Open For Business

For those of you who have been reading our blog from its inception, you likely remember me referring to my pregnancy as a roller coaster ride.  It was a fairly easy pregnancy (based solely on my impressions of comparisons between my own experience and the experiences of other friends and family members).  My roller coaster ride had little to do with fatigue or morning sickness but was more centered around my gestational diabetes, my inability to NOT worry, and a few other scary events that occurred.  Well folks, this roller coaster is gearing up for another ride.  Don't get too excited, it's not yet ready to pull out of the station but it's getting all of its gears checked and making sure all is in perfect working order.

Last April when I went in for my annual exam, I mentioned to my OB/GYN that we were thinking of trying to get pregnant before the end of the year, we didn't have an exact time frame picked out but we knew we wanted it to be before the end of 2010.  His reply was more of a request, he asked me to come in about 2 months prior to trying to conceive.  He wanted to run a few tests to see where my blood sugars were as well check for protein in my urine, etc.  He also requested (more like coerced) me to choose a family doctor and have that doctor do tests to see if I needed to be placed on blood pressure medication.  In order to make sure I went to see another doctor, he only prescribed 2 months of birth control and informed me that once he heard from the other doctor regarding my blood pressure he would then prescribe the other 10 months worth of pills.  It's kinda funny that he had me so figured out.  He knew that if he didn't withhold the remaining months of the prescription that I would not have gone to see that other doctor...and he was 100% correct!

I had always felt that I didn't have blood pressure issues, I bought a blood pressure cuff while I was pregnant with Y and when I checked it at home it was always completely normal - I kept telling him I just had "white coat syndrome."  He never bought it.  So when I went to see our new family doctor we discovered that I didn't have white coat syndrome because while visiting his office my blood pressures were completely normal, just like they are at home.  So I concluded that I just have Dr. Levin syndrome because the only times my blood pressures really seem to be elevated is when I visit his office.  Some may think that it may just be the equipment in his office but I can vouch that it's not just the equipment because starting about 30-60 minutes before a visit to his office I can literally feel my pulse begin to quicken and the anxiety start to build.  I have come to believe that I get myself so worked up thinking that I'm going to go in and have really high blood pressures and worrying so much about it that when I finally get there and have it checked then I really do have high blood pressure.  I think it's completely psychological!

Some have suggested that I just find another doctor but I really, really like him as my doctor.  And more importantly I really, really trust him as my doctor.  I'll admit that at first, I was not a huge fan but after 9 months of seeing him I grew to appreciate his concern and caution and after my labor experience it really solidified it for both me and B.  We are both huge fans of him and I can't even imagine going to another doctor.  It also helps that we have the VT/UVA rivalry in common because it gives us lots of ammunition and banter during football season.  We also give each other restaurant and food recommendations because well, we're both southern and like southern food!

So anyway, back to the present...Last Tuesday, we went in and had our Preconception Counseling visit.  He gave me prescriptions to go to the lab and have some tests done, he advised me to go ahead and start on my gestational diabetic diet (he's 80% certain that I'll get it again), and to take my blood pressures once daily and fax them to him once a week.  That really wasn't too tall an order to fill so a week later I finally caved and went to the lab to have the tests run (at 6am so I didn't have to take Y with me later when B was at work).  I had to give 2 tubes of blood, 1 was for the blood glucose test and the other for a Hemoglobin A1C.  He called me yesterday with the results:  my blood glucose level was great, it was at 85.  Whenever you go to the lab to have it taken they want it to be a fasting blood glucose level which just means you haven't eaten anything and it should be below 95.  As for the Hemoglobin A1C, I had never had one before so I had to Google it.  Here is what I found on MedicineNet:

What is a hemoglobin A1c (A1c)?


To explain what an A1c is, think in simple terms. Sugar sticks, and when it's around for a long time, it's harder to get it off. In the body, sugar sticks too, particularly to proteins. The red blood cells that circulate in the body live for about three months before they die. When sugar sticks to these cells, it gives us an idea of how much sugar has been around for the preceding three months. In most labs, the normal range is 4-5.9 %. In poorly controlled diabetes, its 8.0% or above, and in well controlled patients it's less than 7.0%. The benefits of measuring A1c is that is gives a more reasonable view of what's happening over the course of time (3 months), and the value does not bounce as much as finger stick blood sugar measurements.

My level was like 7.2% which is apparently pretty high.  So I was ordered to begin taking my blood glucose levels again, 4 times a day: before breakfast, 2 hours after breakfast, 2 hours after lunch and 2 hours after dinner.  I am not excited in the least about this aspect of it.  He wants to monitor it and decide if I need to be placed on medication.  I assume that he will order another Hemoglobin A1C in 6 weeks or so to see where I'm at after following a proper diet.

