fame (we’ve eaten at his restaurant, Catch, before). That’s as close to famous as I’m likely to get living here. And he said hi to me in passing, likely because I was staring at him. 🙂
Our lunch was really, really good. I picked a place off Yelp pretty much at random…just going by reviews and proximity to Costco…and we couldn’t have been more thrilled. Everything on the menu at Double Happiness was tempting, but I ended up with the Dry Wok Chicken and Tom got the Coconut Shrimp with Candied Walnut (and we got a Double Steamer dim sum basket). And surprisingly good Hot & Sour soup—as close to mine as we’ve ever had. We definitely want to go back there to try more of the menu!
All in all we had a really good day. How can we not when we have such a great little family?! 😀 (The only downside is that I forgot to take a picture of us to celebrate the day!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4xkYEQT7jQ
I love the ending…I was whispering for him to say Happy Birthday again…but he says CAKE! 🙂
As directed, I called Labor & Delivery to see if I was still supposed to come in at 6 and the charge nurse wasn’t available so I was told they would call me back.
We assumed we were still on schedule and dropped Owen and Maggie off at our friend’s house, then headed to town for dinner.
I called Labor & Delivery back since no one had returned my call. They said they had a few people admitted and deliveries going on, so wanted me to call back around 6:45 for an update. Since we were already in town with nothing to do, we thought we’d try to go to a movie but out of eight theaters nothing was even on at 5:30 so we just headed home to wait, keeping our fingers crossed that it would still actually happen. (We REALLY wanted to have her on the 10th, to match the birthday of her namesake, my Grandma Katie.)
The process is still on hold. The charge nurse is now with a patient who’s delivering and they said they would call me back soon…but they still hope to get me in tonight. This is sooooo frustrating.
Just as I was about to give in and call them back (again) they called and said things had calmed down and we could come in if we still wanted!
Here we go! Eating a last-minute snack on the way in since I won’t be able to eat anything once I get there and deliver.
Waiting to be checked now to see which induction drug I get…If I’m dilated at all, it will be Pitocin. If I’m not dilated, it will be Cervidil. An IV line is started and I am hooked up to monitors for me and the baby. Tom and I just hang out, prepping for what we assume will be a quiet night resting/sleeping waiting for the drugs to work and then a morning labor and delivery.
The midwife came in to check and see if I was dilated at all…and holy shit that was painful. I honestly don’t remember having my cervix checked before but Tom said “Oh, you did. And you screamed the same way before, too.” I said it felt like she was in up to her elbows…and he said “That’s exactly what you said the last time, too!” :meh: I was 4cm so they decided to start the Pitocin.
The nurse came in to ask how I was doing and I said “Fine, nothing is going on” and she laughed and said I’ve been having contractions for awhile now! Hmmm, that’s news to me but the machines don’t lie!
The contractions started off pretty tame and I actually tried to sleep (they gave me Benedryl in the IV but it didn’t even touch me). I couldn’t have slept anyway as the blood pressure machine kept going off every 20-30 minutes and I could hear the fetal monitor beeping. I had to get up and pee a few times and that was a chore since you had to unplug the two fetal monitor cables, the blood pressure machine, and then drag the IV stand along. Interestingly, we got to listen to a woman give birth in the suite next door (through the wall) and she was NOT having a good time. Really screaming and yelling—VERY much in pain—and I thought “Wow, I wonder if that’s what I sounded like when I gave birth to Owen?” and then as it became apparent she didn’t have an epidural I just kept thinking “Silly silly lady, why wouldn’t you get an epidural?” If only I realized the foreshadowing…
I’m guessing this is about when my water broke (there was no clock and I didn’t have my phone out). I assumed this would be like last time my water broke (where it didn’t really have any effect on the process) so waited 5-10 minutes before I even paged the nurse. She checked and said that there was meconium in it (which means Katie pooped already) which wasn’t a problem at all except that at birth they would have to take Katie right away to make sure she was okay instead of being able to put her directly on me.
