Method to my Madness

You may have noticed that my posts are getting fewer and fewer. There is a reason for that. I'm packin' up and heading out. Of course I'll let you know where I am going, I just have to figure that out first. Stay tuned for some Halloween pictures.

You're Invited...

Everyone likes to Potty, right? Well it is Pottytime at our house. Thats right, this weekend was the start of Potty Bootcamp. On Friday after two disgusting adult-like-huge- poops-mashed-all-over-leg diapers, I had had enough. We had been talking about it for a few months already, but never followed through. This time we are. We are doing it in a nice way, just cold turkey. Saturday morning Mason woke up, I asked him if he wanted to pee on the potty, he did, he got 3 Skittles and we put big boy undies on.

The rest of the day he peed on the potty. We were expecting a few accidents but We've only had two, one Saturday night and one Sunday morning. Maybe it is the ultra-cool skull and crossbone undies, who knows but we are on a roll.

To give credit where credit is due, Mason has not minded going pee for months now. It has been the poop factor. Apparently it is very scary. So we did the noble thing and bribed him. We told him, the minute he'd go poop we'd get into the car and go to the store where he could pick out ANYTHING he wanted.

Saturday no poop. This is so not normal for Mason. Sunday throughout the day he asked for a diaper obviously when he had the urge to poop. This was when we started to wonder if what we were doing was cruel and unusual punishment. We kept reminding him that as soon as he would go, we'd go to the store. Much of the day for Mike and I was spent sitting on the tub reading books as our little potty warrior sat on the potty holding in his overdue poop with all his might. So, we up'ed the anty. We decided we were going to buy a cake too and have a "Poop Party". Finally at 7:30 last night, without warning or any assistance from us, Mason came out of the bathroom clapping saying he "did it, yay!" Off to the store we went and came home with this and cake too.

Of all the thing he could have had, John Deere got his vote. We had a potty party complete with singing, "happy poop day to you..." (to the tune of Happy Birthday of course).

So now we are at day 3, still only the 2 pee accidents and still only the one poop. He has been asking for a diaper all day but at this point, I feel like that would only give mixed messages. I just hope he is not going to give himself a horrible tummy ache!

You want to hear more about my boobs?...with pleasure.

Really, some people have wondered what is happening with my heavily lactating boobage, so here goes!

Harper started out as a horrible nurser. Really. Bad. The things I had to do to get her "on" were pretty extreme and made my LLL leader sort of cringe. I actually had to stretch my nipple out with my fingers then point it up toward the roof of her mouth to pick sure it would hit the spot that would make her suck. Sometimes the whole process would last over an hour until she got a good latch. The whole thing was just not very smooth. (Waves goodbye to all the non-nursers who are now bored to death!)
I needed constant reminders that she was a newborn baby, not a 2 and a half year old "professional". She has gotten better, way better. Thank God!

Mason on the other hand is finally starting to get used to seeing my naked boob and not demanding milk every time. I've stuck to my (mean) guns and still only let him nurse at naptime. That is what we were down to while I was pregnant, so I saw no reason for him to regress. Plus, my sanity! Need I say more? Nursing him once a day has been going just fine, for me. I don't at all mind it. There are many days that I feel I have done nothing but yell and tell him what he is doing wrong, (which is a whole lot)so I feel like the 5 minutes we spend nursing in a quiet room just with each other is absolutely needed by both of us. He still askes for it throughout the day when Harper is nursing, but I just can't go back to nursing both, All. The. Time.

I was quickly brought back to Porn Star boob status day 3 post-partum and I had forgot about the pain. My god the pain! I whined to my clearly boobless husband about them to which he replied, "They look nice!"
Why yes they do, but they feel like bowling balls. Thank God for Mason. I broke my rule twice that day.

To stall walking him to the curb.

Ahhh. Sometimes I need a reminder of how darn cute my little "long hair" can be. And lately, I need them often. For the love!!!



Mason and fellow "long hair".



