Am I Nesting

So I was off for most of the day on Monday to take care of Tia and myself. I wanted Tia to sleep in and wake up on her own. I knew she had had a rough week and I wanted her to start it off in a great mood. She was really happy when she woke up and so I didn't take her into daycare until after 8am. After taking care of some work stuff, I ran a bunch of overdue errands and got back to the house I took care of my own ailment (bad case of pregnancy hemorrhoids) and I had an urge to organize. I ended up switching out the shelves in our walk in closet with a cuter, more feasible shelf from our bedroom and a matching one from our office. I took the two shelves from the closet and dragged them to our office and put them in the closet. I re-shelfed everything in the office and then I went through and organized all of my clothes into the new shelves. I have to say it looked fantastic. Chris got home and I knew he'd be upset with me, but regardless he did say it looked pretty darn good along with the clean house he came home to. I was really happy to get that off my list. I've been thinking about it for so long and it finally got accomplished! yay! So I do think I'm in my nesting stage because now I want to get the Christmas tree up. I told Chris all of my ideas for rearranging and he just laughed, but was hopeful we'd get to it next weekend. I'm feeling good otherwise. My baby bump is getting bigger and she has hiccups all of the time so I know she is doing well. I'm tired but not exhausted which I'm happy about. I hope I don't get that overwhelming tiredness like the first trimester, but I guess we'll see. So excited to meet our new baby girl angel.

Tia is Doing Great

We were hoping Tia would have a normal day after a long week and she did. She woke up in her big girl bed, came into our room to wake us up, and had a big smile on her face. Her poopy diaper wasn't diarrhea like as it was before which is an improvement. Her ears looked great and she wasn't batting at them. She has not even said the word 'ouwie' or reached to touch the back of her head all day. She just seems back to her normal diva self. So we are happy she is having a good day after a long week of being sick and visiting the ER. Chris and I wish I had some more days before going back to work, but we know duty calls. We gave Tia some extra TLC today. My little sister Sam was staying with us this week too so Tia has enjoyed having her around. Sam is heading back to school to MSU in the morning but Tia is having fun trying to copy whatever she does.

I've felt great all week. My little bun in the oven has had hiccups constantly and moves around like crazy. Chris downloaded a level app on his phone and set it on top of my belly. Little baby girl was rocking it so hard that Chris's eyes were bulging out in amazement. I'm telling you that I am super excited to get Tia into soccer and seeing how this little girl is even more active, I'm thinking we have two little soccer players on our hands.

Ever since my sickness those first three and a half months of pregnancy have gone away, I really have not had anything to complain about until this week. I have never had hemorrhoids in my life until now. With Tia, I don't remember having them but this week, I have had a bad case of what I think is hemorrhoids. Ugh! I am hoping my hand pain doesn't come back this time and I noticed for the first time yesterday that my ring felt tight on my finger. I guess being 30 weeks and rounding that final stretch will come more things to complain about, but all for something so worth it!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday. Please pray for Tia's head to heal nicely and the staple to come out with no avail.

