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.

New Baby Announcement (preganancy at 17 weeks)

We made the announcement of "Sibby" (Austin's Future Sibling) by showing people a video we made featuring Austin...



We knew that we wanted Austin to make the announcement. Since he does not talk yet, we needed to come up with a creative way to tell everyone. We looked online and found a shirt that was perfect. The front says, "I have a secret" and the back says "I'm going to be a Big Brother."  Some people got to see Austin wearing the shirt in person and others got the video. It surprised us at times how long it took people to read his shirt. But I guess I don't always go around reading shirts either. Everyone was really excited about the new baby.

Everything has been going well with this pregnancy. I am glad the first trimester is over. I was always so nauseous and tired. Now I have more energy and am not nauseous. At my last doctor appointment I had gained 6 pounds. The interesting part with my weight is before I was pregnant with Sibby I weighed 8 pounds less than when before I was pregnant with Austin. All the breastfeeding and running after Austin really helped me lose the weight.

I'm now starting to look pregnant. I don't enjoy being pregnant. Obviously I love the outcome but I really could do without the 9 months of pregnancy. We were later than normal telling people for several reasons. We never tell people before the end of the first trimester because I am scared of a miscarriage. Then we were hoping Melissa would tell us that she was pregnant. Then Brian's mom was coming up because Grandma sold her house so we decided to wait and show them in person with Austin's shirt. It's always better to tell people in person.

We are getting so excited for Sibby. In two weeks, we find out the gender. I am really excited to find out this time. It worked out not finding out with Austin but I am glad we are going to find out this time. Once we find out the gender, I am going to decide on a theme for Sibby's room. I am not thinking about it until we know.

Austin will be moving into our old office. We moved everything that was in our office to our lower level bedroom. It really turned out nice. When Melissa was here she painted Austin's name on the wall of his new room. I love it. I decided to make his bedroom cars, trucks, and airplane themed. His room will remain blue.

I am starting to feel Sibby move and that is a great feeling. I love feeling babies move because it makes it all the more real. Things are going to be a challenge at first with Sibby and Austin but as we learned from Austin is does get easier.

Table for one please.  I brought my own sippy cup.

Trip to Dallas and Walking (13 months / 13 weeks)

We were nervous about taking Austin on a 3-hour flight. We knew we would have to entertain him the entire time. That is something we are not use to. Luckily Austin is a great baby. Brian boarded the plane first and got everything ready for us when we arrived. I did not want Austin on that plane any longer than necessary. Once we took off, Austin had his morning bottle and he fell asleep for about 45 minutes. I was sitting on the aisle seat and Austin head was hanging out a little bit and people kept coming though the aisle bumping me so that caused Austin to wake up.

After he was awake, Austin would move between us and want to play. One of the best things we had was teething biscuits in a box. Austin really enjoyed taking out the teething biscuits and putting them back in the box. We never thought that would be so entertaining for him.

Once we arrived to Dallas we went and got our rental car. Brian installed the car seat. He is getting really good at that these days. We drove to Dean and Karen’s house. When we got there, Austin did not move off of my lap. He did not know what to think of Dean’s house and dogs. It was amusing because on the plane we would of loved for him to sit still but of course that did not happen. After he warmed up, he was back to his busy baby self.

We had a really good time in Dallas seeing everyone. Austin would take a little bit to get use to everyone but he warmed up very well. We went to Lego Land one day. It was a lot of fun. Even all of us adults really enjoyed it. Austin played with some mega blocks and took everything in.

Austin’s schedule was all messed up but he was fine with it. Our pediatrician told us not to worry so much about the schedule when on vacation, so we don’t. We like to keep things within reason for everyone's sake, but if he doesn’t get a nap or goes to bed a little late its okay.

We went to a Japanese restaurant where they cook in front of you. We were not sure how Austin would react but he really enjoyed watching it. It was something we would not have thought to consider, but as usual Austin surprised us with his versatility. We went out to eat a lot and Austin did great. Luckily I always brought lots of snacks and that usually keeps him happy.

On Sunday it was Super Bowl. We went out to Donnie and Cheri’s house. Cheri cooked a delicious meal. With Austin we did not watch much of the game but it was nice to have everyone together. Austin was a little sick while we were there. Sunday night was the worst. Austin was vomiting because he was coughing so much. I felt so bad for him. I wanted to take him to the ER but of course Brian talked me out of it. We thought we were going to be up all night with him but fortunately he did fall asleep and slept all night.

Austin seemed to get a little better which was good. We definitely did not want to travel with him if he was vomiting.

On our last day there we hung out with everyone. We went to a buffet for lunch and that was a great idea too. We got Austin several different foods and let him try it. It was fun. He liked playing in the mashed potatoes. Austin even got some carrot cake.

 

On the way back home, Austin saw everyone taking off their shoes and thought he should too.  On our way through security, Austin was sitting in his stroller trying to take off his shoes.  The TSA official commented, "Look, he's been here before.  He knows how this works."  Kids under 2 don't have to take off their shoes, but still it was funny.  On flight home, Brian and I were tired. We really did not feel like entertaining Austin. Luckily Austin fell asleep and slept for about an hour and half. That was an added bonus. My dad picked us up and we went home and unpacked. It was a great trip.

About a week before Austin turned 13 months, he started walking everywhere. He is now a walking baby and prefers walking instead of crawling. He is fun to watch him walk. He even likes his shoes now.

