What Miraculous Looks Like:
(and what cute looks like, too):
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Halloween!
For some reason I was SO excited for Halloween this year! I think it's because this is the first holiday where The Kid is actually able to celebrate. (It's hard to count the 4th of July. Parades, yes, but nothing that The Kid could really participate in.)
We put a lot of thought (and somehow very little effort...) into the costumes.
We went to a few parties with our friends: A dinosaur and two peas in a pod! (Believe me when I say this is the best picture I could get of four babies between 8.5 and 11.5 months of age.)
It turned into this: The Dino attacks The Kid, who is entranced by The Pea Pod's costume, and The Pea Pod has a meltdown.
Now isn't this the cutest little dino you ever did see?
Cheeky little Monkey. :)
We put a lot of thought (and somehow very little effort...) into the costumes.
The Kid and his Banana
We went to a few parties with our friends: A dinosaur and two peas in a pod! (Believe me when I say this is the best picture I could get of four babies between 8.5 and 11.5 months of age.)
It turned into this: The Dino attacks The Kid, who is entranced by The Pea Pod's costume, and The Pea Pod has a meltdown.
Now isn't this the cutest little dino you ever did see?
Cheeky little Monkey. :)
Friday, October 22, 2010
Another trip to the land of pure happiness
The Kid and I went to the Northwoods again--this time we went because my twin, JB, was coming home from an 18-month, full-time mission for our church. JB missed out on a lot these last 18 months. I wasn't even pregnant when she left, and when she got back, I had an 11-month-old!
The Boy stayed home so he could work and take care of the critters. We missed him. A lot.
Here is documentation of what happened:
We had a pumpkin party for the kids. Here is my Kid with two pumpkins! (The cat's name is pumpkin.) He absolutely LOVED that cat. I'm convinced now that he needs one of his own.
He also loved the leaves. And check it out--if we had hallowed that pumpkin out, he could have fit inside of it! And it wasn't even the biggest one in the pumpkin patch!
Us in the pumpkin patch (with my dad in the background). This was after most of the good pumpkins got taken out, too!
The ponies wanted in on the pumpkin party. See the one on the left? The buckskin? I went on a 3-hour trail ride with her. It was heaven.
Auntie JB made these adorable hot dog mummies for the pumpkin party.
The Kid had his first bath in a REAL tub! He shared it with his cousin, The Busy Bee, who is only three months older than him and about ten pounds bigger.
We had a play date with some friends.
It was a wonderful trip. It wasn't hot like it was in July, and although it was cold, it wasn't too bad yet. The Kid decided, though, to go on a hunger strike. Most days he would only eat about 15 ounces. It became a waste to even try to get him to eat solids, so I would just put baby cereal in his bottles to beef them up a bit. The only thing that he would eat willingly was munchy snacks. I got so worried about it that I took him to a doctor there. I was hoping he had an ear infection, so we could take care of it and be done with it. But no. She said it's got to be a preemie thing, and to keep doing what I'm doing. Nice. Whatever I was doing, it obviously wasn't working. I even tried orajel and gripe water. And I switched him to the most expensive, most sensitive formula they make. So, I guess keep letting him starve? Keep stressing?
Well, The Kid got two more teeth on the bottom on Wednesday and on Thursday (the day we flew home) he ate a lot more. The Boy even got him to eat solids. It was amazing. Let's pray it continues to get better. But, if teething makes him not want to eat, what's going to happen when he gets molars? I don't even want to think about it.
And on top of that...I'm sick. Super, nasty, miserably sick. I'm pretty sure my immune system is weaker than The Kid's. Let it be known: if you come to my house today, I WILL be in my pajamas. Don't judge.
The Boy stayed home so he could work and take care of the critters. We missed him. A lot.
Here is documentation of what happened:
The Kid and I met JB in the Minneapolis airport so we could share a layover and take the flight home together. Here we are at home, with one of our BFFs, Beth. As you can see, The Kid was very happy.
We had a homecoming party for JB
We had a homecoming party for JB
We had a pumpkin party for the kids. Here is my Kid with two pumpkins! (The cat's name is pumpkin.) He absolutely LOVED that cat. I'm convinced now that he needs one of his own.
He also loved the leaves. And check it out--if we had hallowed that pumpkin out, he could have fit inside of it! And it wasn't even the biggest one in the pumpkin patch!
Us in the pumpkin patch (with my dad in the background). This was after most of the good pumpkins got taken out, too!
The ponies wanted in on the pumpkin party. See the one on the left? The buckskin? I went on a 3-hour trail ride with her. It was heaven.
Auntie JB made these adorable hot dog mummies for the pumpkin party.
The Kid had his first bath in a REAL tub! He shared it with his cousin, The Busy Bee, who is only three months older than him and about ten pounds bigger.
We had a play date with some friends.