Still no idea what the actual time was, so I’m guessing… The contractions had started getting a little too painful—moreso than I remember them being with Owen when I got the epidural—so I paged the nurse and said it was time, then made one last trip to the bathroom. The anesthesiologist seemed to take his sweet time getting there and when he finally did arrive, it appeared he didn’t have ANY of the paperwork I had already filled out so he was going over every little thing and asking me a ton of questions and I was only half paying attention because I was having majorly painful contractions every few minutes and was just thinking GET TO THE EPIDURAL ALREADY. By the time he brought me the sheet to sign (of course, in the middle of a contraction) I was barely coherent and my signature was pretty illegible.
Needless to say I never got my epidural. >:XX By the time he was done messing around, it really felt like I needed to start pushing—like it was going to happen with or without my consent—so the nurses and midwife told me to go ahead because it was too late for the epidural anyway. I seriously thought the process might kill me…the pain was SO much worse than what I experienced with Owen. I know I said “I can’t do this” at least 20 times and I know there was a lot of swearing involved overall…and I’m pretty sure I told them to just do a C-section and be done with it because otherwise this was going to kill me. And I pushed.
Four minutes later (according to the paperwork I got at discharge) after only 2-3 pushes (according to my memory), she shot right out. Like literally SHOT right out—I could feel it clear as day and Tom said the midwife actually had to catch her. And it was over. JUST. LIKE. THAT. In four minutes. Of course they still had to deliver the placenta (which I’m guessing was the 12 minutes listed on the paperwork) which wasn’t comfortable but it was certainly easier and less painful than the birth. I was pretty incoherent as to what was going on around me—I was just glad it was over and completely stunned that I did it without drugs. I do remember telling Tom to at least go get a picture of her!
Her stats and first official photo were posted on Facebook:
Katie Jean Hudson
Born July 10th 0329
8 lbs 1.4 oz
20.5″
I did need a few stitches, but had asked the midwife if I could have some time to rest before we did that part and she said that would be fine. So I had some time with Katie.
The midwife came in and shot me up with a bunch of lidocaine (at my request, as I had warned them I felt everything the last time I got stitched up). And it still wasn’t enough as I felt each stitch she put in. 😮 :'( But then, finally, it was over.
Tom was snoring away in the chair/bed next to me and I wanted to sleep but was wide awake and just watching Katie in the bassinet next to me. All of the recovery rooms were currently occupied (they apparently had six births that night!) so we were just waiting out our time.
Short story?
Unless something happens on its own this weekend, I’ll be induced Monday night…
Long story?
My blood pressure was high at the appointment so the doctor was concerned that it might be pre-eclampsia (it hasn’t been high for a few months, but since I’m near the end, it was a worry). She also wanted an ultrasound to measure the baby (something I was apparently supposed to be having done every so often—NOT the fetal monitoring I’ve been doing, but an additional ultrasound—but hadn’t had in a while) so she walked me across the hall for that since she had an opening right then. On the way I told her that I was concerned that the last doc mentioned stripping my membranes today and possibly inducing labor next week and she said she wouldn’t do that unless it was medically necessary—so that made me feel better. Everything with the baby measured just fine (head, length, amniotic fluid, etc.) but the doc still sent me off for lab work to rule out or diagnose the pre-eclampsia. (On a sidenote, the tech guessed that the baby was about 8.5# but the doc said “Oh, the +/- on that is about a pound…” |-| So why even give a guesstimate that could be so far off?)
The lab work actually went amazingly well, considering I have the worst veins on the planet and it usually takes three techs and four pokes to hit a vein—the girl got it on the first attempt! Everything was marked STAT so I knew I’d have results fairly soon.