Emergency Room for Tia

So it started out as another day for Thanksgiving family gatherings and we were having a great time. We were at my Uncle Chuck's house and there were about 30 people there all enjoying each other's company. Tia was having a ball trying to play with all the big kids. We were all taking turns watching Tia and for the first few hours, it seemed just like any other day. I was sitting at the table when I saw a flash of pink tumbling down the stairs. Yes, it was Tia doing some cartwheels down the carpeted staircase. I jumped up and ran over. Luckily, she landed perfectly on her bottom on the very bottom step. You could tell she didn't hurt a thing and didn't even cry. Me, however was traumatized by seeing my little girl tumbling down the stairs. I have had a lot of faith in letting her climb on stairs for months now and she had done so well. Even last night, she was going up and down the stairs with no hands and just did a great job. These stairs didn't have a hand rail and she was trying to take on more than she bargained for. So from that point on, we were all watching Tia like a hawk. Down stairs, all the kids were playing. They had a playroom full of fun stuff from a ping pong table, pin ball machine, a mini basketball court, foosball table, bar for the really big kids ;), and of course the gaming center for all the video games. There was also a work out station with weights and a weight bench that we had all been watching so none of the girls or little ones would go near. What was hard was Tia's cousins Juliean and Janelle were crawling all over it and she wanted to do the same since she is in her copy cat mode. It really only takes a few seconds for all to go wrong when Tia crawled up on the weight bench and fell backwards hitting the edge of the weight pole with her head. My brother and dad both saw it, almost in slow motion, but couldn't get there in time. My sister-n-law Dolor picked Tia up and told Chris she was bleeding. Chris just thought it would be a small wound but to his surprise, he put a towel on a part of the back of her head that was flooding with blood. I was coming down stairs to see if Chris wanted me to take over watching Tia for a while when they were running up the stairs as Tia is crying, everyone is yelling out what happened, and I am in shock over what was going on. My uncle got in the car with us as I held Tia in the back seat and we sped off to the ER at the local hospital. By the time we got half way there, Tia stopped crying and the bleeding seemed to have stopped mostly. I was happy because I didn't know how bad or okay the wound was and the whole experience was just so hard on us to see her in pain. We got to the hospital and checked her in. We had to wait a bit and finally got in to the doctor's room. The nurse talked to us and cleaned off her wound. At first, she made the comment that it would probably just be glued shut. That is what we were hoping for, but we weren't sure. Then the doctor came in a bit later and said Tia would have to have it stapled shut with two metal staples. We had to hold a numbing cream on her head for 20 minutes which was not fun because Tia just wanted to leave and get out of there, but we managed to do it and finally the doctor came in and gave her the staple. That was very hard for Chris and I to watch, but we know it is what she needed. She only needed one staple and we got instructions on how to take it out after a week and we were on our way. Tia was happy to get out of there. We got her some McDonald's fries and some tylenol and we were off to my uncle's house again. Tia seemed in good spirits saying 'ouwie' from time to time but overall she was doing well. Chris and I on the other hand were still a bit traumatized by the situation and both just felt so bad for her. When we got back to my uncle's, Tia was back to her smiling fun self running all over and flirting with her boy cousins. She was petting the dog and making everyone smile. She fell asleep on the way home and she seemed to be doing pretty good for the most part. Chris and I had a heart to heart talk on the way home about the worry that comes with being a parent and how we just wish and pray every day that they grow up with little to no permanent wounds. With another one on the way and maybe even a third, we just know that we have to prepare ourselves for years of worrying for our kids safety. And of course, we are just happy that the wound that Tia received wasn't worse and we pray that this will be the worst of any wounds she'll ever receive. She did not pass out or vomit, so we don't think she got any sort of concussion, thankfully. I was hoping she'd be like me and never have to go to the ER.

More Thanksgiving Feasts

Of course what is great about Thanksgiving is the food. We get to eat lots of great food all week and most of the time, we don't have to prepare anything. I made chocolate covered strawberries for all of the gatherings which seemed to be a hit. We went down to Ste Genevieve for the day and Tia had a blast down there too. She had some toys to play with and she loved running around. She got to pet a kitty and watch some TV. She didn't want to leave here either.

Thanksgiving

I have so many things to be thankful for and I pray every day to God thanking him for all of my blessings. My wonderful husband and soul mate, my beautiful daughter Tia, and my little girl in the oven are on the top of my list. Of course, my family, friends, and other loved ones are more things. Our jobs, house, good financial standing, and so many more things that I know many others can't speak of. I am so thankful for what our little family has and I pray that God continues to watch over us and bless us for all of our days to come.

Tonight, we went over to Uncle Danny's and shared Thanksgiving with Chris's Mom, and his Aunt Jenny along with all the kids. Holidays are quite hard for us because we literally could go to 9 different places. So we focus on our parents first, then if we can make others, then we try. It is getting harder as our family grows. Tia loved Uncle Danny's house. It is like a Christmas wonderland where he has the entire house decked out in Christmas decor, villages, trees, etc. She just had a ball. Not to mention she got a lot of attention from her cousins.

