Goal 1 update Christmas

My 1st goal was to lose 2 more pounds by Christmas day and I am happy to say that I weighed in and I did lose those 2 pounds.  Now after the wonderful foods that everyone made including myself I probably have to lose that 2 pounds all over again. I did my best to try to just have small amounts of the foods that weren't the best and eat a lot of the veggies that were available but I know I still had more than I should.  I love desserts and there were some of my favorites laying around this weekend!  Also I did not weigh in today because well I just weighed in Saturday morning.  So next weekly weigh in is next Monday!  Wish me luck!  I start back to work tomorrow! 

Goals

So I know I weigh in weekly and monthly but I like to have goals based on holidays!  It makes it easier for me to keep up with!  So I went through and set my goals for the next year through Lacee's 1st Birthday!  I should be at my goal by then!

Goals:
Christmas 12/25/11 Lose 2 pounds
My Birthday 2/7/12 Lose 14 pounds (the BIG 3-0)
St. Patricks Day 3/17/12 Lose 12 pounds
Easter 4/8/12 Lose 6 pounds (all baby weight gone) 
Nisee's 4th Birthday 5/15/2012 Lose 10 pounds
Independence Day 7/4/2012 Lose 14 pounds
Labor Day 9/3/2012 Lose 16 pounds
Lacee's 1st Birthday 10/6/2012 Lose 8 pounds

 My goal is a range of weights and I will reach the high end of my weight goal by Labor day and I will reach where I would ideally like to be by Lacee's 1st Birthday!  Last time I did this I ended up meeting my goals but the numbers were all off.  I am hoping to meet it this time more consistently but I am well aware that I might lose more weight in the earlier months and less in the later months which is fine as I long as I reach my end goal of a healthy weight and healthy body!  PS if you note I have these listed as 2 pounds a week which is very healthy and very do-able!

The Only other goal I want to add to this is to get Chad to start working out too!  When we started dating he weighed 115 pounds and wore a size 26 but now he weighs 155 pounds and wears a size 32.  He has gained 40 pounds in the 7 years we have been together.  Now don't get me wrong he doesn't need to lose a bunch of weight because at 115 he was too small but what I want him to do is to build more lean muscle and lose some of the excess fat that he is collecting around his middle.  I just want him to be more healthy and for his height he could stand to drop 10 or 15 pounds.   However Chad has never really had to exercise and he works a job that is more than sitting at a desk so when he gets home he is tired and doesn't want to exercise and no matter how much I tell him if he does he will eventually have more energy it doesn't do too much but I am hopeful that I can convince him to do it! 

Month 1 progress/Week 6 check in

Well I had my weigh in Friday at the doctors office and I had lost another pound.  So my official weight there had me down 18 pounds but really I am only down 15 because of the difference in my beginning weight which I talked about in the last post.  So I am going with my weight at home! I know it is less but it seems like the more likely of the 2.  Either way I am super happy with that progress!  I also weighed in at that same weight this morning.  We went out last night to see the lights at Tanglewood and we had a not so great dinner at Chilis and I had a margarita which was great but not great for weight loss so I was just glad that I didn't see a gain today.  Today starts a new week and almost a new month!

How much bad news can one family take?

Most everyone knows that my Mamaw Evalene was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in October 2009.  The doctors said months so the fact that she had been here almost 14 months was great but we knew things were getting worse but I never imagined that it would happen the way it did.  I was just down there on Sunday November 21st and we talked and she was playing with Nisee. By playing I mean,  Nisee would bring her a piece to this Cat and Dog Tic Tac Toe game she has in her hospital bed and she would smile at her and say "Cat" or "Dog" and take it from Nisee and sit it up on her tray table.  We left there feeling like this would be a Thanksgiving different than past Thanksgivings but still not much different because we would all be together.

Boy were we wrong!  Wednesday I went to work things going as normal and then I got a text message from my Mom saying that the doctors had confirmed that my Papaw Lester had been diagnosed with Acute Meyloid Leukemia and that Chemo was not an option.  She didn't know much more than that.  So the first thing that I did was google it and every site that I read stated that Chemo was the only treatment.  Put it all together and well it wasn't looking good.  Then I got text number 2 which said they were just hoping to keep him home through the holidays.  I took that as they were going to let him stay home during the holidays so that he could be with us.  I tried to concentrate at work but I could not so finally I left a little early at 2pm.  I went and got Nisee and we went to the grocery store.  As I was coming home from the grocery store my Dad called.  He said that news about Papaw was not good.  Papaw when they said home for the holidays they meant ALIVE through the holidays.  Then my mom called and her news wasn't any better.  She said Mamaw had taken a turn for the worse and that she had to start the morphine.  I asked if I needed to come down there and she said yes but leave the baby at home not sure how long this night is going to be.  I lost it for about 15 minutes while I threw some things in a bag and then I took off for Statesville. That was the longest 50 minute drive ever and I cried the entire way.

When I got there I found Mamaw could still look at me and hold my hand and barely speak but that was all.  I now know she was in the process of dying.  I kept it together while in the room with her and then I ran outside and dry heaved because I hadn't eaten anything all day because I was so upset.  I stayed up with her until I finally passed out.  Let me make note that she was talking Wednesday morning and still swallowing pills.  It happened really fast and of course all of this while we were trying to process what had just happened to Papaw Lester.