Thankfully when we have really rough days, there is always something ultra sweet that he has done that lingers longer than the naughtyness. Just Mason and I were in the car the other day to run an errand. I was belting out a favorite song when Mason blurts out, "Good singing Mama!" Can I tell you how much I love to have a personal little cheerleader.

The Ass Kicking X2

Having two kids is lots of work both Physically and Emotionally. First of all, it is a juggling act trying to help one while the other is crying without freaking out. Next, there is the constant nagging in the back of your mind wondering if you are giving the other enough attention. I can't imagine what it'd be like if I had a "hard" baby, because shhh(while crossing fingers)...this baby is a pretty easy baby. She sleeps really well, up only once a night to nurse. She was an awful nurser at the beginning, but after a week is totally getting the hang of it. And now she eats like a little piggy, filling herself up until she literally bubbles over. And the chub, it is filling out those soft cheeks by the day. I love watching that happen, all because of my milk.

Yesterday, I decided to venture out to a La Leche League Meeting close to my house. I started to get all of us ready 2 hours early and still was 15 minutes late. It was in a small room with lots of boy around 3yrs. None of them still being nursed except my little guy. They were just there because they were siblings to others. Anyway, There was this little boy, Joey who you could just tell was a brat. He spent the meeting going around to all the other kids taking away whatever they were playing with. Fine. Whatever, kids will be kids. Then, I noticed him carrying another boy who was 15 months around by HIS HEAD! I couldn't resist and alerted his clueless Mom. Thank God the boy he was manhandling was his brother. She blew it off by saying,"He likes to bring his brother to me." Ah, yeah and stretching his neck out a few extra inches. Don't get me wrong, Mason has done a few things to Harper already, and I am sure there will be many more, but by the time the "baby" is 15 months shouldn't some of the aggression die out? Maybe I am just clueless.
So on with the meeting. Everything was fine until I see this Joey-brat smacking Mason, my Mason, in the face over and over. I was pinned behind the table with Harper so I couldn't get there in time. Finally another woman took this kid away from Mason, not even the boys mom. She was pulling this boy away and Mason finally went and hit him on the top of the head. The Mama Bear in me was raging! I refrained from telling my son to go hit this bratty boy again, but I wanted too. Mason came over to me for comfort with huge tears welled in his eyes and looked like he had been in a street brawl. He had red marks all over his face and under his eye looked like it was going to be black. The LLL leader looked at him and said "Oh my Gosh!" Don't get me wrong, Mason does his fair share of hitting and pushing, but never has smacked someone in the face. It was like this kid was out for blood, it was just weird. The mom never did a thing or said anything to me. My poor boy got his ass whooped.

**Now Sunday, my poor little boy has a cold from those other nasty boys that come to LLL always sick...people! I think this time I may have learned my lesson. 8 out of 10 times he gets sick with something when we go there. It is too much to handle for me right now.

** I wrote this post on Friday but didn't post it.

My Short and Sweet Birth Story

Preface: Mike just jotted down notes whenever he could. Once the contractions got really bad, he couldn't anymore because I am bossy that way. The ironic thing is that the night before all this went down, I was still unsure I was going to go thru with the whole induction. Although I am not religious I wanted some sort of sign that I was making the right decision and not forcing something that was not ready to happen. I am now certain that I made the right decision. Oh, and the smiles, they are all fake except for the last one. I was hurting like a mofo and Mike kept taking my picture. Enjoy!

·Got to the hospital late for a 7:00am appt, checked in around 7:30am.
Ended up with a nurse that has been friends with Jeanne (Ann’s Mom) for years


·8:30am Lynn(midwife) came in and gave Annie her dos of Cytotec – the drug that will induce labor Lynn is expecting labor to begin in the next 1/2hr-4hrs

·Annie feels good, and is calling home right now to talk to Jeanne and Mason. Mason was upset when we left the house at 7:15 but quickly got over it. He had a huge smile as he waved out the bay window to us as Jeanne held him.

