I was reflecting today on big families. This is almost definitely my last pregnancy (because of my high-risk status) though we have talked about the possibility of adopting at some point. Four kids is "big" by today's standards, but it wasn't always, and it certainly seems small compared to the octuplet mom with 14 children under age 7.
Do you know who holds the record for giving birth to the most children? Acually, her name isn't known, but she was married to Feodor Vassilyev in the 1700s. She had 27 pregnancies, all with multiples: 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quads, 69 in total of which 67 survived to adulthood. Now that's a big family! I guess I can handle 4 after all.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Supper Time Tradition
A few months ago, we started a new tradition. Every night we go around the supper table and tell our "best and worst."
Sweetie loves this part of the evening. She always says, "My bess pa-da-da day was *babble babble babble* AHAHAHAHA! My wuss pa-da-da day was *babble babble babble* AHAHAHAHA!"
For Smartie, it depends on her mood. She usually mentions something like playing with Hayley at preschool as her best and Sweetie not sharing as her worst. Tonight, she was in a silly mood. As she stood on her chair turning circles, she said, "My best part of the day was turning in circles, and my worst was when I had to quit!"
We hope to keep this tradition up for years to come. As the kids get older, we hope it will give us a better insight into their lives.
Sweetie loves this part of the evening. She always says, "My bess pa-da-da day was *babble babble babble* AHAHAHAHA! My wuss pa-da-da day was *babble babble babble* AHAHAHAHA!"
For Smartie, it depends on her mood. She usually mentions something like playing with Hayley at preschool as her best and Sweetie not sharing as her worst. Tonight, she was in a silly mood. As she stood on her chair turning circles, she said, "My best part of the day was turning in circles, and my worst was when I had to quit!"
We hope to keep this tradition up for years to come. As the kids get older, we hope it will give us a better insight into their lives.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Talk about a super-mom!
This woman plans to breast feed her eight, that's right, eight newborns. And I thought twins would be a challenge!
Monday, January 26, 2009
The Story of Ian
Eight months after Sweetie was born, my endo symptoms returned in full force. At that point, my doctor wanted to start me on the Pill. I’ve never understood how a disease that is fueled by estrogen can be “cured” with more estrogen, but I decided to give it a try. Ten months later, my pain was worse than before and I couldn’t take it anymore. I quit the Pill in the middle of the cycle.
Papa Runner and I discussed what we wanted to do. Previous to that, we had always used fertility tracking/NFP as our birth control method. I was ready to try for baby 3, and Papa eventually agreed we might as well. I started charting just for my own curiosity.
The Pill really messed my body up. My fertility signs were all over the place with no clear pattern. After a month, I hadn’t had a real period yet, just the withdrawal period. I assumed it was because I hadn’t ovulated. But I was experiencing a lot of breast tenderness, so I decided to take a home pregnancy test just to be sure. It turned positive in less than ten seconds. In previous pregnancies, I had been completely sure of my dates, but not this time. I knew I had to be at least 4 weeks along, but could have been as much as 6.
I scheduled an appointment with my OB for a sono at 8 (10?) weeks. The next two weeks or so I had mild morning sickness and extreme breast tenderness. Then one morning I woke up feeling completely fine. In one sense, it was nice to feel normal again. At the same time, I was a little concerned. Could this mean my hormone levels were dropping? That wouldn’t be good news.
One week later at 7.5 (9.5?) weeks, I started spotting. I knew immediately this would lead to another miscarriage. The nurse at the office wasn’t concerned, however, and didn’t want to bring me in. She told me to just take it easy over the weekend (it was a Friday) and call back on Monday. If my bleeding go too heavy or pain too severe, I should head to the ER.
Over the next two days, my bleeding got heavier and heavier, but never so much that I thought I should be in a hospital. I was content to let things play out at home. On Saturday, I passed several large clots. By Monday morning when I went in for a blood test, even the nurse knew it was over. A few hours later it was confirmed: my hormone levels were too low to maintain a pregnancy.
In some ways, losing Ian was easier than losing Grace. I didn’t have the same panic or long wait for confirmation. In others, it was harder. It took a lot longer to get back on track emotionally. A few sessions with a therapist helped. I now have two more dates marked in my head: July 26 and March 12. We may do another balloon release in March, or we may plant a tree this time.
-------------------
That's it for birth/pregnancy stories for me until August 4. Okay, it's likely the twins will be here before then, but I'm still hoping to reach my due date for once.
Papa Runner and I discussed what we wanted to do. Previous to that, we had always used fertility tracking/NFP as our birth control method. I was ready to try for baby 3, and Papa eventually agreed we might as well. I started charting just for my own curiosity.
The Pill really messed my body up. My fertility signs were all over the place with no clear pattern. After a month, I hadn’t had a real period yet, just the withdrawal period. I assumed it was because I hadn’t ovulated. But I was experiencing a lot of breast tenderness, so I decided to take a home pregnancy test just to be sure. It turned positive in less than ten seconds. In previous pregnancies, I had been completely sure of my dates, but not this time. I knew I had to be at least 4 weeks along, but could have been as much as 6.
I scheduled an appointment with my OB for a sono at 8 (10?) weeks. The next two weeks or so I had mild morning sickness and extreme breast tenderness. Then one morning I woke up feeling completely fine. In one sense, it was nice to feel normal again. At the same time, I was a little concerned. Could this mean my hormone levels were dropping? That wouldn’t be good news.
One week later at 7.5 (9.5?) weeks, I started spotting. I knew immediately this would lead to another miscarriage. The nurse at the office wasn’t concerned, however, and didn’t want to bring me in. She told me to just take it easy over the weekend (it was a Friday) and call back on Monday. If my bleeding go too heavy or pain too severe, I should head to the ER.
Over the next two days, my bleeding got heavier and heavier, but never so much that I thought I should be in a hospital. I was content to let things play out at home. On Saturday, I passed several large clots. By Monday morning when I went in for a blood test, even the nurse knew it was over. A few hours later it was confirmed: my hormone levels were too low to maintain a pregnancy.
In some ways, losing Ian was easier than losing Grace. I didn’t have the same panic or long wait for confirmation. In others, it was harder. It took a lot longer to get back on track emotionally. A few sessions with a therapist helped. I now have two more dates marked in my head: July 26 and March 12. We may do another balloon release in March, or we may plant a tree this time.
-------------------
That's it for birth/pregnancy stories for me until August 4. Okay, it's likely the twins will be here before then, but I'm still hoping to reach my due date for once.
I'm Going Crazy!
There is a mouse trapped in the wall. I've been listening to it scritch around since breakfast. It's totally creeping me out! This is the first mouse we've had in about three years, too, so I'm not sure where he came from especially since it's been so cold out. They usually come in the fall, and I thought we were safe for the year after sub-zero temps.
Friday, January 23, 2009
A Husband's Nightmare
A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog.
Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.
He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she may be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bath room door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.
As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?"
She again smiled and answered, "You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world did I do today?"
"Yes," was his incredulous reply.
She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it.
---------------------------
An interesting question came up in my support group today. If you leave the kiddos home with Daddy while you go out, is he "babysitting" or "parenting"? And does he act like he's doing you a favor for doing it?
Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.
He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she may be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bath room door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.
As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?"
She again smiled and answered, "You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world did I do today?"
"Yes," was his incredulous reply.
She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it.
---------------------------
An interesting question came up in my support group today. If you leave the kiddos home with Daddy while you go out, is he "babysitting" or "parenting"? And does he act like he's doing you a favor for doing it?
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