Thanksgiving started with our family being together for a McDonald's Breakfast.  It was great to see them all that morning.  I then spent the day at my Mamaw's side with my Mom.  I never left the house.  The longest time I spent away was 30 minutes to take a shower.  Chad came down and brought Nisee to see Mamaw and she recognized both her and Chad but couldn't speak and Nisee continued her own game of bringing Mamaw the cat or the dog.  They stayed for a little while but left to go to Chad's Mom's for Thanksgiving lunch. I stayed with Mama of course.  Angie and Jessie came by and spent all afternoon with us.  Daddy left that afternoon to go to eat with Nanny and Papaw for Thanksgiving.  Dusty and Heather did too as did Chad and Nisee.  That evening everyone came back but Nisee.  She stayed with Mary that night.   My sister Tara came down and Mamaw recognized her that night but that was the last time she recognized anyone for the most part.

Friday was about the same.  We spent it at the house with her, comforting her and each other.  We were all afraid to sleep and I don't think that Mama and I did sleep more than a few hours.  Chad left Friday afternoon to go get Nisee and keep her at home that night and he was going to bring her back Saturday morning.  I pray you never have to go through this but if you do please read the book that hospice gives you.  It explains "the process" of dying and what you can expect.  It really helped me to understand that what was happening was for lack of a better term normal.  Once again everyone was back that night including Tara.

Early Saturday morning my Mamaw Evalene went to heaven.  She left this world with all her family around her, knowing that she was loved beyond belief and would be missed terribly.  Chad arrived shortly after with Nisee and I had never been so happy to see them in my life.  My Mamaw was so special to me and we had a relationship that not a lot of people get to have with their grandparents.  I am glad she is not suffering anymore but I am selfish because I want her here with me to see Nisee grow up and to meet her other great grand kids. 

I started this post in December of 2010 and I has taken me a year to be able to finish it.  I completed this on December 15, 2011.

Week 5 weight loss update!

I am happy to report that I am down another 4 lbs this week!  We weigh in on Mondays so this is from yesterday.  I added a weight loss tracker on the left side bar.  I am down 14 lbs so far.  When I went to the doctor I weighed heavier than I was at home but isn't that always the way it is?  Every time I go for my monthly weigh in I usually weigh anywhere from 2 to 4 lbs more.  My original weigh in was no different I weighed in 3 lbs heavier. So according to them I am down 17 lbs but I am going to go by my scale b/c it is digital and the one at the doctor is the old type slider scale.

I am still having issues with exercising but I am doing well with my food.  I am trying to make the best choices I can and to stick to my daily calorie goal.  There have been a few days where I have made bad choices but I didn't dwell on it and think that it meant I could just throw the entire day away, which is what I would have done a few years ago.  Since I keep making myself lofty goals for exercise that I am not keeping up with I have decided to make smaller goals and slowly increase them.  My goals for this week are as follows:

Week 5 exercise goals:
90 minutes of exercise total this week.

I want to say that I am not sitting at home all day.  I am cleaning and organizing and things like that but I don't consider this exercise even though some cleaning can really get you sweating!  I know I was really sweating Monday when I was cleaning the kitchen closet out and re-organizing it. So any minutes that count towards this goal will be movement specifically intended to burn calories for weight loss.  Just wanted to clear that up! LOL

Lacee's 2 month check up

It is so hard to believe that 2 months ago today Lacee made her entrance into this world and into our lives!  I am happy to say she had a great report today at her doctors office.

I will start with the stats!

Weight:
Birth: 4lbs 7.25 ounces
9 days: 4lbs 5.5 ounces
2 weeks: 4lbs 10 ounces
2 months: 7lbs 10 ounces

Yep that's right she has gained 3 pounds in 6 weeks which is great!

Height:
Birth: 17 inches
2 weeks: 17.5 inches
2 months: 19.5 inches

She also grew 2 inches in 6 weeks!  I knew she had to have grown lengthwise quite a bit because her feet were almost reaching the end of the newborn sleepers and those only go up to 20 inches!

Head Circumference:
2 weeks: 32 cm
2 months: 37 cm

Her head grew 5 cm in circumference which Dr. Bea said was really good.


Percentiles:
Weight: Still not on the chart but following her own growth curve (where have we heard this before)
Height: Still not on the chart but following her own growth curve  (where have we heard this before)
Head Circumference: Huge jump ... at 2 weeks was just above 10th percentile and at 2 months it was just under 25th percentile.  

Dr. Bea was very happy with her progress and said that she was doing well.  She is of course still small but she started out that way and is continuing to grow at a consistent pace which is what we want.  Lacee does have a pretty bad case of baby acne and a little cradle cap but nothing that major.  The worst part of the visit came when it was time for shots.  She did really good with the oral vaccine but she screamed so hard with the 3 shots that I thought she was going to get sick.  I felt so bad for her even I was crying.  She calmed down faster than I expected.  I think it was mostly because she was tired from the visit and she had been awake before we got there and was playing a little.  She spent most of the rest of the day sleeping which is pretty normal.  I did as Dr. Bea about her fussiness at night and she said that it was most likely some colic and gas and she talked about some things to help relieve it.  And they worked great!  I tried them tonight and Lacee responded well and was much less fussy!  