·I’m pretty nervous, I felt much more confidant prior to deciding to induce and not knowing when the baby would be born. Being able to plan the birth builds much more anticipation

·Annie 8:40am Nervous (extremely) – how long the labor will take is foremost on her mind

·9:10am – Lynn came back in to check on Ann – not much movement. Ann is having some small contractions but nothing significant. Her blood pressure is higher than it usually is, they don’t seem too concerned. 148/102 blood pressure

·9:42am – Sandy (nurse) stopped in to check on Ann and have her finish some paperwork.

·9:54am – Sandy came back in to draw blood – blood pressure related

·10:13am dilated to 3cm – Cytotec didn’t dissolve and was removed. Ann asked to have her water broken instead of another pill. I walked out of the room following the midwife and nurse – both of which felt Ann would be done by 2pm (they didn’t realize I was behind them. Lynn is booked with apts right up until 2pm.

·10:45am photos of Ann and I taken (by self)


·11:12am – Ann is having some stronger contractions, realized that walking around and swaying her hips feels better than laying down

·I’m starting to feel better, Ann is much more in control with this baby than she was with the last. I think almost all of my concern is for her, I don’t want her to have a long and painful delivery. It’s hard to concentrate on anything right now, Ann is watching TV but I’m too restless to sit.

·11:45am – Photos of Ann on the birthing ball – no exam in the last hour to determine dilation


·12:16pm – Contractions getting very strong, and happening every 2-4 minutes,Ann still positive and looking forward to being done.

·12:37pm – Another visit from Lynn and Sandy – lunch came and Annie’s contractions are very close and painful

·1:15pm Annie called the nurse and gets in the shower after being checked she is at 5cm

·2:12pm out of the shower

·2:18pm Lynn checks Ann who is at 8cm, she touches something that immediately makes Ann have to start pushing.

·2:34pm Baby Harper Born totally drug free after 16 minutes of pushing!

Harper Ann
9/21/06 2:34pm
7lbs. 10oz.
20 inches

Here she is...

Harper Ann
7lbs 10oz 20inches
born 9/21/06 at 2:34pm



Notice the shirt? Um, yeah. You get the picture.

We're Home!

...and with us we brought our new baby Harper. She was born on thursday at 2:34pm totally, I mean totally drug free. I can't wait to tell you all about it! Pedro had his new computer with him and documented the whole thing, with pictures. Check back later today. I'll try to post once the kiddos are both asleep. Thanks for the good vibes.

The Baby that wants to stay in!

Thursday is the day. I am being induced at 7am. I still am not sure about how I feel about the whole thing, but I am really afraid of having a huge baby too. I wanted to do everything as natural as possible, but I know with an induction pain drugs are almost a nessecity. I guess I just need a few hours to wrap my head around the whole thing. I'm very nervous and a little disappointed that this is how things are panning out.

Today I am thankful...

that my baby girl doesn't share a birthday with one of Britney Spears offspring. Thank You God!

It is White Trash Central!

Today after my appt. (where she told me I was ready to be induced) I decided to venture out to pick up a few neccessities. I needed laundry soap and english muffin toasting bread (which I eat for every meal) and other odds and ends. So where do you think I went to get it all? That's right, the store that brings out America's finest, Wal-Mart.

I am over 39 weeks pregnant, my fuse is pretty damn short and I was ready to do some bitch-slappin'. But someone has to be the bigger person in a situation, so today I tried my best to be the better and of course bigger person since I am hugely pregnant. Here is how the situation unfolded...

We are done picking up our few things and are heading to the checkouts. Mason spots a new Thomas movie that comes with a free train. It is a crate that says, Wal-Mart. So now apparently Thomas the Train and Wal-Mart are partnering up, NICE! Mason immediately starts freaking out about the movie, and I am totally unwilling to give in. He squeals a ear piiercing squeal and I am still not budging except for looking for the quickest checkout isle. Unfortunately there were two very old ladies infront of us that were witnesses to the screaming and they stopped and turned around to stare. One of them actually covered her ears and said, "Oh Gosh!" Three feet in front of me, to my face!