She loved Evan and Brandon along with the dog Calaber. She just had a ball and did not want to leave.

Ear Infection

It has been a while, but Tia has an ear infection. It looks like it started on Monday and was building until today. Her ear has started leaking and started to be really red. She started scratching behind her ear really badly too, even drew blood. On Wednesday, we got her into the doctor because daycare said she was hitting her ears constantly and being extra fussy. Doctor prescribed her two medications and we are obviously giving her a lot of TLC. She has started to get diarrhea and so I am praying it is over by the time Sunday rolls around. Luckily, none of our family Thanksgiving gatherings will have many young babies/kids so we won't have to miss any. Poor Tia, she has just had a rough go with her ears and ear infections.

Oh Sh!t

We've been noticing Tia saying something along the lines of 'Oh Sh!t' but at first we weren't so sure. She dropped something the other night and said 'Oh Sh!t' but when I talked to Chris about it, he said I was probably hearing it wrong and she couldn't have been saying that. Neither Chris nor I say that so we knew she probably was saying something different. But, then while I was at work and Chris was with Tia, he heard her say it a few times too. Her language is so cute and a lot of words sounds like that word like 'church' and some others, so we couldn't believe it. Then I threw her tiny golf ball sized puppy at her and it hit her right in the cheek, she laughed, but said 'Oh Sh!t' and this time, Chris and I looked at each other and said 'yep, that is definitely what she is saying' and she has the right context too..when something doesn't go quite right. So we have our suspicions on where she has picked that up from, but we won't say any names. After the incident not too long ago at daycare, we are certain that is not the place she got it from. But in all honesty, we'll just see how it plays out. I can't believe she says that and deep down, it is so funny, but on the surface, we don't want our 1 year old starting out life as a cusser!

Bowling

I bowled for five years on a league and 'retired' when I became pregnant with this baby. Ironically, Chris started bowling with work for the summer and this fall, they bowled on Tuesday nights. Since Tuesdays are when my league bowls, my intention of subbing sort of washed away. The reason was mainly because of Tia and bowling start times. In order for Chris to get Tia, take her to a babysitter and get himself to bowling, he'd have to leave work by 4. For me, it would be even earlier. Fortunately, Chris is off this week and when the girls asked if I could sub, it worked out. Chris was able to get her to AJs and to bowling in time. I didn't do too bad with a 155 average but I wasn't very consistent. I also got super tired half way through the second game. But it was so nice to see everyone on this ladies league. Chris bowled on his league about ten lanes down. It was fun!

Hiccups

The past few nights I have been feeling baby girl #2 just rocking out in my belly. It feels like she is having a dance party and I have had no idea what she was really doing. It didn't dawn on me until I woke up not able to sleep last night and woke Chris up so he could feel this constant kicking and he said 'does she have hiccups' and it just hit me 'yes, that is what it is'. I remember Tia having hiccups all the time and I guess I forgot about it with this baby. She has them all of the time and during the middle of the night is the hardest for me because it makes me have sleepless nights. Knowing that she is just not jamming out down there gives me comfort in knowing that she can't help having the hiccups and honestly, it was probably something I ate or did to cause it. The poor baby! At least now I know what it is. Tia was breach for most of her time in the womb and this baby is head down, so the feeling of hiccups is totally different. Either way, at least I know she is doing good down there. Can't wait to meet her.

Tia is 23 Months

It is crazy how fast 23 months went by. Tia seems so big now. She communicates and has such a personality. Chris and I were just saying how neat it is to see ourselves in her looks and actions. She has slept in her big girl bed most of the week and this morning she woke up, crawled out of bed, and walked into our room. I was so excited to see her do that. She is pickier than anyone and she knows what she wants. She is getting tall enough that she can reach things we put out of reach. She can turn on the iPad, switch from game to game, and watch her videos. She can get up on the step stool in her room, open the DVD player, take out the DVD, put in a new one, and hit play. She can get her own cup from the fridge and put it in the sink when she is done. Plus so much more. Wow on her growth! She is very sensitive and gets her feelings hurt easily but she has a small temper too that shines when she doesn't get her way. She is the faster runner I've seen that young and she has a little athletes body. I can't wait till she can play soccer when she is 3. So excited for her to get bigger. Not to mention she is going to be a big sister soon! Whoot Whoot!