Since she spent most of the day sleeping I didn't take too many pictures but here are a few shots that I took this morning!

Progress

It has been a long time since my last post but that is because things have been super busy around here and I hope to get some time later this week to post about all that great stuff!  I have posted recently about my weight gain from my pregnancy with Lacee and my desire to shed those extra pounds.  Well 4 weeks ago me, Britt, and her friend Kayla all started a diet.  Now All of us have had babies recently.  Britt had Westen at the end of April and Kayla had her daughter Daisy in either June or July and then of course I had Lacee October 6th.  So we all had common goals for losing weight.  And both Brittany and I were the smallest we had been in a long time when we got pregnant and we have found that the weight doesn't come off so easy after baby #2.  We weigh in each Monday and we talk during the week all via Facebook and we get together once a month in person.  Well I am happy to report that I have lost my 1st 10 pounds!  YIPPEE!!! I am hoping for another 10 in these next 4 weeks which I think I can definitely do.  I would have lost more than 10 but I had 2 weeks back to back where I was out of town and one of those weeks was Thanksgiving.  BUT I will take my 10!  My goal this next 4 weeks is to add more exercise back into my life.  Before I got pregnant I was running 5K's on the treadmill and I was very active and I am anxious to get back to that point! Anyways I just wanted to share my success and I will update again in 4 weeks!

Week 1 Reflections

So my weight loss program with 2 friends started this past Monday and today we had to weigh in.  AND  according to the scale I did a great job last week and I lost 6 pounds!  So I am super happy!  I really tried hard to watch my food and most days I can in right around my calorie goal.  I still can't really exercise that much but I did what I could.  I am happy with my 1st week progress.  Week 2 started today and I am hoping that I have a good week again this week!

Thankful

It has been a while since I have been on here and blogged.  I have been pretty busy with the girls but mostly I haven't felt like blogging. Odd yes I know!  So the title of this blog is Thankful. On facebook a lot of my friends are updating their status each day with something they are thankful for.  I have tried to do this in past years and I was doing it last year when I was called to my Mamaw's bedside on Wednesday and there I stayed until she passed.  Thanksgiving is pretty much a ruined holiday for me and my family for now but that doesn't mean I can't be thankful for all the blessings I have in my life.  My Mamaw enjoyed us all getting together for Thanksgiving but she was a firm believer that you should be thankful every day and I feel that same way.  Each night before bed when I am saying my prayers I always start by thanking God for all the blessings he has given me. Sometimes I mention things specifically and sometimes I am more vague.  While I like the idea of saying what I am thankful for each day from now until the last Thursday in November when Abraham Lincoln said we should celebrate, I think that for me I will continue to be thankful each day.

To me the best thing about publicly saying what you are thankful for is letting others know you are thankful for them and their contributions to your life. So that is what I am going to do.  Please know this is not an all encompassing list but is simply the highlights of what I thank the Lord for each night.

I am thankful for:
My awesome husband!  He is my soul mate and I am so lucky that I have him!
My beautiful daughters: Nisee and Lacee, without them I am nothing!
My wonderful parents!  They raised me right and continue to love and support me!
My great siblings: Tara and Dusty, I couldn't ask for a better sister and bother
My mother in law: Mary,  She is such a great person!
My close friends who have been with me through thick and thin and though we may not talk everyday I know we are still there for each other (Britt, Coley, Steph, Meesha, Kara, Christina, and Kari).
My Grandparents:  Nanny Peg, Papaw Lester, Mamaw Evalene, and Grandma Cash.  Though some of them are not here with me they taught me so much and loved me so that I can still feel it even though they aren't here.
My Church Hardison UMC!  I feel back home again! 
My Savior Jesus Christ who died for my sins and My God who sent his only son to die for my sins!

I think that does a good job summing up what I am thankful for each and every day but I am sure there is something that I missed because there are always little things to be thankful for each day!

Lacee is 1 Month Old

Today marks Lacee's 1 month Birthday!  It is so hard to believe that she is already a month old! It feels like I was pregnant just yesterday!  She has been growing like a weed and is doing a great job gaining weight and sleeping.  For the first 2 weeks she would only sleep if we were holding her but these last 2 weeks we have progressed to her sleeping on the boppy lounger in the middle of the bed.  Our next goal is sometime in the next few weeks to get her to sleeping in the bassinet.  Nisee was sleeping in her crib by 4 months but she did that really quick as long as we can get Lacee sleeping in her crib by 6 months I will be happy.  Lacee is doing really well and is very alert!  She is still eating a sensitive system formula which has really helped her stop spitting up for the most part.  We have our occasional mess but that is to be expected.  She holds her head up really well and loves to look at bright colors and has one heck of a grip when she gets your finger!  Below are some 1 month pictures of our Lacee-cakes!