Oh no she didn't.

It boiled my blood and I lost it. I looked at the two women and said, "He is a child!" in a not very nice tone. The lady looked back at me and said, "And so is his Mother!"

There were so many things that I wanted to scream back at them, but I bit my tongue. I had pity because they were so old, don't ask me why. I just knew I needed to get the hell out before I went even more hormonal on them.

When Pedro came home for lunch, I sheepishly told him what happened. He said, "Good thing I wasn't with you, I would've said something really shocking." After that, we sat around brainstorming all the awesome things I could've said.

*Look Mason, Halloween brings out all the witches!
*Maybe you just need to turn down your Miracle Ear!
*Mason, I hope you never let me get that old and crotchety.

Again, remind me why I still shop at Wal-Mart?
Bitches.

39 weeks and counting!

I am still here. I am throwing up every morning. I have crazy bad diarrhea when I do finally eat something. It is really not good at all.

I have so many emotions running through me that I am sure are totally normal, but I still am scared to death. How am I going to be able to do this? I know that all the love I have for Mason will still be there. But thinking about it realistically, he will have to take a "back seat" often to the new baby. It kills me to think how much that is going to hurt his feelings. I try to tell myself over and over that it is probably a good thing, we have all been through it, and that it is probably the first real life lessons, but it doesn't help my heart from breaking a little each time I think about it.

Mason has been really hard the past week. He is hitting and defiant and pretty much wakes up telling me to "go-away!" Part of me wonders if he is feeling my insecurities. It is hard already, really hard. So this morning my Dad is working from home and came to get Mason for a couple of hours to give me a break. As much as I want to soak up every last minute I have alone with my baby boy, I just can barely function right now and I am sure Mason is having a whole bunch of fun with his Grandpa.

Who needs some comic relief?

I think my first reaction was, "Is this a joke?" Then I jumped on line and sure enough look for yourself.

Barbie has a pet Tanner and she takes him for walks and he poops just like a real dog. Luckily, Barbie always has her handy dandy pooper scooper with her. Because really, what kind of model citizen would Barbie be if she took Tanner out for walks and left his little nugget poops behind? I'm not sure, but I think the package comes with everything you need, which pheew, good thing! Because who wants to check out at Wal-Mart with accessory poop for Barbie's dog! You think I am kidding, I only wish.

Still Here...

I haven't gone yet, but I have a feeling it may be today or tomorrow. I have been completely pukey for the past 24 hours and can't imagine feeling this flu-ish for the next week. Has anyone else gotten barfy right before having a baby, or is it all in my head? I am so miserable! I can't eat, I slept awful, and I just feel so nauseous. If I don't start to feel a little better later this morning, I am calling my midwife. It is that bad. Wish me luck.

The way over-promised belly shot.

I promised you long enough, so I had to follow through, right? My friend Ms. Mamma came over last night and took a few pictures. She's got mad skillz, yo. Lucky for me she loves to take pictures and is really good at it. She sent me this one late last night, you like?

One more thing, you make fun of my pregnant nose, I kill! I am sensitive that way.

Puffy Lips and Noses.

Seriously, am I the only one who at the end of pregnancy gets a fat nose and puffy lips? Weird, yes. Attractive, no. So on with the updates. Yesterday I saw my midwife who had gave me a full exam and guess what? One centimeter dilated and 50% effaced and straight from her mouth,"The head is way down there." So that explains the shooting pains in my hoo-ha. I am ready to be done and sleep even less than I am now.

For all who were wondering about the dogs wiener, and I know their are a ton of you, Mason has stopped touching it. We may have confused him, but the dogs penis needed a break. Pedro decided to tell him that there was poop on it. So, whenever he touching it Pedro would freak out a little and say, "Gross there is poop on there, quick, lets wash you hands!" And it worked like a charm. He hasn't touched the poopy wiener in over a week.

And last but not least, anyone up for a little contest?
How about a due date and size of Baby Sister.
I need a little encouragement these days. Let the bidding begin...

