Stuff

My friend Cathy got onto a bit of a "health kick" and I kind of jumped on the bandwagon. It started with foods. You know - fruits and veggies pureed into pancakes, salads for lunch, even - *gasp* - sneaking salmon fillets into our house. Yeah, take that my anti-fish-family. There's salmon in our freezer!

My husband is the pickiest eater of the 3 of them. For instance, he loves meatloaf. Wait, let me rephrase that: he loves his mother's meatloaf. And it really is good meatloaf. But I like things to taste a little fancier. Why not throw some pureed fruits and veggies in there? How about some spices and flavour? Just because it's not on the recipe list, doesn't mean it can't be added! And then I don't tell him I've changed things up, and he eats it, says it's "ok" and "what did you do differently?" That discussion always ends with me promising to leave the recipe the way it is. But I never do. Sucker.

Our "health kick" turned into a bit of a "simplify your life" kick. Eating better meant I had to get rid of some items in our pantry, which made me clean out the entire pantry and re-organize it. I have literally never cleaned out our pantry in the 3 years we lived here. There were dust bunnies on the floor the size of actual bunnies. There was packaged food in there that expired in 2008. Our pantry may look empty right now, but it looks clean. I got addicted to the feeling of admiration for my pantry, and moved on to the entryway closets, then all of my clothes upstairs. Then our master bedroom. Then the kids toys. Let me tell you how many toys I am getting rid of: all of them. Not really, but it sure feels like it. I have weird kids. They don't play with toys. They prefer to play in our cabinets or with the tupperware. They love playing outside. They love going for walks. They do not love playing with toys. They are weird.

We have so much stuff. Just random stuff that litters our house. My husband, God love him, is a lot like his father. I am like my mother in this stance. I don't keep anything. I keep sentimental items. My husband keeps everything. Everything. Case in point:

I started cleaning out the closets in our downstairs entryways. I made 3 piles: shoes, baseball hats, sweaters/coats. These piles were made of items that I have never seen be worn. I took pictures, and sent them to Ryan. He replied saying he wanted to keep all the baseball hats and most of the shoes.

Let's paint a picture, people. One of the pairs of shoes were these ugly, brownish green shoes with no shoe laces and had an inch of dust on them. Never, in the last 8 years of knowing Ryan, have I ever seen him wear these shoes. I asked him why he wants to keep them. "They'd look good with jeans," he replied. I asked him if he's ever worn them. "No," he replied. When did you buy them?

"1994," he replied.

1.9.9.4.

He has owned these shoes for 20 years. He has never once worn them. Do you understand what that means? In the 8 years we've been together, we have moved 3 times. And he moved a lot since 1994 with university and billets and apartments. This means he has brought these ugly no-laces shoes with him on at least a dozen moves. He has taken them out of boxes, packed them up again, and thought, "I'll wear these." And he has never worn them. They have taken up space in a closet for 20 years, collecting dust and yearning to be worn.

They are now in a bag on its way to a donation box.

I also found a backpack in the garage filled with his University projects. I never went to University, so maybe I missed the sentimental value of it, but he graduated a decade ago. Why does he still have them? Is there going to be something in the future where he'll need a paper he wrote in 2002? If there is a zombie apocalypse, will these University projects help him ward off the zombies?

No. They are now in the recycle bin. Shhhh don't tell him.

When we got married, we got so much stuff. And not even things we really need. We got this ugly bowl. I don't even know who it was from any more. But we had to keep it "in case they stop by." Never, in the 7 years we've lived in Strathmore, has anyone other than Ryan's immediate family stopped by unexpectedly. And even if someone did, I doubt the first thing they'll say to us is, "So, how did that ugly bowl work out for you the past 7 years?"

We have 2 spaghetti strainers. And not the small hand-held ones. The huge stainless steel pots. We have 2. That means, an entire shelf in our cabinet is used to store spaghetti strainer pots.

How many times in the past 8 years of our relationship have we ever used a spaghetti strainer pot?

Never. Not once. I think we tried to use it once and I got frustrated with it and went back to our regular-sized pot. Both of these spaghetti strainer pots are going into the garage sale. Shhh. Don't tell Ryan.

I am not a fantastic cook, but I can make a small list of things really well. Most of them are chicken dishes. I make a mean Chicken Parmesan. So, from all the dishes and pots and pans we have in our house, I probably use maybe 20 items. We have 500 items. We have dishes on top of dishes, scattered unorganized throughout our kitchen. It's the most unorganized kitchen I've ever seen. And we don't use half the stuff.