Irritation with myself

So if you have been reading our blog for a while you know that I have often focused on weight loss as a part of this blog.  Before getting pregnant I had worked really hard and I had lost a lot of weight.  I started trying to lose my weight from when I was pregnant with Nisee as well as a little more that I had gained over the years.  When I started I had 94 pounds to get to my goal.  I did a great job and lost 66 pounds and was on track to reach my goal with only 28 pounds to go and then I got pregnant.  I had great plans to exercise throughout this pregnancy and to gain at most 35 pounds which was the top end of what the doctors recommend.  I even posted a blog entry about my goals for this pregnancy but as we all know this pregnancy did not go as planned so why would my weight gain be any different.  To say I gained a lot more than planned is to put it mildly.  I know that I gained a little more from the high protein diet that I was on for the IUGR and the recommendation for bed rest when possible but I think I gained the most from the emotional toll that this pregnancy had on me.  I did a great job keeping it together but I know I ate a lot out of stress.  I also gained weight differently with Lacee than I did with Nisee.  Most of my weight with Nisee was all in my belly but with Lacee I gained all over.  I gained 50 pounds during my pregnancy with Nisee when I came home from the hospital I only had 15 pounds to go to get to my pre-pregnancy weight but then I sat at home and ate just like I did when I was pregnant and I gained 15 more pounds, giving me 30 to lose.  I also waited until my 6 week check up for clearance to do anything that could be considered exercise.

So this time while I wasn't able to keep up with the goals I set for myself for my pregnancy weight gain I was determined that I was not going repeat what I did when I was on maternity leave with Nisee.  I decided that I would allow myself 2 weeks to get adjusted to the feedings and what all was going on but then I was going to work on modifying what I was eating and depending on how I felt possibly add in a little cardio in the form of slow walking probably via Wii Fit.  So each day since Oct. 20th I have gotten up and eaten a healthy breakfast and a fairly healthy lunch.  I also usually eat a little snack mid morning and I am feeling good about myself.  Then comes the evening and all Hades breaks loose!  I find myself eating what could be an ok dinner health wise but then I want to snack snack snack!  It's like from 4pm until I go to bed all I want to do is eat!  I am not sure whats going on but it is really making me mad at myself.  I am not sure if my body is still reeling from the c-section and is not reacting well to cutting calories.  I have 55 pounds to get to where I was when I got pregnant and I have 83 pounds to get to my goal.  So I am not at 94 like before but I still have a long way to go and I need to be focused. 

Chad says I am being too hard on myself and I need to remember that I just had a baby via a major surgery and that I need to give my body time to heal and that as long as I am trying then that is what matters.  He says he knows I can get there in time.  I appreciate him and his faith in me but I am mostly worried because from where I had lost so much weight before getting pregnant I had gotten rid of all of my bigger clothes and unless I lose 20 or so pounds by the time I go back to work then I am not going to have anything but pregnancy clothes to wear and I don't want that!  But he does have a point.  I am going to have to just keep trying I guess.  Trying is better than not trying at all but that doesn't mean I am not still irritated with myself and my lack of discipline!  If anyone has any tips or hints please feel free to share them with me.

Oh and on a side note my incision has come back open so I have to be extra careful if I decide to do any exercise.  I am thinking slow walking would be ok but I don't want to make anything worse.

Penguins Tutu's part 2 - wrapping tutu in ribbon

So yesterday I finished the tutus and I wasn't sure if I wanted to wrap them in satin ribbon around the waist and finish them off with a bow.  This is an optional step and I didn't have any of the right color ribbon to finish it with.  Then yesterday we went to Wal-mart and so I decided to pick up some black ribbon and at least try my hand at wrapping Lacee's tutu.  Since this is a tri-color tutu to me the satin wrapping doesn't do all that much for the tutu but I do like the bow!  Instructions for wrapping can be found here:  DIY Satin Wrap Tutu .  She wrapped a green tutu with a bright red ribbon and it really worked for her and I think if this was a solid color tutu or even a bi-color tutu with a brighter color ribbon then it would stand out more and look a little better.  I think it looks good just not quite what I was expecting. 

Pittsburgh Penguin Tutu's

So it's no secret that Chad and I LOVE Hockey, more specifically the Pittsburgh Penguins!  So I decided to make the girls some Penguins themed tutus.  It was really simple and went much faster than the 1st time I made one. It only took me about an hour and a half to cut the tulle, sew the elastic, and then put them together for both tutus.  These turned out really good, I think, and now I want to make more!  I am already planning to make red, black, and white or maybe red, green, and white for Christmas pictures.  I also want to make some more sports themed ones.  I am thinking Duke and Steelers are a must!  This also gave me an idea for Lacee's Halloween costume.  I might just make her a tutu to go with her 1st Halloween Bib! That would be too cute!  If I had known they were this easy to make I would have been making them months ago!  Below are a few pictures of the tutus!

Nisee and Lacee's Penguins Tutus

Close up of Lacee's tutu

Bottom of Nisee's Tutu!

Nisee put hers on and loved it but she was running around everywhere in it and I wasn't able to get any good pictures!  Lacee was sleeping so she hasn't tried hers on yet. 

BBQ Festival and Hair Bows!

