Trip to Atlanta (Austin 15 months; 24 weeks pregnant)

Early in April, we traveled to Atlanta for the weekend.  Brian's half brother and sister live there and we told them last year we would come down.  Of course, a week before our trip Austin had a bilateral ear infection. He was placed on an antibiotic and his last dose was the Friday we left.  I thought we would be good for the trip.

We left at 5am on Friday morning.  We had a flight on Air-Tran out of Akron Canton.  Akron Canton is the best airport ever.  Since it is small the lines are not long.  Once inside of security, Austin and Brian played a little bit.  Austin really liked the escalator, but Brian wouldn't let him on it (Austin crawled down 3 flights of stairs in an attempt to outsmart Brian and get to the escalator from the other end).   Then I tried to fed Austin oatmeal for breakfast but he was too busy to sit still.  Brian had to get tags for our stroller and car seat.  Austin was running all of the place.  An older guy that had been watching us, told Brian that if he had to watch Austin he would be dead by noon.  Like our flight, Austin is non-stop!

The flight to Atlanta was uneventful.  We had toys and Austin played well on the plane.  The flight attendant even gave Austin some animal crackers and he liked that.  It was nice because it was only a 1 hour flight.  Once we arrived to Atlanta, we got our luggage and rental car.  We drove to Connie's which was about an hour drive.  Austin slept in the car.  It worked out perfectly.

Once at Connie's we visited for a bit.  Austin played.  Then we went to check in to our hotel which was about 15 minutes away.  At the hotel, we tried to get Austin to take a nap but that did not happen.  He knew there were way too many things to do.  At 5pm we met Connie at her house to go watch Rachel play soccer.  We were at the soccer field for about an hour.  We really did not get to watch the game because we had to watch Austin.  Austin is always into something.  After the soccer game, we met Jim for dinner which was about an hour away.  We ate at Cracker Barrel for dinner.  It worked out perfectly (except that we were eating about 9pm)  because Austin loves breakfast foods.  He ate some pancakes and he was really happy.  We were amazed because it was so past his bedtime.  Austin takes playing very seriously and likes seeing people, so despite being very tired he was happy.  We went back to the hotel and to get some sleep.

Austin kicked back and enjoyed being out past his bedtime, 

but he crashed when he got back to the hotel!

In the middle of the night, Austin woke up coughing.  He coughed so much that it made him vomit.  There was vomit everywhere and poor Brian had to clean it up.  I can't still the smell of vomit right now being pregnant.  We went though all the towels and bedding in the room.  In the morning, we got some more.  Austin acted fine and was happy as can be aside from the incident.

Saturday morning we went to Connie's.  I did some laundry and then we went to watch the boys play soccer.  Austin fell asleep in the car so I stayed in the car with him while he napped and Brian watched the soccer games.  It was a beautiful weekend down there.  The weather was perfect.  Once Austin woke up I met them and finished watching the games.  There was playground there so the kids played on that afterwards.  Then we went back to their house.  Micheal and Brian went to watch Rachel's final championship soccer game.  Her team won the tournament.  I stayed at home with Austin, Connie and the boys.  Connie made dinner and we ate once everyone got home.

Once back at the hotel, we fed Austin and put him in his crib.  Again he started coughing and vomited everywhere.  Why was this happening?  He acted fine all day long but at night once he started coughing we were in trouble.

Sunday morning we all went out to breakfast at the Waffle House.  Again Austin liked it.  Then we stopped at the store and picked up some things to go to Jim's house for the day.  Once at Jim's Austin played outside.  He loved it.  Jim has a pool and Austin put his feet in the water.  It was cold but he did not mind.  It was nice because Jim's house had lots of shade.  During dinner time, Austin vomited again.  It was so hard to know what was going on but I figured he still had an ear infection.  That seems to be the classic symptom for Austin when he has a severe infection.  He does not run a fever but he will vomit. Again Austin acted fine but just kept getting sick once a day.

After we spent the day at Jim's we said bye to everyone and went back to the hotel. We had an early flight home in the morning.  It was a fun weekend in Atlanta.

Austin made it through our last night without an incident.  We had hoped this meant he was getting better and the worst was over.  We were wrong.  On the plane ride home, we gave Austin his last ever morning bottle (we weaned him off of these after we got back from the trip).  Usually right after take off we give him a bottle on flights to help his ears and maybe get him to nap.  Well soon after his bottle, Austin vomited it all back up.  Luckily we were prepared.  We had blankets in grocery bags and a change of clothes for Austin ready.  We were seated at the back of the plane so right after it happened Brian took Austin to the bathroom and got him cleaned up.  Brian had him standing on the toliet with the lid closed while he undressed and dressed him from the aisle (there's hardly any room inside the bathroom itself).  Fortunately nobody else was back there at the time.  I tried to clean myself and the plane up.  I was so glad Brian was there.  Immediately after landing, I called the doctor to get Austin an appointment.

