Why We Stopped TV

For quite a while now we were giving Matthew one show per day...mainly out of necessity so I could take a bath and get dressed while knowing he was safe and engrossed in one of his favorite shows. We tried to limit it to one show per day, but depending on how I felt or what needed to be done, that number would slowly increase.

I noticed a change in behavior when he would watch his shows. He would be more clingy, whiny, and throw temper-tantrums when he wanted a show. He would constantly bring us remotes and cry for a show or go pat the tv and start fussing. If he watched one show, he wanted more and would cry. No one else could watch anything else unless we wanted him to try to take the remotes, cry, and throw a fit. It was not awesome.

We had a particularly busy Saturday a couple of weeks ago and noticed that he hadn't had a show all day and he was being really good. I was so impressed with his behavior that we did the same thing Sunday and continued it into Monday. Once we made it past a few days (with hiding the remotes so he wasn't tempted to ask for a show) I noticed that not only was he happier, but he was also more interested in his toys and was able to entertain himself much more. Our clingy boy who was throwing tantrums had calmed down and he was less "high needs."

Obviously, this change has continued and we're two and a half weeks out. His skills have improved immensely and so has his speech! He now brings books or toys into the bathroom when I need to get ready for the day instead and he is doing so well. I honestly can't believe what not watching tv has done for him!

Personally, I have no issues with him watching a show every now and then, but I'm a little apprehensive about putting one on right now. I'm sure we'll re-introduce it at some point, but for right now, I'm loving his behavior and how well he's doing. We still have our tablet with apps and a couple of shows for emergencies while out, but have yet to need it and I'm hoping that continues for a while.

Has anyone else cut back on shows and noticed an improvement?

Matthew 22 Months!

It's been so long since I've updated about my favorite little guy...here's what he's up to lately:

• Saying all sorts of new words...bubbles, car, crackers, snack, milk, ball...so many more, but his speech is really picking up and he's getting new words all the time!
• Still super cautious. He's kind of funny with new things, but as long as he has one of his "people" with him he usually warms up.
• Getting more social. We've been taking him to story time for the past five weeks and it's making a huge difference! He's still not a fan of people he doesn't know, but he's doing better at tolerating new faces.
• Loves playing with stickers! I've been waiting for this time where we can start arts and crafts, but he hates certain textures and sensations so it took him a while to get used to it and now he gets so excited to play with them.
• He also has taking a liking to books which I'm thrilled about. Often times I'll find him going into his room to get his books out to look at them.
• He still has no idea that he's going to be a big brother, but that will come soon enough when the baby gets here. He can say her name and we talk to him about the baby, but he's still rocking being an only child.
• His favorite person lately is his Dee-Dee. My mil graciously comes over more and helps with him so he gets some extra special time. My hips have been killing me so being on the floor and outside in the heat is not happening. Dee-Dee takes him outside to his swing and does a ton of fun things with him.
• Since we finally got his swing set finished that's where he wants to be all day every day. Phil will try to take him out a few times per week after work (weather-permitting) and they have so much fun!
• He loves bubbles and says it almost constantly. It's so cute and we got a bubble machine from Walmart that was definitely a good idea. Now I don't have to sit there blowing bubbles forever while he gets impatient to try and pop them.

That's just a snippet into what he's doing and into lately. We're really blessed that he's doing so well considering I'm usually down for the count. We're cycling his toys so he doesn't get bored and we try to get out of the house in the mornings before it gets too hot so he gets a change of scenery. He's learning a lot and really doing so well!

29 Weeks Baby #2

I am SO excited to be getting closer and closer to meeting this little girl. This pregnancy has definitely been an emotional rollercoaster and I'm so thankful that we've only got 10 weeks left or less!

I saw my MFM and OB last week for our appointments and we got some good news! Baby girl is still measuring small, however, since the MFM was able to see the records from the pregnancy with my son, he said that it looks like genetically I have small babies. The placenta and blood flow look good, so we're not longer concerned and talking about inducing next month! As much as we'd love to meet her, we also would like to make it to full term and have a healthy baby who gets to go home with us.