So as most of you know we live in BBQ country so we can eat BBQ anytime we want so we don't go to the annual BBQ festival to eat BBQ. We go because we like to see all the vendors and eat the other foods they have.  They have fair type foods just no rides and since we don't really go to the fair and we don't ride rides we get a similar experience here.  Personally I like it a lot better than the fair but that's me.  One of my favorite things about the BBQ Festival is the vendors with all the crafts.  I am addicted to hair bows and head bands right now for Lacee and Nisee and they have a lot of vendors that have these items as well as tutus and other cute girly stuff!  I found some great things today.  I got 12 headbands for $10 which I think is pretty good.  I have seen them online cheaper but then I have to deal with shipping and all that stuff and this way I got them right away.  There were also some really great hair bows and it was really hard to decide which ones I wanted.  I kept saying we will come back and we never did but right before we left I found 2 that I really liked and so I got them.  We had a good time today.  We only stayed for about 2 hours and we didn't see everything by any means.  I was too tried after 2 hours of really slow walking to see it all.  I know other people were probably mad but I was determined that I wasn't going to push myself too much so slow and easy it was!  I also want to say that I used my new ergonomic carrier today and it was awesome!  I didn't even know that I was carrying her!  I highly recommend it to anyone who is having a baby and I am super thankful to Christina and Stefanos for getting for me and Lacee!  Of course I am going to post a few pictures of my finds today!

Headbands

Hairbows

Lets Go Steelers!

Lacee modeling a fall headband/bow combo!

October 20th Dr Visit: Lacee 2 weeks Nisee 2 years

I know I am a little late posting this but better late than never.  Nisee and Lacee both had doctors appointments this past Thursday October 20th.  I got off when taking Nisee to her doctor's appointments and immunizations have to be done so far apart so she had to wait until October to get her 24 months immunizations.   Lacee had to have her 2 week check so I scheduled them together and my mom came with me to help out and I am so glad she did because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to do it. 

Nisee did much better than I thought she would do.  She did not want to get on the scale to be weighed but we were finally able to get her to do it.  Nisee at 29 months weighs 32 pounds and is 35.5 inches tall.  Her head is 49.5 centimeters around!  Her head and weight are in the 80th percentile and her height is in the 50th percentile.  The doctor was very impressed that she can count to 15 and knows all her ABC's and most of their sounds.  He did say we needed to put her on a multivitamin because of her eating habits.  We try to get her to eat veggies but Grandma Mary is the only one who can get her to eat any veggies.  She loves fruit and yogurt which he said was great but she still needs a little more.  We give her veggies and try our best but she won't touch them and actually pushes them away from her on the table.  We also talked about her speech.  She talks all the time and you can understand most of what she says but from where she has had trouble with her ears her articulation isn't as clear as it would have been.  He said she should continue to improve this because it was corrected and as long as she does continue to improve we shouldn't need to do anything kind of speech therapy.  Other than that we had nothing but a great report for her.  Nisee also did much better with the doctor than I expected.  She does not like doctors or nurses from her experience with all the ear infections.  We will be back on track for her visits from now on out because no more shots are needed until she goes into school! 

Lacee also got a great report. She weighed 4 pounds and 10 ounces which is AWESOME!  She gained 4.5 ounces since her visit the Friday before and is now above her birth weight!   She also has grown .5 inches and is now 17.5 inches!  This is great news for her growth but not her clothes! LOL  Most premie clothes are made for 17 inches only and they are starting to be short on her but the newborn clothes because of her weight are still so big!  Not that I care that much because as long as she is growing then I am a happy mom!  The doctor said she looks great and her heart sounds really good.  Nothing but good news for Lacee as well! She will come back at 2 months for shots and her next follow up! 

We had a great visit and both my girls did great and again I am so thankful to my mom for helping me out!  Next doctors visit is for Lacee on her 2 month birthday on December 6th.  I also want to take a minute to say how much Nisee loves  her little sister!  She is all about Lacee now and we have to keep her off of her because she doesn't realize that she will break.  She is very sweet to her though bringing her stuffed animals, blankets, bottles, and passy's.  She's a good big sister trying to take care of her baby sister! 

Lacee's Ultrasound

Today was Lacee's ultrasound at Brenner's Children's Hospital and I am happy to report that her sacral dimple is harmless. I had this feeling that everything was going to be alright but still as a mom if there is any chance that something could be wrong then you can't help but worry at least a little.  It was so great to hear the ultrasound tech and the doctor tell us that the dimple was harmless.  They did say that her spinal cord was a little lower than they normally see.  Normally it ends at the L2 but hers goes to the L3 and the doctor said that the only concern that poses is that if she has to have a spinal tap or something like that then they need to know so they won't get too close to the spinal cord.  He said she could grow out of it as she gets older.  The main thing is that all is well and she isn't going to have to have anything done because of it! 

Lacee's Dr. Visit Friday October 14th

Lacee went in for her weight check today and we are happy to report that she has gained 1 ounce.  She now weighs 4lbs 5.5ounces.  She has finally starting going back in the right direction!  Dr. B said she felt that she was going to keep gaining.  She does want her to be back to her birth weight by her 2 week check up.  She also looked at Lacee's jaundice again and she was very happy that it was now just confined to her face and she said that was the last area to clear up.  Her 2 week check up is scheduled for October 20th and that is also Nisee's 2 year check up.  We got off schedule with her check ups and so we are playing catch up.  My mom is going with me to help because this will be pretty tough with both girls and shots and me still recovering from my c-section.  Lacee's ultrasound is scheduled for Monday October 17th and I will update after we find out the results. 