That is where we stand as of right now.  So as many amusement parks are preparing to close for the season, this roller coaster is just starting up and open for business.  So if you're ever in the mood for a roller coaster ride, you know where to come!

Am I The Only One?

I have a tendency to be extremely nostalgic most of the time.  Because of this I find that there are times when I am hesitant for change while simultaneously being excited about life and some of the changes we go through in life.

Lately, as I sit and play with Y I have become increasingly thankful for this time.  The times when it's just her and I.  Don't get me wrong, I love when B is home and not at work but I also have grown to love having time with just Y.  And it's often during this times that I feel really torn.  Torn because I love being her mommy and doing absolutely nothing but tickle her or paint her toenails or watch Finding Nemo a million times - the activity doesn't matter as long as it's just us.  But on the other hand I know that it is time for us to expand our family and that once we do, it will no longer be just me and Y anymore.

Don't misunderstand me, we are definitely ready to have another baby, but I sometimes find myself sad at the thought of it no longer being just "us."  Before Y was born and even when we were trying to conceive I had similar feelings.  I knew I would miss it just being B and me, being able to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted without having to fit a naptime in the schedule or worrying about finding a babysitter, etc.  And I'll admit that after she was born, I did have a few times when I got really nostalgic and longed for those times when it was just the two of us again.  Those feelings are pretty nonexistent now, maybe because Y is 2 now and it's been so long since it was just the two of us that I have completely forgotten our "previous life" as a childless couple or maybe just because we've settled into our current routine and life.

As we now have officially decided exactly when we want to start trying (and no it's not yet) I have started to feel similar feelings again.  Wanting it to be just the three of us but at the same time knowing our family is not complete and having that strong desire to create another life and bring a spirit into the world.  I don't know why I have these moments when I want everything to stay the same because B will tell you that I've been pushing for months now to get the ball rolling and start trying to get pregnant.

Before we were pregnant with Y and even during the pregnancy, I thought I had it all figured out.  I had decided that I wanted my kids to be between 18 months and 2 years apart.  When Y was about between 3 and 6 months, that changed and I increased that to somewhere between 2 and 2½ years.  I still think that 2½ years would be perfect but right now we're looking at about 3 years between Y and her next sibling.  And honestly, I feel that to be the "right" timing for us right now. 

I am appreciative for this time of getting to know her and her personality, bonding with her and her alone.  I am enjoying so much this time with Y and watching her grow and learn new things.  I absolutely love the smile which spreads across her face when she comes to give me a goodnight hug and kiss.  I also feel as if having so much space between them will allow me to have a similar experience with the next baby.  I know that it won't be exactly the same and that Y will still need to have lots of love and attention as to not feel as she is being pushed aside for a "newer model."  But I feel like she will be at an age where she can become Mommy's Big Helper and that I will be better able to explain certain things to her about the new baby and she'll be better equipped to understand.

I am not the perfect parent, there are times when she works my nerves and I cannot wait for B to get home.  There are also times when I ask myself, "are you sure you want another one?"  But nothing in the world compares to the love I have for her and B.  I know that whenever you have another child it's as if your heart just grows and you love them the same.  And I cannot wait for that day.  Someone once told me that you "just know" when your family is complete and I absolutely believe that.  And I know that ours is not yet complete nor do I believe it will be complete after the birth of our next child but I can't seem to shake off the feelings of wanting this to stay as they are.

Does any one else ever feel this way, or am I the only one?

Without Further Aduei...

I know I've been promising pictures of our new home for what seems like forever, but I always make good on my promises (well most of the time ;)).  Well it has taken me quite a while to get things just the way I wanted them but I finally did it and I finally took some pictures.  I tried to take pictures with as much detail as possible but the reality is that you don't get the full effect unless you see it in person.  Am I inviting all of you to come visit? Abso-freakin-lutely! Come on!!!  We love guests, probably because we really don't get them that often.  So here we go... (and remember if you want to see larger photos just click on them and they will open in a full screen)

Y's Room

 

Nothing really changed in here except that it's larger and the curtains.  In her old room it was one of those tie-up shades but long story short this time I went with panel curtains but I like it slightly better now because it allows in more light.

Y's/Guest Bathroom

 

The camera didn't do a good job of capturing the colors here, probably because there is zero natural light in here...oh well, it's green and brown.

Master Suite

Yes, it's a closet.  Yes, it is messy.  No, I do not have any immediate plans to change that.  As you can see the closet also has a section which is a linen closet (among other things).

Living Room

Both the Living Room and the Bedroom have door walls that lead to the balcony (which we have yet to use).

Dining Room

Entry/Foyer

Didn't focus much attention here because it is a work-in-progress, I'm still unsure of what I will put down here but I do have something of a vision for it.  It is a bit deeper (in length) than the photo shows, the railing cut it off.

Kitchen

The kitchen is another work-in-progress.  I want to find something to hang on the wall you see here in the background as well as finding other decorations to go atop the cabinets.