A week 's gone by...

Today I am 37 weeks. I am full-term and relieved. Last week was rough. My parents who will be taking care of Mason when I have baby sister were in Texas. When my Mom left, she came running back in the house to tell me to keep my legs crossed until they get home,Tuesday which is tomorrow. So now I am happy. The day they left, I was sure I was in labor. I laid on the couch teeth chattering, having contraction after contraction. I was freaked out! Tomorrow I see my mid-wife for a full exam. Then Pedro and I will be having sex every night until this baby comes. Now there is the juice you've been waiting for, right? I'll tell you all about it on Wednesday. Or maybe just a little.

Friday was our 5 year anniversary. We stayed home and had steak and shrimp. Our most low-key anniversary yet, I think I was in bed by 10, alone, eh.

Even though this pregnancy has been easier than with Mason, I still am getting uncomfortable now. I keep having these shooting pains in my hoo-ha, and braxton-hicks all day long. Those things suck! They aren't painful, but they are exhausting and irritating. I feel like I have a basketball in my stomach that is about to shoot out through my skin. Oh, and the stretch marks are back in all their glory. Those pretty, pretty stretch marks! Last week my midwife also told me that she doesn't think this is a huge baby. She thought 7-7.5 full term. Sounds fine to me.

I have so many other things that I have been promising too, pictures of the nursery. My two slings which I can't tell if they fit because of this huge belly in the way. Belly pictures. Anything else I am forgetting? Because I forget a lot these days and my thoughts are pretty scattered, no...

If only there was a get-away car.

Part 1
Today was one of those days. Ugh. The day started out before Pedro left for work, Thank God. I am all about letting the child lead as far as potty training, but this boy of mine needs to be TRAINED. His new thing, each morning is,
"Here comes big poop!"
Then I chime in as quickly as a I can,
"Ok Quick, lets go on Dada's potty!"
"No Thanks."
"Mason, if you go poop on the potty, we'll go to the store and you can get a new truck, or motorcycle..."
"Or train..." Pedro chimes in.
But no, the boy proceeds to poop himself and asks to be changed immediately following.
Now, multiply that times 6. Oh no, I am not exaggerating. We had 6 poopie diapers today. Pedro only was home for one of them.

Part 2
Next, have I mentioned my sons obsession with the poor dogs penis? It is absolutely an obsession that I am almost too embarrassed to talk about. If the dog is resting peacefully, Mason is strategizing his way to get to Otto's dog-hood. The problem is the dog is so passive, he practically opens his legs up for Mason. It is all very sick and wrong, I know. The problem is I don't see it every time. When I do, I stop it immediately. Today he did it once, I threatened a time out. Second time, he got a time out. Yet the problem got worse. I was removing him from his timeout spot, explaining that we never touch Otto's peepee because it hurts him. Just then the dog walks over to us during our little heart to heart and Mason reaches underneath Otto looking for his penis and pets it ever so gently, "Nice Otto's Peepee."
God help me, my point is not getting across. Then he asks "I kiss Otto's Peepee?"
"Ah, No (in a horrified half yell)! We don't ever touch his Peepee."
I wish I were exaggerating, God, I wish I were making this up, but I am not. Just tell me my son is starting to be very in tune with his penis (and the dogs) because he is starting to potty train. That would make me feel so much better.

Part 3
Then there was the hitting, the constant yelling, "Mama go way!" and the never ending meltdowns. I can assure you one thing. Had a not been pregnant, I'd be drunk as hell right now. It was a day that bad!

What being a parent is all about...

I had no intentions of writing a post like this today, but I just read the most touching post ever! If you have a minute please read it. I had to wipe more than one tear away while reading, just so you know...in a good way.

Links.

I have decided that my links need to be updated, bad. Some of the sites I look at, I have to surf to other sites to get there off their links. I think I've found some good ones to update, but I am always open to others to check out. Let me know if you know of any blogs I HAVE TO READ! Thanks.