Lacee's Dr. Visit Monday October 10th

Lacee had to go to the doctor Monday October 10th to have her jaundice checked and they weighed her.  She weighed 4lbs 4.5 ounces.  So she had lost a little more weight but was still within 3 ounces of her birth weight. The doctor said her jaundice looked good and that it was going away.  She got her nurse to work on scheduling Lacee's ultrasound on her sacral dimple which we found out can only be done at Brenner's Children's Hospital because of her age and size.  Dr. B also wanted her back for a weight check on Friday. 

LACEE is HERE!!!

Lacee arrived a week ahead of schedule on October 6, 2011!  As you all know I have weekly ultrasounds because of her IGUR.  So on Thursday October 6th I went into work and worked all morning and then I went for my ultrasound at Baptist Maternal Fetal.  As my previous post explained they were going to be doing BPP, dopplers, and growth (comparing it to 35 weeks).  The ultrasound did not go well.  Lacee did great on her breathing, motion, and tone but that was where the good news stopped.  April (the sonographer) was not able to get any measurable fluid in 1 quadrant and it was very low in the other 3 quadrants.  Not sure where the fluid went because it was there last week and my water hadn't broken but either way it was gone.  Then was the growth issue.  Lacee was measuring the same as she had the week before so that meant that comparing her numbers to my 35 week growth scan she had fallen off her curve.  So April went to talk to the doctor but I knew what was coming.  Dr. Nietche (I have no idea how to spell it)  said that I needed to have my baby today.  He wanted me to go to Forsyth to have her heart monitored and then they would possibly let me go to Thomasville to deliver. 

So I got in my car and drove to Forsyth and headed up to the 4th floor and I was hooked up to the machines.  Her heart rate was good but my BP was very high and they were concerned that I had developed preeclampsia so they did blood and urine tests to determine if I had it.  It was at this point that they told me I would  not be leaving to deliver in Thomasville and I would be staying there to have my baby.  Now I was still reeling from the fact that I would be delivering that night (no matter where it was) and I was a little upset that my delivery plan was not going well as planned.  I had packed my bags at home and I was prepared that it might happen but I had expected that they would send me home and then I would get up the next morning and just go to the hospital and deliver. Boy was I wrong!  So I didn't have anything with me.  I had called Chad as I was walking out of Baptist MFM and luckily he decided to drive to work that day so he was headed to Forsyth to meet me from Greensboro.  I called my Mom who was in Morganton for work and she was like WHAT?!  We were all pretty surprised about what was happening!  We had to get Chad's mom to get Nisee from daycare.  I also of course called my job to let them know because I was supposed to work an open house for our new hires that night.  My old manager was very happy because October 6th is her birthday!

The results came back that I did not have preeclampsia but I did have gestational hypertension.  I had eaten at work around 12:30 so the anesthesiologist wanted to wait until at least 6 hours after I had eaten to do the c-section.  So they penciled me in for 6:30 that night.  Later it would be moved to 7:00 and then it would actually be around 7:30 before I made it back.   Lacee was born at 7:55pm that night weighing 4 pounds 7.25 ounces and was 17 inches long.  They had 1 pediatrician specialist as well as 1 NICU doctor in there to check her out when she was born.  They said she did not present any obvious down syndrome markers and looked really good just small!  Then came the kicker her weight.  Any baby under 2000 grams has to automatically go into NICU and well Lacee came out on top again weighing 2020 grams!  She avoided the NICU by only 20 grams!  Both pediatricians said she looked really good and that unless something happened later there was no need for immediate genetic testing!  We were so relieved and just so thankful! 

When Nisee was born while they closed me up Chad went to nursery with her and everyone got to see her have her bath and all that good stuff but here Chad and Lacee stayed with me while they closed me up.  Then when they rolled me out I got to hold Lacee as we walked to recovery and my family was there in the hallway along with Brittany, Chessney and Stephanie.   They all got to see me and Lacee for a few minutes.  Once I got recovery Chad took Lacee to nursery to get her bath and all that good stuff.  Chad was allowed to stay with Nisee when she got her bath but they wouldn't let him stay with Lacee so we didn't get any pictures of that.  Yes I am still upset about that!  I was in recovery for a lot longer than planned because we couldn't get my pain under control.  They kept giving me pain meds but it wasn't getting the job done and they wouldn't let me go to my room until I had my pain at a certain level. Finally shortly before midnight they got it to an acceptable level and they moved me to my room.  The only person left was Chad at that time and no one had gotten to hold the baby because they still hadn't give her a bath at 11pm.    When I got to my room I demanded to see her and it still took them an hour to get her to me so it was the next day when I got to see her and hold her when I wasn't in the OR or recovery.

I sent Chad home that night so he could get some sleep because I knew they were going to be coming in and out a lot.  Little did I know how much.  They continued to give me lots of pain meds because there was still an issue with getting it under control.  I didn't have a problem like this during my 1st c-section.  My blood pressure kept bottoming out and then there was the issue with my output.  I was drinking a lot of water because the pain meds were drying me out but I wasn't putting out what I was taking in.  Now that did happen with Nisee.  They were in and out of my room every 30 minutes checking my BP and my output levels.  When I say I got NO sleep I am very close.  I ended up with maybe 1 hour.  Things with me finally got better the next day after lunch but this c-section was much more rough that my 1st. 