Garage sale!

The garage sale boxes are filling up, and my cabinets are empty. It's a fantastic feeling. So long, 65-pound mixer. I'm not even exaggerating. We have a mixer that is literally 65 pounds. You need to lift it with your knees. So long, coffee maker! Who makes a pot of coffee any more? We have a Keurig! So long, size 8 clothes. Like I'm ever going to fit into size 8 clothes ever again. Even with my diet. So long, maternity clothes! You will NOT be missed! So long, bicycle with wheels that never stay inflated (I bought it at a garage sale 5 years ago for $20).

Everything is going. We'll have so much more room in our house! It'll feel great. Lots of room to buy new stuff!

Happy 1st Birthday, Lucas!!

When Aryn was born, we didn't think we could ever love anyone like we loved her. Then Lucas came along and proved us wrong. It's been a long, hard year filled with laughter, so many smiles, and quite a few tears. He has turned our lives upside down and it has been hands down the best year of our lives. 

Lucas, we love that you're a daredevil. Like how you jump off the couch head first.

We love your open mouth kisses. Slobbery and adorable.

We love your little white-blonde mullet. Daddy thinks it's red, but he is very wrong.

We love your temper when you don't get your way or when we ignore you.

We love how your favourite thing in the world to eat is Kleenex or toilet paper. We also love how weird you are.

We love that you love to stick your hands in the toilet (regardless of what's in there...).

We love how you massage the back of our necks when we hold you.

We love how much you love bath time, and splashing in the water and splashing your sister.

We love how shy you get when people acknowledge you.

We love how you're such a snuggler.

We love that you're finally sleeping through the night.

We love how you walk like Frankenstein.

We love how you flirt with all the ladies.

We love how you try to talk.

We love that you jump on your sister.

We love how I have to hold you down with my feet to change your diaper.

We love that you stick your tongue out whenever you're concentrating on something or trying to be bad, like throwing the remote control into the toilet or the baby monitor into the bathtub. Again.

We love that the first thing you do when you wake up is look for Aryn.

We love how you always pull your socks off. Always. Then throw them.

We love how happy you are when we go for a walk.

We love that you still nap twice a day.

We love how impatient you are (all.the.time).

We love how you're such a mama's boy.

We love your laugh. It sounds like a barking seal.

We love how fast you move to get into it when we have the fridge or dishwasher open.

We love your super cute tiny bum.

We love how you spin yourself around on your bum with your heels when you get excited.

We love how mischievous you are. 

We love your big cheesy tooth-filled smiles. 3 teeth on top, 2 on the bottom. And judging from your mood the last couple of days, we suspect 1-3 more are on their way shortly.

And we absolutely love the little person you are and can't wait to see who you're going to become.

You are a very loved little boy. Thank you for choosing us to raise you! Happy birthday, little man.

Credit: Diaper cover, tie and delicious cake (also Lucas' birthday cake, which will be shown soon!) are made by the fabulous BugABoo Baby Wear and Cakes Inspired in Strathmore, Alberta!

My kids and hospitals

Aryn had her first over night hospital stay when she was when she was 19 months, with a bad bout of croup and a super fun febrile seizure.

Lucas had his first over night hospital stay Monday night at the Alberta Children's Hospital. Yay!

He stood here in the window and waved

at all the nurses. He was quite popular.

As you all know, Lucas was born with Situs Inversus; his internal abdomen organs are all flipped around (mirrored). When he was born, he was checked out with an ultrasound and found to be perfectly healthy, despite his Inversus. The ECG he got when I was pregnant showed his heart to be perfectly normal (which is extremely rare for the syndrome he has - most people born with their hearts on the correct side and their abdomen flipped tend to have a heart defect).

So when Lucas started vomiting after every nursing feed for the past month, and spent Friday night screaming for 2.5 hours and Sunday afternoon for 1.5 hours, I woke up Monday morning knowing the only option was to get him into the doctor. Then I fed him Monday morning, and he vomited all over me and I had had enough.

Finally asleep.

To explain what was happening, basically I nurse Lucas holding him as one would expect: he lays on my arms, he eats. Regardless of how long he nurses, all of a sudden his stomach will "blip" (like a hiccup) and BAM - projectile vomit. It has been a very stressful month.

Why didn't I take him in earlier? He seemed happy. He was pooping, peeing, smiling, learning to stand, crawling around like a maniac.... despite his eating antics, he was a happy, healthy baby.