It was a wonderful trip. It wasn't hot like it was in July, and although it was cold, it wasn't too bad yet. The Kid decided, though, to go on a hunger strike. Most days he would only eat about 15 ounces. It became a waste to even try to get him to eat solids, so I would just put baby cereal in his bottles to beef them up a bit. The only thing that he would eat willingly was munchy snacks. I got so worried about it that I took him to a doctor there. I was hoping he had an ear infection, so we could take care of it and be done with it. But no. She said it's got to be a preemie thing, and to keep doing what I'm doing. Nice. Whatever I was doing, it obviously wasn't working. I even tried orajel and gripe water. And I switched him to the most expensive, most sensitive formula they make. So, I guess keep letting him starve? Keep stressing?
Well, The Kid got two more teeth on the bottom on Wednesday and on Thursday (the day we flew home) he ate a lot more. The Boy even got him to eat solids. It was amazing. Let's pray it continues to get better. But, if teething makes him not want to eat, what's going to happen when he gets molars? I don't even want to think about it.
And on top of that...I'm sick. Super, nasty, miserably sick. I'm pretty sure my immune system is weaker than The Kid's. Let it be known: if you come to my house today, I WILL be in my pajamas. Don't judge.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The Kid is 11 Months Old!
Only one month away from someone's first birthday....
At 11 months, The Kid:
Now
Then
Now
And I thought it was hard to photograph him last month. Sheesh.
At 11 months, The Kid:
- Wears size 2 diapers
- Has outgrown most 0-3 month clothes and barely fits a few size 3-6 month clothes
- Army crawls and rolls all over the place
- Can sit unassisted for an indefinite amount of time (except that now he's good at leaning forward to fall over and crawl, so sitting is no longer a trustworthy way to keep him from getting into things)
- Has kinda pulled himself up to a stand once
- Has gotten himself up onto his hands and knees to rock a time or two per day for the last four or five days
- Still only has four teeth.
- No longer eats. Ok, ok, he eats enough to get by, but seriously...it's a very stressful ordeal for both of us. It takes about an hour to get him to eat 5 ounces. If he had it his way, he'd starve to death. I honestly don't know what to do. I fear that a g-tube isn't entirely out of the picture quite yet.
Then
Now
Then
Now
Friday, October 8, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
Brace yourself, this is a long one.
http://womenshealth.gov/faq/polycystic-ovary-syndrome.cfm
Between one in ten and one in 20 women have PCOS. It is the most common cause of female infertility. I happen to have a lot of friends who have it.
I think of it as the "ugly" syndrome.
Common symptoms include:
I have every symptom except for weight gain.
Typical women ovulate regularly (an average of every 28 days). Women with PCOS may not ovulate at all, and when they do, they tend to get cysts, or fluid-filled sacs, on their ovaries. It hurts. A lot. It often requires surgical removal. I had a cyst literally for my entire pregnancy. The Kid kicked it all of the time.
Blood tests will show higher levels of male hormones, such as testosterone.
I was diagnosed with PCOS around the age of 18. My doctor prescribed oral contraceptives and spironolactone, a drug typically used to treat high blood pressure. After a few months, every symptom of PCOS disappeared. It was wonderful.
When I got married, I knew that it would take a long time to conceive. Many doctors won't prescribe assistive reproductive medication until a woman is diagnosed with infertility (the inability to conceive after one year of regular intercourse without contraception). Within less than one month of stopping my birth control and spironolactone, I sprouted manly hairs, broke out, and gained almost ten pounds. Lovely.
Since I already had a PCOS diagnosis, after 7.5 months of "trying" I went to a fertility specialist. It's a good thing I did. He agreed to give me clomid, a drug meant to increase ovulation, and metformin, a drug typically used to treat type II diabetes but that has been shown to make clomid more effective. Oddly enough, women with PCOS have a MUCH higher chance of developing type II diabetes. In fact, "more than 50 percent of women with PCOS will have diabetes or pre-diabetes (impaired glucose tolerance) before the age of 40." Once again, lovely.
Clomid works by blocking the estrogen sensors in your brain. When your body doesn't think it's producing enough estrogen, it produces more. Estrogen is the hormone that causes ovulation.
To reduce the chances of ovulating more than one egg and having multiples, doctors start you on the smallest dose of clomid, 50 mg. You take one 50 mg pill per day for five consecutive days some time in the first eight or so days of your cycle (usually days 3-8). There are all sorts of tricks to know exactly when you ovulate, but I won't get into that now.
If you don't ovulate after that first cycle, most doctors will increase your dose by 50 mg. I was on clomid for 9 months. Here is how my cycles went:
50 mg: no ovulation
100 mg: no ovulation
150 mg: ovulation, no pregnancy
150 mg again: no ovulation
200 mg: WIN! Six months later, I'm a momma.
According to my doctor, the "vast majority" of women ovulate with 150 mg or before. I guess my body is really messed up.