Once we got home, Brian went to work.  I was cleaning things up (all the vomit on the bags) and then I got sick.  It was a nightmare!  I barely made it to the bathroom and I mostly went in the sink.  That clogged the sink.  I felt terrible that Brian would now have to fix the sink.  I called my mom to come and help me which thankfully she did.  We took Austin to the doctor.  He still had a left ear infection.  He was started Zithromax.

Once home, Austin started to feel better thank goodness.  After this trip, it made me not want to travel for a while.  It is a lot of work to pack and travel with a baby especially when he is sick.  Plus being pregnant does not help.  For the most part, I felt fine except the smell of vomit made me vomit.

The week we were home from Atlanta, I knew I was going to stop his morning bottles.  He usually got a bottle around 9am before morning nap time.  I want to get him off the bottle before he becomes too dependent on them and it's harder for everyone to stop them.  It went so smoothly.  Austin really did not miss it.  The only issue is that he does not like drinking milk from a cup.  He has gotten a little better but still is not the biggest fan.  He will drink water from a cup but not really milk.  It is so weird.

Then at daycare, I told them if Austin did not want his bottle after lunch he did not have to take it.  The next week he was off that bottle too.  The most stressful part is getting him to drink milk from a cup.  I found a cup that has a straw that he likes and will more likely drink milk from that.  As the weeks go on he is drinking more and more milk from the cup.

We went to the doctor's for his 15 month check up last week.  She said he looks healthy.  He weighs 26 pounds and is 33 inches long.  He is growing so fast.  We were concerned with the number of ear infections.  He has had 6 plus one that did not clear up.  So she sent us to an ENT.  We have an appointment at the end of May.  We will see what happens there.  We were also concerned that he does not talk much.  He will say bye bye and uh oh.  He will also try to say ball but its more like baba.  She said that about normal right now and will reevaluate at 18 months.  She also said he should be drinking 24 ounces of milk a day.  He is definitely not drinking that.  He gets about 12-18 oz a day.  The doctor recommended only giving him milk to drink or put him back on the bottle.  We are definitely not going back on the bottles!  He still gets his night time one but that is it.  And he gets his teeth brushed before going to bed.  Austin is fine with that.  So we have been trying to fed him calcium rich foods and continue to encourage milk drinking from the cup.  He does not like juice so he does not drink that but he does get some water at snack time.

Austin likes to take our finger now and drag us to whatever he wants.  He is kind of funny.  He can't really talk yet but he can communicate.  It's so cute.  He loves playing outside and we have been getting him more outdoor toys to play with.  Brian is good at looking a Craig's list and finding some good deals. It is good idea to get used things because one never really knows if he's going to like it or not.  This way you don't feel bad if he does not like it.

Next weekend we will be moving Austin into his new room so we can get Sydney's room all ready!

Sibby's Gender is..... (20 weeks pregnant)

We had our ultrasound last Wednesday.  On Tuesday night Brian and I did not know what to think.  We were hoping for a girl but knew there was a chance we would have two boys.  Austin is wonderful and we love that he is a boy.  But having one of each would be ideal.  We know this is our last child.  We always said we wanted two children and that is what we are sticking to.

Wednesday morning Austin was got sick over night and we did not know it so we had quite a mess to clean up.  That kept us busy in the morning so there was really no time to think about Sibby's gender.  My mom came over to watch Austin so Brian and I could go to the doctor's.  We drove together and talked on the way about the gender.  I was nervous.  Despite being a very mild winter for us (we only had 4 or so snowfalls) we got suprised by a little bit of snow overnight.  It melted before the day's end, but it was still on the ground as we drove to our appointment as shown in the photo.

 At the doctor's, we sat in the waiting room.  Grandma put Austin down for a nap, so we were able to see him on our baby cam on my phone.  Soon they took us back for the ultrasound.  They were getting all the measurements they needed and making sure that everything looked okay.  We were extremely happy to know that Sibby appears healthy.  Although she (oops I gave it away) is a very active baby and would not sit still for long.  This made it hard for them to get the heart measurements.  The ultrasound tech told us we need to enroll her in gymnastics.  Then she asked if we wanted to know the gender.  I said yes and held Brian's hand.  This was scary.  Then she told us we were having a GIRL!  I was so excited and did not hide it.  Brian of course was more calm and collected but I was obviously very happy and everyone could see that.  It was a great moment!

After the ultrasound, we saw the doctor.  He said everything looks fine and that all of our genetic disorder tests came back negative.   That was a relief.  We got to listen to Sibby's heartbeat then we went home.  Once we got home, we told my mom.  However we first told her they could not find out.  She did not believe us though.  Then she saw the ultrasound picture that said it was a great with her girly parts circled.   Then we also Skyped with Melissa and great grandma.  We got to tell them too.  It was a lot of fun.