Why did I take him in when I did? Because of the screaming.

Getting his IV put in. He was a little dehydrated.

When he as born, the senior resident paediatrician in the NICU told us that if Lucas ever started to scream uncontrollably and begin vomiting, his stomach could be trying to flip back around. When he told us that, both Ryan and I stared wide-eyed and asked, "Can that happen?"

Doctor's response: "We don't know. Maybe?"

That's the fact of the matter: no one knows. Situs Inversus is rare. Situs Inversus Totalis (heart and abdomen flipped around) are rare. Situs Inversus with levocardia (or Situs Inversus Incompletus), which Lucas has, heart on correct side and abdomen flipped around, are even more rare. No one really knows what to expect.

So when Lucas was screaming uncontrollably, vomiting during and after every single feed, the only logical explanation in my mind was: his stomach is flipping around. Obviously. There's no other options.

So we went to the Children's, and I began explaining his symptoms: projectile vomiting, fairly tired (napping for longer, more often), and uncontrollable screaming. 

Oh, and he has Situs Inversus.

Well, let me tell you: throw that in the list and you are welcome with a red carpet. Not only was he seen as a medical marvel, they took me extremely seriously. We had an Upper GI done, a few X-rays, an EKG, and some blood tests. 

Lucas getting his EKG. The nurse was a total cow. She got mad at Ryan taking this photo because she didn't want her photo taken. Yes... cuz we wanted YOU in the photo... *sigh*

I'm also not sure why I had that face... probably because it was 9pm and I hadn't slept yet, or eaten, and I was exhausted and delirious haha!

(What's an Upper GI? Basically, first they took an x-ray. Then they stuck a tube down Lucas' nose so it goes into his stomach, and they fill him with barium. Then they take a GI machine and watch the barium fill his stomach and go into his intestines, to see if there's a blockage. Lucas literally screamed the entire time, and it was a 20 minute test. He was so mad at the tube in his nose! Then they waited 20 minutes and took another x-ray to get a big picture of his insides to make sure it's all working smoothly.)

Thank God, his stomach and intestines were fine. There was no blockage (which is what we were expecting to be the issue; we even had the surgical team on standby to operate!) and his stomach wasn't flipping around. Awesome. His heart is also perfect, much to all of the doctor's surprise. "We're extremely surprised his heart is fine, considering his Situs Inversus! It's so rare!"

We were then admitted. Dr. Les, the ER pediatrician, wouldn't let us leave without finding out what was happening. For the entire rest of the day, that night, and the following day, we were asked question after question, and test after test. 

In the end... we found nothing too serious. His hemoglobin is low (93 when it should be 110) so he's on an iron supplement. He has potential reflux, so he's on a Zantac-like product that tastes disgusting and makes him shiver. 

He took these Cheerios and threw them ALL OVER the place.

Zantac or not, he's still vomiting. This afternoon he nursed, and I spent 20 minutes keeping him awake to keep him from throwing up. He gags, chews, burps, etc.... then the next second, he's asleep and fine. 

It's a complete mystery what is going on with this guy! Could it be an allergy? Doubtful, as he throws up WHILE eating, instead of after he's digested a bit. And, after he's digested the rest of what he's eaten, he's fine. It's not like he's throwing up all of what he's eating; just a lot of it. Could it be reflux? Perhaps, but he doesn't follow the symptoms very well at all. 

So we wait. Trial and error, writing everything down (which I am AWFUL at, since I just remembered I was supposed to do that!), and learning new ways to nurse are how we're treating this. And.... I hate to admit it... considering ending our nursing relationship. The thought pains me, but so does watching him vomit 5 times a day! 

Any suggestions, ideas, and prayers are welcome!

 

How NOT to Night Wean 101

I am exhausted.

Lucas, at 9.5 months, is crawling, standing, smiling, walking with a walker, blowing raspberries, smiling, eating, nursing, smiling, standing on his own, and, most of all, not sleeping.

Ok, so he gets up about twice a night. Some parents may think that that's awesome. Except he is a super restless sleeper until about 11pm, then sleeps until 1:30-ish am, then wakes up again at about 5:30am, then sleeps until 7:30am when I wake him up. Oh, and don't forget my daughter who wakes us up at 5:45am.