As things with me got better things with Lacee didn't really get worse we just got the news that she was jaundiced and would have to be under the light all day and night Saturday.  Her numbers came down so she was able to go home.  She also has what is called a sacral dimple and has to have an ultrasound to make sure that it does not go all the way to the spine.  The dimples are very common but the instances of them being major problems are very rare so we aren't going to worry about it until we need to. Other than being small the doctors were very happy with her and her progress!

AND that is the story of Lacee Rayne's birth!  We are so blessed to have her here with us healthy and we thank GOD for answered prayers!

waiting to deliver

Lacee just born

Mommy, Daddy and Lacee in the OR .. our 1st picture together

Mommy holding Lacee in Recovery

I love these

Big Sister Nisee checking out Little Sister Lacee with Grammy Sandy

Lacee in her hat I got her and her cupcake out fit! She looks thrilled!

Daddy, Mommy and Lacee about to leave to go home.  Big sister was at a pumpkin patch with Grandma Mary.

Lacee 1st night at home chilling with Mommy!

 

Early Christmas Shopping and Hair Accesories

So yesterday after being up sick most of Friday night and Saturday morning I started feeling a little better.  I needed to take Lacee's diaper bag to get embroidered at the mall so off to Winston we went when Nisee got up from her nap and might I add even though  she had been sleeping for 2 and a half hours she was very ill that we woke her up!  She hates going down for a nap but once there you better let her be but she had been asleep long enough.  We decided to look around the mall for a little while.  We got Nisee a few Christmas gifts.  Translated we found some good sales and couldn't pass on the sales even though she really didn't have to have the items at this time.  Still I like buying a few things along the way and then its not like you have to drop a ton of money all at one time.  NOT that we have a ton of money but you get my point.  My favorite thing about yesterday were the hair-bows we found for Lacee.  We stopped by a store called DazzleUp and they have some cool things and they are all 4 for $10.  I got Lacee 2 I guess you call them hat-bows, a headband, and got Nisee 1 hair-bow!  They are so cute I had to share a picture off them!  I know you can make these and I might just have to see if I can find a tutorial on what all it takes.  The 2 hat-bows are almost the same and I wanted a purple one but the only purple ones they had did not have really cute bows on them they had these UGLY purple flowers so I went with the same bow but different color hat!   Any who I am not going to spend too long on this post but I just wanted to share!

Goal 4 Reached

Well my 4th goal with this pregnancy was to make it to 37 weeks because I thought that was full term but per Dr. Grandis (see 37 week scan post)  I am not full term until 37 completed weeks which is 38 weeks 0 days.  I am still glad I made it this far and my next goal is just to have our Little Lacee be born on October 13th and have her to be healthy! 

37 Week Growth Scan - Mixed Results

Today was my 37 week growth scan and the results were mixed.  Lacee's dopplers were good and she did a great job passing her BPP.  She was actually breathing right away.  She was not really feeling like moving too much so we had to do a little prodding to get her to move but that is just because she was still sleepy. She is est. to weight 4lbs 11oz now which means she gained 10oz in the last 2 weeks.  Overall her growth has a fallen off the curve a little.  Dr. Grandis said it wasn't too much off the curve so there wasn't a need to deliver now.  He asked about her movements and their frequency. Her movements have decreased a little but nothing extensive.  He said as long as she hasn't decreased too much then that was still ok.  He asked about NST's and I told him that Dr. Dorton was doing them once a week and he said that was fine since I was having the weekly BPP's with them.  He scheduled me for another ultrasound at 38 weeks to check BPP, doppler, and growth.  Normally they don't do growth weekly but what he wants to do is compare it to my 35 week scan to get a better view of how she has grown over the 3 week time frame and he said if for some reason that doesn't go well then he would recommend earlier delivery.

He also cleared up a common misconception about pregnancy that I as well as most other people have.  He said that 37 weeks 0 days is not full term.  Full term is considered 37 completed weeks which is 38 weeks 0 days and that babies who are not forced to mature sooner due to some issue can have some issues breathing being born anytime before that time.  So he said if there isn't a major reason to deliver then they will wait as long as they can.  He seemed pretty ok with my c-section being scheduled at 39 weeks and he again discussed that since she has always been small that he again thinks this is just who she is. I got 4 more ultrasound pictures bring our grand total to 87 now.  She was laying in a funny position today so we didn't too many great shots but here are 2 of them.

Her foot

Her face looking at us! :)

Fall Cake Balls

So I haven't made cake balls or cake pops in a long time.  Actually the last time I made them was for Brittany's baby shower for Westen in March.  I didn't just want to make Fall Cake Balls or Pops I wanted to try my hand at shapes!  I have seen many cake pops in shapes and I decided that I wanted to try it out.  To make cake ball shapes you use cookie cutters to cut out the shapes and then you dip them in the chocolate.  It didn't sound all that hard so I thought so I will try it out!  Well it didn't turn out quite as I had pictured in my mind in the end.