So, up in Labor & Delivery Triage, they hooked me up to the monitors (like I’ve been doing at my weekly appointments, just with another nurse) and my BP was fine and the baby’s movements were fine—and most of the lab work came back just fine…except the protein in my urine was __fill in the blank with whatever number was high enough to cause more tests but not high enough to be severely concerned__ and the midwife wanted me to do a 24-hour urine test. Uh, yuck. No thanks. Especially when she said that if the protein marker results were __whatever number high enough__ I would be admitted RIGHT THEN. As in tomorrow afternoon! So I half-jokingly said “Can’t I just skip it and agree to come in and be induced Monday?” And she was fine with that!!! So that’s the plan…unless, of course, something happens before then or I have any strange symptoms that might be cause for alarm.
So, no, I didn’t initially want to be induced…but since things went a little awry, it did seem like the best option. Especially since if things go according to plan…I’ll have Katie on her namesake’s birthday: July 10! (I’ll be admitted for induction at 6pm on Monday night the 9th and will likely have her sometime after midnight on Tuesday the 10th!) 🙂
So far, I got to sleep in (yay!), got a card from my boys (yay!), played Wii with Owen (yay!), cleaned cat barf off the kitchen table (boo!), and ate pancakes and crispy bacon for breakfast (yay!). I’d say so far, I’m ahead!
http://themommyhoodmemos….for-birth-kits/
:heart: Happy Mothers Day to five new mothers who will benefit from the Clean Birth Kits I just donated… :heart:
Bloggers for Birth Kits is a simple initiative to rally bloggers to reach out and help mamas in Papua New Guinea. These women may seem very different to you… but they are mothers with the same heart—mothers who desire to deliver healthy, thriving babies just as we do.
Every minute a women dies of complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. Ninety-nine percent of these deaths occur in developing nations. For every woman who dies in childbirth, another 30 women incur injuries and infections, which are often preventable. (Source: World Health Organization.)
I strongly urge you to visit the site and make a donation for yourself…and other mothers who are less fortunate than you.
I got a really good deal on these cars that work on an iPad app, so Owen got them for Easter. And he is obsessed with playing with them! It took him a few days, but now he knows how to play the games, tip the tractors, “buy” stuff from the store, and move the pushpin on the map to get directions.
He LOVES tipping the tractors the most, which you can see in this video… And then something doesn’t go his way and you can hear “Oh, come on!” 🙂 I guess I must say that a lot since he’s obviously picked up on it!
Thanks, Grandma Marsha—I love it!
Gramma Jean bought Owen a new water toy for Easter and we finally got it out today!
Tom hid the eggs outside so they were ready once Owen got up. Here he is, super excited and ready to go!
And off hunting for eggs!
The spoils—chocolate, candy, coins, and Cars cars… (This part doesn’t seem to be quite as exciting to him as finding the eggs—he still needs practice.)
Gramma Jean got Owen his own little baby doll to play with! He doesn’t like it as much as he loves his cars (of course), but he will pick it up and play with it and feed it. 🙂
The Easter Bunny got Owen a few more Cars-themed things, too… Presenting Miles Axelrod (his newest favorite)…
And Crabby (who he also loves, but is only in the movie for a few minutes)…
Yes, it’s my fault for not keeping better track of Owen’s SS card, but seriously, the list of Identity Documents to get a new card? Owen has none of them:
We can accept only certain documents as proof of your child’s identity. An acceptable document must show your child’s name, date of birth and preferably a recent photograph. A birth certificate is not a form of ID it is only used to establish a Social Security number. Your child must be present unless the picture ID also shows your child’s biographical information (i.e., age, date of birth, or parents’ names). As proof of identity, Social Security must see one of the following:
Health Insurance or Medicaid card (issued within the last four years)
School identification card (current year)
Certified school record or transcript (current year)
Certified copy of a medical record
U.S. passport (not expired)
U.S. military dependent identification card (not expired)
Certificate of Naturalization
Certificate of U.S. Citizenship
Final adoption decree issued by the court
Certified child care facility or pre-school record (current year)
Religious record (cradle roll, naming certificate, bris certificate, baptismal record, Amish or Mennonite bishop’s letter)
Life insurance policy
U.S. driver’s license
State-issued non-driver identification card
U.S. Indian Tribal card (Social Security has to approve as an acceptable ID)
He uses OUR ID card for anything military (they don’t need one until they’re 10). He has a medical card, but it doesn’t list his birthday or a picture (do ANY medical cards have pictures?). I guess the only thing on that list is a certified copy of a medical record…and I don’t even really know what that means (though I eventually got what I hope passes for that).