Not only that, but when Lucas DOES eat, lately he's been projectile vomiting all over everything. Is it allergies? Is it a sinus issue? (his nose is constantly full, and I started to wonder if he was swallowing mucous and snot and therefore getting a sore tummy.) Is he just over full? We seriously have no idea what is causing this! (we're trying him on Benadryl at night, but his second half of the night is so bad that I should be giving him a second dose; it does get rid of his super runny nose, but I don't particularly enjoy drugging him!)

I hate this schedule. I am exhausted. And since my beautiful redheaded daughter likes to wake up at 5:45am, regardless of her GroClock that tells her she needs to stay in bed, it makes for a very long, frustrating day. Oh, the bunny is still asleep? Well, let me serenade you at the top of my lungs until the bunny is in the sun. 

Every. Morning.

[If you saw our GroClock, you'd understand that when the bunny is sleeping in bed, she is to stay in bed. If the bunny is frolicking in the sun, she's allowed to get out of bed to pee. It's set for 6am. Yeah. 6. A. M. Yet 5:45 comes around and there she is next to our bed.]

But I digress.

Due to my extreme exhaustion, and extremely low level of patience, and serious lack of humour, and being on the brink of a nervous breakdown, I got the brilliant idea to night wean. This is how it went.

Step 1: Prepare Yourself.
I psyched myself out. I decided to give Night Weaning 6 nights. I knew the first 3 nights would be awful, and hopefully they'd get progressively better. If on the 6th night it still was unsuccessful, I considered faking spontaneous deafness... or, I'd give up and try again in a few weeks, or even a month. 6 nights of hell for a lifetime of sleep. I was ready.

Step 2: Put Plan into Action.
And here we go.

Night 1
Lucas woke up at 1:30am, just like I suspected. I picked him up, I walked around the room, I patted his back, I shushed him, I walked, and walked, and walked. He cried, he fought me, he bent his body down to eat and was thoroughly pissed off when he was denied.

2 hours later, he was back to sleep. I laid him down in bed, tiptoed out of the room, and went back to bed. I woke up at 5am to pump a bit just for some relief, and then went back to bed.

Lucas slept until 8am. Then ate a little bit, we went downstairs for breakfast, then he nursed at nap time at 9:30am and napped for 2 hours.

Cue zombie acting.

Night 2
Lucas woke up at 12:30, but didn't fight as hard. It took an hour and a half to get him back to sleep, doing much the same I did the night before. I laid him down in bed.

Parent Mistake #1: false hope.

Oh, it took an hour and a half this time instead of 2 hours? Wait until you lay the kid down. Then they wake up. Then you have to spend another 30 minutes putting them back to sleep without feeding them.

2 hours and 20 minutes later, I was back in bed. I did have to get up and pump again a bit at 5am, but Night 2 was over.

Night 3
Lucas slept until 5:45am. I was so ridiculously uncomfortable I had to go downstairs and pump a bit first. Then I went into his room, and stood there like an idiot trying to decide: to feed or not to feed.

I fed.

Parent Mistake #2: don't ever give in!!!

I gave in. I fed him. He fell right back to sleep, and slept until I woke him up at 7:30. Aryn woke us up at 6:03. Sweet thing slept in. Cue sarcasm.

Night 4
Lucas was up every 40 minutes until 11pm. Finally, at 11, I fed him. Then he slept until 4:30. Again, I stood at his crib, thinking about my options:

If I feed him, he'll go back to sleep and sleep until 7:30. If I don't feed him, I'll be fighting with him up to 2 hours. If I feed him, I get to go back to sleep. If I don't feed him, I need to walk around the room with him for 2 hours. 

Parent Mistake #3: YOU IDIOT!!!!! DON'T GIVE IN!

Night 5
Lucas woke up at 1:30am. I fed him. Then he was up at 5:45am. I fed him then too.

Night Weaning: FAILED.

So... tonight should be night 6. I have given up. I will attempt night weaning in a few weeks again. Until then, I will continue to be exhausted, and continue counting down to the day Ryan and I leave to go to Hawaii in February 2015.

341 days until I can sleep.

The Lukey Pookie Man - 9 Month Update

Right now, I find myself going back to old blog posts, reading about what we did with Aryn at each development that Lucas hits. "What did Aryn do at 9 months? Was she crawling? Was she sleeping through the night? What was she eating?"

Two mouse clicks and I have my answers. Aryn was being dream fed at 10:30, sleeping straight until 8am, she was spinning on her stomach (NOT crawling) and eating mostly homemade pureed fruits and veggies with a little meat, but was not big on eating meat.