Pre-Dip cake balls cut out

Things were going well as you can see with the cutting out of the cake ball shapes.  I have leaves, acorns, apples, pumpkins, and even a few balls in there.  I thought they looked really good. Then came the chocolate work and normally I am really good at working with chocolate but tonight it just wasn't working  like I wanted it too.  They turned out OK but just not what I was seeing in my mind.  BUT this is my 1st time so maybe next time I will get better.  I also think that instead of cake balls I am going to do cake pops for easier dipping.

Fall Cake Balls

Pumpkins

Leaves

Apples

They don't look terrible but definitely not my best. They are spice cake with cream cheese icing.  Chad says they taste great so I guess that is really what matters but I still want them to look just as good as they taste!   I still have the apples, acorns, maple leaves, and regular leaves chilling in the fridge waiting to be dipped.  Since things weren't going so well I decided to wait and try again later in the week to finish. 

Premie Dresses and Tutu's!

Do you know how hard it is to find premature size dresses?!  It is impossible! I have checked multiple carters stores and multiple department stores and NOTHING!  I have found somethings online but even those aren't what I am really looking for.  Carters had a really cute dress and I thought well I can get a newborn in that color and just pull it to the back for her pictures and maybe it won't look too big but then I remembered Nisee's newborn dress.  The size says 5 to 8 pounds for newborn sizes but Nisee was 7 pounds 5 ounces and her newborn dress swallowed her whole so Lacee who is tracking to be at least 2 pounds smaller than that is going to need something a lot smaller.  We are of course praying she ends up surprising us all and comes out weighing over 6 pounds but we are also planning for all things.

Lacee got a lot of really great Premie clothes at her shower so I do have some options for her to wear to have per pictures made in but of course there were no dresses and I really wanted her to have a dress or at least something extra girlie!  So as most of you know I have been feeling very creative and crafty here lately.  I made a few signs and we won't even include the baking and cooking projects!  I have often seen these tutu's that all these little girls are wearing and I love them.  I have seen tutorials on how to make them and they seemed really easy to make.  So as you can guess I decided to make Lacee a tutu to go with 3 of her onesies that my friend Beth got her.  They are premie size onesies (of course) and are white, gray, and brown with pale pink stitching  and a pink rose.  Using tutorials that can be found at the following sites:  Treasures for Tots  and Happy Together I created Lacee a little tutu!  I am very proud of it!

Now there are multiple tutorials for this all over the web and each one does things a little differently but like me you will find that you will end up adjusting to what works best for you.  The first time I bake or make anything I learn lessons and this was no exception.  I will make some changes for the next one and there will most certainly be a next one.  I am already excited to make one for Nisee as well as experiment with more colors and ribbons!    This tutu took me about 30 minutes to make and cost me less than $5!  I think that a larger one would probably require more tulle and that would make it cost more but it is still much less than the cost of the paying for one retail!  I saw one at TJ Maxx today for Halloween and it was priced at $16!    So I highly recommend them for anyone who wants to make a cute outfit for their little girl!  I took some pictures to show everyone!

tutu with white onesie

Looking down on tutu

Another shot with white onesie

Looking at tutu straight on

Just the tutu

36 Week Scan

Most of the time the non growth scans aren't too eventful!  Lacee is awesome at scoring 8 out of 8 on her BPP's and the dopplers continue to look good so they usually go by pretty quickly.  This week was no exception.  Lacee got perfect BPP scores and dopplers were good as well.  However, this week I did get 6 more pictures of our little cupcake which brings us to 83 ultrasound pictures!  I got 2 good 3D pics and one of them is really good!  That is the big news for this weeks scan!  Normally the cord is crossing her face or she has her hands in the way and we can't get a good clear shot!  I am going to share the 2 3D pics and 2 of the profile shots!  Enjoy! 

Our Little Lacee!!! The best one so far!  I think she looks like me but most people say she looks like Nisee! Knowing my luck she will be another copy of Chad! 

The other 3D picture which is also pretty good.  She was moving in this one so it got a little distorted.

Her Profile close up

Her Profile a little farther back!

My next scan is at 37 weeks on 9/29 and they will check growth then and maybe we can get another good look at her face.  They check each time!  Mostly I hope she has grown well!  Although I have had different goals all throughout this pregnancy I have always wanted to get her to 39 weeks.  I am so happy that it looks like we are going to get there but there are times here lately that I am questioning that logic!  I am really swelling and my back is killing me and I am so tired and I feel HUGE so there are times when I am like "What was I thinking? I should have had them deliver me 37 weeks!"  BUT I know it is best for Lacee to be in there to 39 weeks so that always wins out but these last 3 weeks are going to be rough!  I delivered Nisee at 38 weeks and 6 days (almost right on the mark) but they wrote me out of work due to contractions and massive back pain at 37 weeks and 2 days and I was home in the recliner for almost 2 whole week, going NUTS I might add!!!  My goal is to work up noon on October 12th before I have to go for pre-op!  When I am working the days go by much faster and I remember when I was at home those last 2 weeks pregnant with Nisee that the days just crept by and I don't think I can handle that again!   Let's just hope the good news about Lacee keeps coming and I can find a way to deal with whatever else comes my way!