Out of curiosity, I called and asked my doctor what would happen when The Boy and I wanted to have another baby (don't freak out--it's still in the distant future). He said that since I needed "high doses" of clomid for my first pregnancy, they would just start me out on high doses next time. It's good to know that it won't take 16 months to get pregnant every time we want to have another baby, but it sure is scary to think that I could have twins. Let's just hope I don't have any more micro-preemies. Ever. Let's shoot for seven-pounders. Although, I'd settle for a four-pounder.
Anyway, if you know anyone who has PCOS, has the symptoms of PCOS, or has been struggling with infertility, direct them to the link at the beginning of this long post (sorry). It can be a rough thing to deal with, but it can be dealt with.
http://womenshealth.gov/faq/polycystic-ovary-syndrome.cfm
Between one in ten and one in 20 women have PCOS. It is the most common cause of female infertility. I happen to have a lot of friends who have it.
I think of it as the "ugly" syndrome.
Common symptoms include:
- Acne
- Excessive and uncontrollable weight gain
- Abnormal and excessive hair growth (in male patterns: on the face, neck, belly, etc.)
- Irregular periods
I have every symptom except for weight gain.
Typical women ovulate regularly (an average of every 28 days). Women with PCOS may not ovulate at all, and when they do, they tend to get cysts, or fluid-filled sacs, on their ovaries. It hurts. A lot. It often requires surgical removal. I had a cyst literally for my entire pregnancy. The Kid kicked it all of the time.
"The ovaries, where a woman’s eggs are produced, have tiny fluid-filled sacs called follicles or cysts. As the egg grows, the follicle builds up fluid. When the egg matures, the follicle breaks open, the egg is released, and the egg travels through the fallopian tube to the uterus (womb) for fertilization. This is called ovulation.
"In women with PCOS, the ovary doesn't make all of the hormones it needs for an egg to fully mature. The follicles may start to grow and build up fluid but ovulation does not occur. Instead, some follicles may remain as cysts. For these reasons, ovulation does not occur and the hormone progesterone is not made. Without progesterone, a woman's menstrual cycle is irregular or absent. Plus, the ovaries make male hormones, which also prevent ovulation."
Blood tests will show higher levels of male hormones, such as testosterone.
I was diagnosed with PCOS around the age of 18. My doctor prescribed oral contraceptives and spironolactone, a drug typically used to treat high blood pressure. After a few months, every symptom of PCOS disappeared. It was wonderful.
When I got married, I knew that it would take a long time to conceive. Many doctors won't prescribe assistive reproductive medication until a woman is diagnosed with infertility (the inability to conceive after one year of regular intercourse without contraception). Within less than one month of stopping my birth control and spironolactone, I sprouted manly hairs, broke out, and gained almost ten pounds. Lovely.
Since I already had a PCOS diagnosis, after 7.5 months of "trying" I went to a fertility specialist. It's a good thing I did. He agreed to give me clomid, a drug meant to increase ovulation, and metformin, a drug typically used to treat type II diabetes but that has been shown to make clomid more effective. Oddly enough, women with PCOS have a MUCH higher chance of developing type II diabetes. In fact, "more than 50 percent of women with PCOS will have diabetes or pre-diabetes (impaired glucose tolerance) before the age of 40." Once again, lovely.
Clomid works by blocking the estrogen sensors in your brain. When your body doesn't think it's producing enough estrogen, it produces more. Estrogen is the hormone that causes ovulation.
To reduce the chances of ovulating more than one egg and having multiples, doctors start you on the smallest dose of clomid, 50 mg. You take one 50 mg pill per day for five consecutive days some time in the first eight or so days of your cycle (usually days 3-8). There are all sorts of tricks to know exactly when you ovulate, but I won't get into that now.
If you don't ovulate after that first cycle, most doctors will increase your dose by 50 mg. I was on clomid for 9 months. Here is how my cycles went:
50 mg: no ovulation
100 mg: no ovulation
150 mg: ovulation, no pregnancy
150 mg again: no ovulation
200 mg: WIN! Six months later, I'm a momma.
According to my doctor, the "vast majority" of women ovulate with 150 mg or before. I guess my body is really messed up.
Out of curiosity, I called and asked my doctor what would happen when The Boy and I wanted to have another baby (don't freak out--it's still in the distant future). He said that since I needed "high doses" of clomid for my first pregnancy, they would just start me out on high doses next time. It's good to know that it won't take 16 months to get pregnant every time we want to have another baby, but it sure is scary to think that I could have twins. Let's just hope I don't have any more micro-preemies. Ever. Let's shoot for seven-pounders. Although, I'd settle for a four-pounder.
Anyway, if you know anyone who has PCOS, has the symptoms of PCOS, or has been struggling with infertility, direct them to the link at the beginning of this long post (sorry). It can be a rough thing to deal with, but it can be dealt with.
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