Austin is growing up so fast. I love watching him develop. I never thought mommy hood would be so wonderful. He likes to take our socks out of our clothes basket and go hide them somewhere, like his crib. He has developed a personality and sense of humor. Just watching him makes us smile.



Austin has started eating more and more. He use to cry though dinner and now he will eat his rice cereal and baby food. We always give him some of what we are eating too like noodles or chicken. He loves macaroni noodles. He does not like macaroni and cheese yet though. I can’t believe it since it is one of my favorite foods. He also likes plums, grapes, strawberries, cheese cracker sandwiches, gold fish, and graham crackers.

Our next big adventure is a cruise to the Caribbean for a week!

Happy First Birthday Austin (1 year)

Today is Austin's first birthday. We cannot believe it! Today we were reading through this blog from a year ago. Wow! So many things have changed. Brian has a picture of when we first brought Austin home from the hospital in his crib. He was so small in his crib. Then Brian took a picture of him napping in his crib today. He takes up the whole thing. He has grown and changed so much!

I have been really excited about Austin's birthday. I have been working on his birthday party for about 3 months. The first birthday is so special. I have three pages in his baby book to fill out about his first birthday. Brian took some really great pictures of Austin at his party.

Yesterday was Austin's big birthday party. It was from 11:30am - 1:30pm at Galt Park. I chose that time because it was right after his morning nap. He is usually happiest after his morning nap. However this week Austin has decided that he does not need morning naps anymore. This is not the week for him to be changing his schedule. But Austin does whatever he wants to do.


I tried putting Austin to nap around 9am before I had to leave for my parent's house. He was not happy. I had to leave Brian with an unhappy Austin to go set up for his party. Brian is really good at getting Austin back to sleep. Today though he had to rock his very heavy crib and rub his back for 15 minutes. We knew it was important for Austin to nap, so it was time well spent.

My mom and I set everything up for the party while my dad went every where to pick up things and make soup and chili. Luckily my mom and I got everything set up pretty quickly. Then Brian and Austin got there around 11am. We wanted Austin to get warmed up to the place before his party. It was a good thing we did because he was not too sure about it at first.

Then guests started to arrive. Austin was shy at first however he did give a few smiles even early on. We fed Austin lunch and even let him have some pizza crust. He really liked his pizza crust. After everyone ate, Austin opened his presents. It was great because there were two other kids there (Nathan and Hailey) that helped Austin open his gifts. Austin really enjoyed opening his gifts. Hailey even read Austin his cards. It was perfect. Austin got a lot of really nice things.



After he opened his gifts it was time for cake. Brian's cousin Lauren made Austin's cake. We had an adult cake and a smash cake for Austin. It worked out perfectly. Austin had his own little cake that he could do whatever he wanted with. He did not know what to think of the cake at first. But after I tried the cake in front of him he knew he should eat it. Austin was so cute with his cake. Everyone at the party just sat and watched him play in it for over 15 minutes. We were laughing so much (check out the video at the end of this post)! Watching a baby play in his first birthday cake is priceless! Austin has never had any sweets so this was a real treat and he loved it. Plus his cake was banana favored. Bananas are Austin's favorite food.

Usually I don't like messes and don't like Austin to get dirty but for his birthday I did not care. I wanted him to have fun and enjoy it. His hands were stained green from the frosting from playing in it. But it was cute. He was laughing and having so much fun. He got his clothes all dirty too but again that was all part of the fun.

Many people even came up to have their pictures taken with Austin while he was so messy. The best was when great grandma came up and Austin started feeding her his messy hands. It was so cute. They had fun together.

After the party we cleaned up and went home. We were all exhausted but so happy. Brian and I went to a Cavs game Friday night so we were out late the night before his party. It wasn't the best timing but coworkers of Brian wanted to go that night so we went. After the party Austin went to bed a little after 7pm and we both went to bed around 8pm because we were so tired.



Austin really enjoyed his birthday party. Watching him be so happy and playful made all the work for it so worth it. I am considering making a scrapbook of his first birthday. I love to make scrapbooks but it seems like I don't have enough time. I want to spend all my time with Austin. Once he goes to bed though, I am wore out too. It is all about priorities.

Austin now takes about 3-4 steps alone without holding on to anything. He does really well when he thinks he is holding on to something but isn't. If he knows he is by himself then he freaks and sits down right away. He still loves to crawl because it is so fast at it. He can also climb stairs quickly. He can be upstairs in a matter of seconds. We have the lower level gated off but he can go up and down to the upper level whenever he wants. He will often follow one of us up there or sometimes go up there for no reason at all when no one is up there. He's heads straight for the bathroom to go play with the drawers or toilet paper (it's funny because sometimes he'll close the door behind him on his way in to buy himself more time).

Austin's favorite foods are bananas, pancakes, and applesauce. He also eats yogurt and waffles and pureed baby food (green beans, sweet potatoes, and lots of fruits). We are trying different foods but he has not been big fans of sliced pineapple or string cheese.

Our next adventure is we are going to Dallas, Texas to visit my family. We are excited about our trip. We will see how well Austin does on the three hour plane ride. Our last flights went well, but back then Austin was small enough to sleep in our hands. Now he wants to be out and about and on the move. That will be hard on a plane. It will be interesting!



Birthday Videos:

Austin eats and plays with his cake at his first birthday. These are the first 5 minutes. We let him play with it for 15-20 minutes total. There was nothing left by the time he was done.

After 15 minutes, there was nothing left of Austin's birthday cake. He really enjoyed it.

Everyone having fun watching Austin open presents