Now I have to send off all his info plus our passports and wait 10-14 days to get a replacement card.
Ugh.
Owen’s first time frosting cupcakes…wasn’t terribly messy. 🙂
Owen had found our formula mixer (which is out since Tom uses it to mix his coffee) and then grabbed one of Tom’s coffee pods from the drawer and was putting the two together saying “Making cupcakes!” I’m not exactly sure where he got the idea of cupcakes, though somewhat recently I know he was watching something on Food Network with Tom about snacks… So I got the idea to actually make cupcakes.
I got it all set up and the hardest part was getting Owen to kneel on the chair at the counter—he wanted to sit (too low) or stand (too high and wobbly on our bar-height chairs) but we eventually got it worked out. First he helped me dump the measuring cup of water, oil, and eggs into the bowl (though I had to keep a hand on it so it didn’t all end up on the floor). The whole time (from now until the end) he just kept saying “Making cupcakes. Making cupcakes! Making cupcakes!”
Then he used the mixer, which he actually did pretty well with:
Then it was off to fill the cups. He helped me put all the liners in the pan, and then after I did the first tray of 12, he got to do this tray:
Still working on it:
The mess wasn’t too bad (none got on him, the chair, or the floor) so that was a bonus! And he had a blast!
Owen’s birthday cake—he was so excited he wouldn’t stop jumping for me to get a good picture! (It was made by an acquaintance of ours. I decided to splurge this year and have someone else make it so it was his first REAL birthday cake!)
This is what it looked like after I decorated it with his own Cars cars (while he napped):
Family photo!
Since he had so many presents, we started opening them before the party. He loved the bowling pins from Grandma Marsha and Uncle Rob! (After we played with them as actual bowling items, they turned into soldiers!)
I have no idea why he plugs his ears, but it happens often:
Drinking out of his new big boy Cars cup!
“Happy birthday to you…”
Trying to blow out his candles…
We didn’t get a group picture, but we celebrated with Papa, Grannie, Dad, Mom—and our good friends Roger and Ursula and their kids Virginia and Caroline!
As a sidenote, we did not celebrate his birthday today—I just put the shirt on him for pictures. Since he really doesn’t KNOW when his birthday is unless we tell him, we plan on celebrating when Tom gets home and Papa and Grannie are here in about two weeks!
Good morning birthday boy! He didn’t appreciate the flash, so this is what I got!
He was a little stinker today—I didn’t get anything remotely good ALL day! He knows when the camera comes out and he HIDES HIS FACE! :##
This was after I promised him an ice cream snack:
And this was after the snack was finished—a happy boy!
This would be the host-provided accessory for our friend Roger’s Mustache Birthday Party.
We made the official Facebook announcement today…
The shirt is how we shared the big news with the Len side of the family (back on December 23, when this photo was taken)…
I was unpacking with Owen in the room when I hear “Trick or treat! Trick or treat!” I wondered what could possibly have prompted that…when I look over and see him carrying his Lightning McQueen basket. 🙂
We only had a few hours to visit between when the Georgia (Filipek) and Illinois (Schwalm) contingents arrived and when we had to head for home…but we had a GREAT time (even Skyping with the missing Virginians, the Coes), and morning came too soon.
Official Family Christmas Photo:
Spur of the moment photo that I like better…
is a HUGE hit!! Thanks for Owen’s birthday money, Aunt Rose!