She's currently measuring in the 28th% and we have a diagnosis of asymmetrical IUGR. Basically, her legs are growing longer than her stomach and head (which are really small), but as long as she continues growing and everything looks good, we're good to go! We were thrilled to hear that wonderful news. The doctor was actually happy with her stomach growth and I'm still on supplemental protein twice daily.

As far as the gestational diabetes goes, my numbers are definitely better. I take insulin 4x/day which can be a little overwhelming (especially when my stomach gets itchy at the injection site), but we're making it work for our little girl. My fastings are a little sporadic, but they're still in the safe range so that's good. Every day is a little bit different.

We have tried to get a 3D ultrasound twice now and she has made it super difficult. We're going in for a rescan on Friday and we're really hoping to see her sweet face! As of right now, I'm still loving feeling her movements even though some of them can be super uncomfortable depending on her position, but at least I know she's doing well.

My friend is hosting a low-key BBQ sprinkle for me this Saturday and I'm really looking forward to it! We've been working on getting her room finished in case people want to see it when they're here and we've made a lot of progress! Just a few more things to do and one big load of laundry to fold and it will be right where it needs to be for now.

Baby Reese #2 Update

Ah, the third trimester, finally! I've been looking forward to being here for so long! I can feel baby kicks throughout the day and know that we'll get to meet our sweet baby girl soon enough! Of course, the rush of hormones, emotions, and lack of sleep make for some fun times around here, but I wouldn't change it at all.

I've been a little quiet here for a week or so because I've been trying my best to process everything. Of course, we all know that I'm considered high-risk and I've been seeing the MFM since the beginning. I was recently diagnosed with gestational diabetes again and I'm on insulin four times per day. In addition to that news, we went in for a regular cervical check and to see if they could get all of the pictures of our baby that they weren't able to get the last time. As the tech was measuring, we noticed that she was still measuring a little behind. No big deal, right?

When the doctor came in they explained that not only is she measuring small (25th%), but her abdominal circumference has dropped in the last three weeks. Umm, what?! We knew it was measuring smaller than the rest of her so I upped my protein and we prayed. He told us it went from being 9th% three weeks ago to <5th baby="" better="" concerning.="" get="" growing="" i="" is="" need="" p="" this="" time...which="" to="" told.="" was="" we="" what="">
Basically it comes down to a few possibilities with the first being since my GD numbers were a little high, maybe that's the cause for lack of growth. Simple fix...up the insulin and monitor my numbers carefully. It could also be placental failure in general that may or may not be related to GD. It happens sometimes and you're monitored closely until delivery. The third option is that because I had a previous pregnancy where he measured small, it could be genetic. In this case, they still monitor, but they're less concerned overall since we have seen a healthy baby as a result.

In addition to the small baby news, we were told that my cervix is measuring short and funneling when stressed which is not good at this point. They have me taking progesterone suppositories as well as doing FFN tests for preterm labor at every appointment to see if I'm going to need steroid shots to boost her lungs in case she does come too early.

As you can see, it's been a heck of a week! We've been trying to process all of it the best we can knowing that we can deliver early if she's not picking up her growth or I go into preterm labor. I know the goal is 34-37 weeks right now, but we won't have more answers until our next appointment on June 5th.

It's been exhausting on my end and I'm now having to add in 60g of protein every day to try to get her growth up. Fortunately, he has me drink two protein shakes per day for that, but it's all been a little crazy over here!

Praying that our little girl makes it to full term and is healthy with no complications. We're doing everything we can over here so it's up to God at this point.

 

Weekly To-Do List

Here's my list (one day late) for this week and last week's list and how I did.

Last Week
 -Clean the floors. Pretty sure I did this Monday of last week. I also vacuumed and swept another day as well, but didn't get around to mopping again.
-Clean the bathrooms. I did the tub, shower, mirrors in both bathrooms and the vanity in another as well. Toilets still need to be done.
-Wipe kitchen countertops and dining room table. Monday!
-Put away the clean laundry. My mil and husband helped with this, but it's all put away except for one towel load and one blanket load which I plan on doing this morning.
-Make the bed at least 2 times. I think I made the bed almost every day last week! My husband does weekend duty, but I know I did more than 2 days!
-Do 1 load of laundry start to finish each day. Since we were SO behind on laundry, I enlisted my mil to help get us caught up so last Thursday we tackled everything except for a load of clothes, towels, and blankets (which we did this weekend)! And yesterday we started the 1 load of laundry start to finish so we shouldn't get so far behind.