Laundry Room/Way to Garage

Behind that door is another set of stairs which will take you downstairs to the garage.  The folding doors on the left house the furnace, hot water heater, etc.

That is the grand tour in photos, but you should really come for a visit and see it for yourself!

Yep...She's Mine!

Y has done certain things throughout her life to assure me that she is definitely my child (look at her as an infant and you'll know why I say that, haha).  Ever since birth she has had this way of scrunching up her forehead and giving people this look like she's asking them, "what in the heck is wrong with you?"  Well ladies and gentlemen, that is the exact same expression I make when I am wondering, "what the heck is wrong with you?"  Now some would think that she just learned this from me, but I assure you this is not the case!  She was doing that her very first day on this earth, and I and everyone who was around me, knew that was my "look."

Now I've always had some fairly odd preferences when it comes to food, I can admit it.  I do not know another person who takes a flour tortilla out of the fridge and just eats it...plain and cold.  And yes, I prefer it that way!  Well last week, Y asks for a "lla" (ya, think tortiLLA) at lunch time.  So I open the fridge and take out the tortillas and cheese to make her a quesadilla.  I take out one tortilla and she immediately grabs it and just starts eating it...plain and cold.  I then realized that when she wants a quesadilla she says "dilla" and not just "lla".

When I was in elementary school...junior high...high school...college (you get the picture) I would come home and want a snack.  Well, my snack of choice was typically bread.  Yet again, plain old bread out of the loaf from the store.  My mom (and the rest of my family) thought it was weird but I didn't care...I LOVED bread.  Now I must say that I haven't done that in some years, so it's not like Y has been alive to see me eat it like that.  Now I typically only eat loaf bread with something like cheese or as part of a sandwich.  So on this particular day she asked for a "sammich" for lunch and I opened the bread to take a piece out and again, she immediately grabs it and just starts eating it like it's a delicious sandwich!  So yeah...she's definitely mine!

Shoes

Y has had no shortage of shoes either during her short 2 year life.  And no, this is not including her current shoes!  Not to mention she still needs tennis shoes and boots for this winter.  We're setting a bad precedence.  If she grows up to have a shoe fetish, in the words of my mom, "she got it honest!"

Space Bags=Space Saver!

It's no big secret that Y has had a lot of clothing in her 2 short years on earth.  It's also no big secret that we haven't had a lot of extra space during those 2 short years of life.  Now I know that there are many people who have had many more children in much smaller places than our apartment was (1000sqft).  I, honestly, take my hat off to them because I just don't know how they do/did it!  I was going absolutely insane in our apartment, probably partially because I was ready to own something, but also because my living room was doubling as a play room and I was quickly running out of places to store/hide things.  One big issue was Y's closet!  I dunno if it could have handled one more season worth of clothes. 

Now she has a closet that rivals the size of her bedroom in our apartment (ok, that might be a slight exaggeration...SLIGHT!  It's probably close to half the size though).  So I was able to fit more stuff, unfortunately most of the stuff I wanted to fit in there was large stuff (this is where a basement would come in handy, but you make due with what you have, right?).  Her infant swing is in there, the headboard of her crib is in there (and it needs space because if it gets scratched I might have a coronary), her jumperoo, all of her current clothes, diaper bags, her infant bathtub, I could seriously go on and on.  needless to say I wanted more space so all those bags and bags of clothing (8 large trash bags to be exact) had to go.  But there was no way I was getting rid of the clothing so a friend suggested Space Bags.  After reading reviews online I was seriously torn.  So many people complained of the bags tearing or not staying deflated once filled.  The stupid bags are not cheap either so I didn't wanna invest a ton of money on something that didn't work.  Finally I just started asking people I knew, whose opinions I trusted and everyone of them had been extremely satisfied so I decided to give it a shot...I was not disappointed!

This was taken after I had already done 2 of the bags.  I went to Walmart and purchased a box of 2 large bags for $10 in order to try it before buying more.  I intended to take a picture of the closet before I started but completely forgot until I already had these 2 done.  I think went online to see if I could find them cheaper.  I found a box of 3 large at Target.com for $13 and since it was free shipping and I could use my AAA discount I purchased 2 boxes there.  They have the imitation ones cheaper on eBay but I didn't want to take a risk and they tear or something.

This is the pile of bags that I needed to condense.  While I was at it I decided to include all the blankets she used as an infant.  i should also add that I ended up adding more clothes to this pile after I took this picture.  I ended up pulling out more 18 month clothes which she has outgrown, so it was even substantially more than this picture depicts.

All the clothes/blankets/bibs/etc. are in the bags ready for the air to be vacuumed out.

The end result.  It was time for dinner and completely forgot to add an "after" picture but it is much nicer and much more organized!  Maybe I'll go take another picture tomorrow and add it.

Silly Girl!