I have been feeling pretty well recently.  We have been busy with getting Austin's new room ready so we can start with Sibby's.  Plus we traveled to Atlanta last weekend.  That was exhausting for me because Austin was sick but more on that later.  I am surprised how fast this pregnancy is going.  Sibby is going to be here before we know it!  We are getting excited.  Tonight we are going to look for furniture for Sibby's room. I have decided that her room with be pink and gray with white furniture.  I am so excited about this!

We are truly blessed to have a such wonderful son and a daughter on the way!

Cruise to Bahamas (14 Months old and 16 weeks pregnant)

In late March, we went on a 7 day cruise on NCL to the Bahamas. My parents came with us. We drove to New York City where the cruise left out of. We left Sunday morning at 2am and arrived in New York around 9:30am. That included stopping for gas and breakfast at McDonald's. We wanted Austin to sleep most of the trip. However he was confused why he was in the car at 2am so he decided to stay awake with us until about 3:30am. At McDonald's there was a play area so Austin got to run around and play. He liked it.

When we arrived to the cruise port we parked the car next to the cruise ship. The parking was really convenient (albeit expensive). We checked in and waited to board the cruise ship. Once we got on board around noon, we went and had some lunch. After lunch our room was not ready until 2pm. It was difficult because Austin really needed a nap and there was no where for him to nap. When we finally got him in our room and put him in the pack and play he wanted no part of napping. So I placed him in the stroller and rolled him back in forth in our room until he fell asleep. Of course nap time did not last too long because of the muster drill.  Once the ship got going, we went to the deck to see the city and the statue of liberty as we sailed past it.

Austin was sick before we left on the cruise. I took him to the doctor on Saturday and they told us that he had a throat virus and constipation. For constipation they recommended Mirlax and many and fluids and fruits. Austin does not like juice but he will eat strawberries and grapes. They said it was safe for us to travel.

On Sunday night Austin did not feel well at all. He coughed all night long and woke us with every hour crying. Then he woke up for the day around 6am. We had to get out of our stateroom quickly so he did not wake up our neighbors. We went to the buffet for breakfast. It was funny because we saw other people there with babies. Nobody else gets up at 6am for breakfast on a sea day.

On the cruise they had the Under 2 Zoo which was a playroom with lots of toys. It was nice because it was open everyday from 9am-6pm. They also had daily activities like painting, coloring, and singing songs. The painting was really messy and we could not get it out of Austin's clothes so we only did that once. But it was an experience.

In Port Canaveral, we did not even get off the ship. We stayed on and took Austin to the baby swimming pool. It was so nice they had one. Austin really liked swimming. Between meals, naps, and a few activities during the day our day was over.

We would go to dinner with my parents every night around 5pm. We usually ate in the main dining rooms. On the last night of the cruise I even got Austin a plate of spaghetti and he loved it. Of course he was quite messy. I wish I would have thought of that sooner. After dinner Brian, Austin, and I would go for a mile walk on the top deck. I really enjoyed it. Brian and I talked about what it will be like once Sibby is here. We are interested to see after Sibby is born what our new lives will be like. We know then our family will be complete.

At NCL's private island we took a tender to shore with my parents. We took Austin swimming. Then we had some lunch. After lunch, we went back to the ship. It was fun to be at the beach with Austin.

In Nassau we walked around the city center. We ended up buying a flute for Austin. Austin just liked to carrying it. We enjoyed walking around for the day.

We had a nice relaxing vacation. It was great my parents were with us because if we wanted a break they would watch Austin. One night Brian and I even had dinner alone at a Japanese restaurant on board. It was nice to have a break.

The drive home was long but we made it home safely. Brian and I have never been big fans of driving. We much rather fly, but flying can be expensive.  With another baby on the way, we will likely start to drive more on vacations.  This was part of our plan since most of our travels before kids were to far away places.  There are still many places within driving distance and within the U.S. that we have never seen. Austin did well on the drive back. He obviously gets tired of being in his car seat so we stop and he can walk around.

Tomorrow is Easter. This year the Easter Bunny is coming. I am excited for Austin even though he does not understand. Also this week we find out Sibby's gender. I am so excited about it! Once we find out I get to plan Sibby's room.

This pregnancy has been different for me. Part of it is I can't only focus on it and plus I know what to expect. I do not enjoy being pregnant. Right now I basically need to wear maternity clothes however they are big on me and I look fat. I don't have just the basketball belly like last time. I am wider all over. So far I have gained 12 pounds and I am 20 weeks pregnant. Plus my biggest problem with pregnancy is constipation. It is much worse than last time. But having a baby is all worth all the challenges of pregnancy.

We are looking forward to this week to find out Sibby's gender.