This Week
-Keep up with laundry.
-Clean floors.
-Start prepping baby girl's clothes. (I want to have everything done by mid-June)
-Call insurance company (Ugh. I hate doing that, but it has to be done and I've been calling them a lot lately).
-Work on puzzles with Matthew.

Gestational Diabetes Take 2!

Last pregnancy, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes (GD) at the end of my second trimester. I wasn't really all that shock, but I was in denial. After all, I have PCOS which causes some insulin resistance so I was already at a higher risk. Then add in the fact that I am heavier than ideal and you have a recipe for GD.

With my history of GD from the last pregnancy, they were super cautious this time around. My A1c was "borderline" and just .1 above normal range! I had brought it down through diet and exercise quite a few points right before we found out we were pregnant so I was thrilled! They immediately sent me over to the MFM and had me talk to the diabetic educator. I was told to check my numbers 4x/day for two weeks and email them weekly to her. She would go over it and see how they looked.

At first I was super disappointed. Seriously? I'm not even out of my first trimester and I'm already having to count carbs/protein and do finger pricks all day...WHY?! I can be slightly dramatic at times, but it is what it is. I ordered a new meter through my insurance company and started testing. I was a little upset to learn that their values are even more strict than my last MFM. Don't they know it's hard enough to control your blood sugars if you have an issue? Oh well, I tested and my numbers came back well in range!

Since I had been doing so well, they decided to let me check just twice per day! When those numbers continued to be in range, they had me just check my fastings every other day until they determined I no longer needed to be monitored. I was SO excited! I stopped checking and was told my OB would do a 1 hour glucose test at the normal time and we'd go from there.

I decided to do some "spot checks" with my fasting numbers along the way. Every few weeks I would check just to see what they were. I could see a steady increase in the numbers, but didn't think too much of it just yet. Then, yesterday I decided to do another check and was not happy to see a 104. I knew I had a problem at this point and that was so discouraging. I decided to go ahead and test after 1 hour to see if it was just a problem with my fasting number or overall. My after breakfast number was 23 points higher than what they wanted! So, I made the decision to check after lunch and the same thing happened again. I called in to the educator and my OB so we could get started and get an official diagnosis before the glucose test.

I now have an official diagnosis and have been monitoring for just over a day. I know it's not the end of the world, but GD has a way of messing with your emotions. Numbers can be deceiving and you can eat the exact same thing one day and be well in range and the next it can be high! I'm trying not to get discouraged and just deal with it.

There is a little bit of silver lining though! Now that I have GD and will likely be on insulin based on my fastings alone if nothing else, we know that our little girl will be here no later than mid-August! They won't let me go past 39 weeks with medication and that means that my mom and sister will get to meet our baby and get to spend time with her! For this, I am really grateful even if that means 14 weeks of checking numbers and watching everything I eat all day, every day.

Weekly To Do List

Here's my list (one day late) for this week and last week's list and how I did.

Last Week
-Finish pressing and sewing baby girl's quilt blocks (at least to the half-way pinwheel part). Not only did I do this much, but I finished ALL of the blocks, laid them out, and have them stacked in rows to be sewn together!
-Keep up with cloth diaper laundry (mainly putting it away after it's dried). This was better than previous weeks, but I still have to work on it.
-Make a meal plan and use it. We stuck with every day except for one when we forgot to take meat out of the freezer!
-Make the bed at least two days this week (seriously, I don't make the bed EVER unless I change the sheets). I made the bed twice in one day...does that count?
-Eat more protein. (I've slacked the past couple of days and need to really get on it per the doctor's request). This was 50/50 depending on the day, but I'm still working on it.

This Week
-Clean the floors. Seriously, it's been too long and I can't handle it.
-Clean the bathrooms.
-Wipe kitchen countertops and dining room table.
-Put away the clean laundry...is this never-ending for anyone else?
-Make the bed at least 2 times.
-Do 1 load of laundry start to finish each day.

Yes, this week has a lot of cleaning on my list, but honestly, it needs to be done and if I don't get to it, usually my husband doesn't have time either.