Aryn at 9 months was 22 lbs 9 3/4 ounces, 30.5" long
Lucas at 9 months is 19 lbs, 3 ounces, and 31.25" long

I have NOT been blogging the same with Lucas. I don't have weight updates on my phone for every month he turns. I do not have a tally of foods he loves, foods he hates, or recipes tucked into a pile on my kitchen island for fancy purees I can barely wait to feed him.

Aryn's life was chronicled week by week, month by month, sometimes day by day.

Yes, Lucas is the bonafide second child, with second child's syndrome. But, 3-years-from-now-self, here is what you need to know:

- Lucas does not get the fancy homemade purees. He gets the organic, pre-made pouch meals. This is a daily "I'm the worst mom ever" mama fail feeling, and every day, I leave the organic sweet potato in my veggie bowl, just to open another pouch. Because pouches are cheaper... and easier... and oh-so-much-tastier than anything I can make. Oh and Aryn loves them too. Each kid gets a surplus of veggies and fruit from a little pouch. Mama fail, perhaps... but hey, it's also a win.

- Lucas IS crawling. And standing. And holding onto one object and stepping over to another. He stands for seconds on his own. He is a speed demon crawler. He's on one knee, and one foot. Always.

- He does not sleep. He cries out in his sleep. He wakes up anywhere from 2-4 times a night. Every night. The times he wakes up way later than normal (like, 4am for his first wakeup), he's also up at 5am, then 6am so it still constitutes as 3 wakeups.

- He is not a great nurser any more. I nursed Aryn for 18 months, and loved every moment of it. We snuggled, we held hands, we breathed each other in. Lucas grabs my back fat with his knife-like dagger fingers and pinches so hard it brings tears to my eyes. He sticks his fingers in my nose and pulls anything he can. He grabs my hair with his velcro hands and rips it out by the roots. He slaps my chest hard enough to show hand prints afterwards. Oh, and then after all of that, he gets over excited and pukes up all the milk he just ate and cries for more.

And this is one for the baby books. Lucas, for the past 2 weeks, has been a terror at night. He wakes up at 1am-ish, nurses like a fiend, then proceeds to projectile vomit everything he just nursed. Over and over. Until everything he just ate is gone. Then he wants to cuddle. Then he falls asleep, only to wake up a couple hours later, seemingly starving, only to not want to nurse. I am worried our nursing days are coming to an early end. But we're persevering... and getting a little checkup on Monday with the doctor to find out if this is something to be really worried about (he also lost half a pound in the last month so that is another concern I'd like addressed). Lucas... you always keep us on our toes!!

- He is SO BAD and so effing cute while being bad. He crawls around, ONLY going for things he knows he's not allowed to have. Like standing on Aryn's painting easel (it falls really easily... and has fallen on top of him 3 times now). Or going after Bauer's food (his favourite thing). Or opening the drawers only to slam his fingers in said drawer. Or eating boots or shoes that are accidentally left on the rug. Or trying to climb up the stairs. 15 billion toys laying around, and he wants the dog food.

- He gives the BEST hugs. I mean, real, heart-felt "I love you sooo much" hugs. He sees me, gets all squealy and excited, lifts his hands to be picked up, puts his head on  my shoulder and pats my back. And every time - no matter what time of night it is, or how hard I've been fighting him to get him to sleep, that back pat melts it all away and I'm left hugging and snuggling him back. He plays dirty. And he knows it.

Lucas really is a fantastic napper some days... (probably due to his awful sleep the night before!) for a couple hours in the morning, and a couple hours in the afternoon. And we've got his afternoon nap coinciding with Aryn's, so I often have a couple hours to myself in the afternoon to get work done. It's actually been really nice! I wish I could nap during that down time, but woah is the working mother - I have to get work done!!

Lucas is also hilarious. He has a very different sense of humour than Aryn. She was giving cheesy grins and playing funny games with us when she was this age. Hiding behind curtains and clacking her tongue. Lucas has a different sense of humour. He does things, then laughs. He laughs at noises, and thinks everything his sister does is funny and something he must try himself. He wants to move, he wants to run, he wants to keep up with his big sister. He jumps on us like he's a big kid, then kind of freaks himself out that he's doing something he may be too little and young to do (which is the same reaction while trying to climb up the stairs). Which could be why he's such a bad sleeper - there is just too much life passing him by during the night that he has to get up and see if anyone else is enjoying life without him!!

We love you, Lukey Pookie Man!! You've made our lives so much better just knowing you!!