Month: March 2011

birthday party

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

I’m a little slow at times, but I didn’t forget.  Here are some pictures from my baby boy’s big day.

There was cake…lots of cake.  The cake for guests was white with chocolate fudge swirl.
Theo’s cake was french vanilla.  When I was nursing, chocolate upset his stomach and since he hasn’t really had any since then, I didn’t want to take any chances.
All of his first cousins were there.  🙂
And of course, all of his bestest baby friends…
along with the best babysitter in the world, whom he adores!
There were presents, presents, and more presents.
Pizza and breadsticks
And finally…CAKE!  Sweet baby Theo did not disappoint with the smashing of the cake.
This is why you have your child’s 1st birthday party at home.  (Although it wasn’t as bad as I expected).
After party at Theo’s crib with his auntie.
And finally, my cute little guy on his actual birthay.  He looks SO big!

~C~

29 week check-up check-in

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest
I found out last Friday, not to my surprise, that I failed my 3 hour glucose tolerance test, meaning that I have gestational diabetes.  I was disappointed, but not devastated like I was when I found out I had it with Theo.  I guess the genetic component is stronger than the environmental component.  My weight gain so far is still 17-17.5 pounds (no change in the last two weeks).  I don’t anticipate gaining much more at this point since I’m on a pretty strict diet.  Hopefully I can remain a diet-controlled diabetic like I did last time.  I started checking my sugars on Saturday and so far I have only had one that was over my cutoff.  Shoulda known better…it was after I ate a bowl of cereal.  I learned last time to say goodbye to cereal, orange juice, and any other sugary and delicious thing I crave.  
My abdomen measured 28-29 weeks and the baby’s heart rate is still ranging in the 130-140s.  I was very happy after talking to the doctor this time.  She looked at the chart with my sugars so far and my weight gain and said that as long as both stay controlled, I have a good shot at a vaginal birth.  This was really the first appointment I’ve gone to when I didn’t feel like she was pushing for a c-section (because of Theo’s shoulder dystocia).  She said since I have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, she can induce at 38 weeks instead of 39 without doing an amnio.  She even mentioned inducing at 37 weeks in hopes of getting a smaller baby, but this would mean having an amnio to make sure the lungs are mature.  I’d like to avoid having an amnio if at all possible and 37 seems a little too early.  Ask me again when I’m 37 weeks, but right now I think I’d rather wait and let the baby cook for another week.  
Soo…if I have a baby at 38 weeks, we’re looking at a 5/12/11 or 5/13/11 (Friday the 13th!) birthday.  That’s only a little over 9 weeks away.  How much have we bought to prepare for this baby?  The answer is still “nothing” (with the exception of a couple girly outfits, which have a 50% chance of being useless).  Maybe we should get on that.  We need a crib, 2 convertible car seats for Theo, a double stroller, etc, etc, etc.  
When I was pregnant with Theo, I was never sick.  I’ve got my second cold in 5 months right now and I can’t wait for it to go far, far away.  

Sniff, sniff, cough, cough,
~C~

12 months

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

Dear Theo,

Here we are, on your first birthday.  The first anniversary of the day you came into my life.  It’s such a bittersweet feeling for your mama.  My heart swells with pride and nearly bursts with love when I think about you, much less see your face.  You have come a long way, baby.

You have said so many words, but you are a stinker.  You say them when you want to.  Sometimes you are prompted, and sometimes you say things on your own.  One of my favorite things you say is “moo.”  When you see one of your cow toys, your mouth forms the cutest little “o” and you say “ooooo.”  It’s one of the most adorable things I’ve seen.  You say dada constantly.  Getting you to say mama is trickier.  Why is that?  You say “hi” and will wave hello and bye-bye.  I have also heard you say duck and sock, but only once.  When we read your little owl book, you repeat me by hooting.  I can’t tell you how much fun it is to see you and hear you learning new things.

You have eight teeth in the front and I’m pretty sure you are working on some more in the back.  On the weekend before your birthday, you had your first fever.  It started on a Friday afternoon and lasted until Saturday evening.  Your mama and daddy were worried because we had never seen you so pitiful before.  You just wanted to sit on our laps, which is totally unlike you.  You are so very mobile and inquisitive.  You almost never stop moving and exploring.  But when you were feeling bad, you just wanted to snuggle with us. You were whiny and slept a lot and your little body was on fire.  Friday night your temperature reached 102.4 and that scared your mama.  I didn’t know what to do with a sick baby but we let you lead the way and tell us what you needed.  Your party was Saturday and towards the end of the party, you had some energy.  Maybe it was the cake…maybe it was the attention…maybe it was all the cool new toys.

You had a great party.  We have lots of pictures to share with you.  So many people love you.  You are already so lucky to have such great family and friends. I hope the people that you choose to be a part of your life treat you with as much kindness.

You are taking steps now.  The most we have counted so far is 9.  You get braver every day.  I think if we had carpet at home, you’d be zooming around the house but the slick floors make you a little more tentative.  You’ll be walking and running around in no time.  I’m looking forward to seeing you grow and change even more over the next year.

Your eating has been hit or miss lately.  For the longest time, you were happy to eat whatever we offered you, whether is was something you fed yourself or had to eat off of a spoon.  Over the last few weeks, you’ve become more independent and prefer to eat things that you can pick up with your cute little fingers.  I hope you’ll always continue to try new things and be a good eater.  We’ve started trying to get you away from bottles and onto sippy cups.  Your birthday weekend was a bit of a setback because you didn’t want to eat or drink much at all.  Since the bottle is easier and a comfort to you, we just offered you that.  You’ve started drinking less formula.  You go to the doctor for your one year check up tomorrow and I’m anxious to see how much you’ve grown.  I think the doctor will say it’s time to switch you to whole milk!

You are such a happy, fun baby.  I love you and I like you and I always will.  I’m so lucky to be your mom and I hope every mom loves their baby as much and feels as lucky as I do.  If that’s the case, there will be a lot of love going around the world.  You’re going to have a baby sister or brother in a few short weeks.  You’ll be a great big brother and I’m anxious to see how this new person in our lives changes things.

You’re taking steps towards becoming a toddler and we’re taking steps towards becoming more experienced parents every day as we learn with you.  You have taught us everything we know about being a mom and dad.  I don’t care what anyone else thinks of the way we raise you, but I sure hope you think we’re doing alright.  I love you, Peezy.

xo,
Mommy