Yay Tia

Tia has gone two nights sleeping in her big girl bed. I am so proud of her. She actually asks to go to bed in it! Whoot Whoot!

7 Month Appt

All looks good for Baby Girl Norris #2. Heartbeat is strong. I passed my glucose test. I'm not anemic. I am Type A+ so no RH shot. All looks good. I asked about her movement and how excessive it seems. Does she have A.D.D. Or will she be hyper active? He said never worry about too much movement. He says that is her personality coming out and that she is getting all the proper nutrients. He also said I'm more aware of movements and that to enjoy it. I love it and was happy to hear it is normal. Tia was very active but this baby is more active. So now I go to twice a month appts. Is it really the home stretch? Wow!

Big Girl Bed

In Tia's room, there is her crib and a full size bed in hopes to transition Tia to a big girl bed soon. We bought a rail for the long side of the bed that isn't up against the wall. A couple weeks ago Tia took a nap in the big bed and the past few nights, Tia has been trying out the big girl bed at night. She rolls a lot and so Chris will move her to her crib in the middle of night. As with all transitions, it just takes some time but we are seeing progress. I just wonder what happens when she gets out of bed in the middle of the night. I guess we will have to just see how it goes. She's done so great with the other transitions do far do hopefully this will also be a breeze. Guess we'll see!

Cervical Dilation

Not a Morning Person

Tia is proving to NOT be a morning person. This does not surprise me because neither Chris nor I are morning people.  I always seem like I am because my life has changed radically since having Tia, but the 30 years prior, I would sleep in until the last possible minute and snooze as many times as I could.  Because I had Tia and the responsibility of having her depend on me to get her up, fed, changed, and to school each morning, I have become the morning person I never thought I would.  Trust me though, given the chance, I will sleep in as long as I can. However, since having Tia, I have not had many days where I was able to sleep in. Chris, on the other hand, has still had the luxury of sleeping until the last possible minute and on the weekends much, much longer. I gave him this privilege w hen Tia was born with warning that when Baby #2 was born, he may have to start getting up with us a lot earlier than he's used to. Tia, the past week, has been the crankiest baby ever. So we'll see how it goes.

Letters from Santa

Believe it or not, Christmas is just around the corner! 

You are receiving this email as a past supporter of the Mercy NICUPS (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Parent Support) fundraising campaign, Letters from Santa.  I am writing to ask your help in passing along information to anyone and everyone you can think of so that we may continue to provide the families currently in our unit the support that can make all the difference in their struggles. The NICUPS are a volunteer organization which is funded entirely by donations and helps families by:

- Providing one-on-one emotional and educational support. 
- Provide, free-of-charge, books and other educational materials. 
- Having family classes and meetings. 
- Financial assistance during crisis situations. 
- Making available breast pumps, car seats, gas cards and other necessities as needed to those in need free of charge.

For those unfamiliar with this project, we generate a letter from Santa to a child(ren) of your choice (or adults and pets, too!), for a donation of $6 per letter. Last year, our small group of 35 graduate parents raised over $60,000 from the letters.

I'm emailing to let you know about the capability of our web site, www.miraclebaby.org to accept letter orders and contributions through the safe and secure Mercy processing center. And, since anyone, anywhere in the world can access the site and easily request a letter, we are asking for your help by passing along information about our site. We can also be found on Facebook as Mercy NICUPS!  On our web site you will find information making it very easy to pass along this wonderful opportunity to help the families of the NICU while sending a special letter.

If you feel comfortable emailing family and friends who might be interested, if you are part of any online discussion groups, if you have neighborhood newsletters or workplace newsletters, either online or printed - these are just some ideas of ways to let others know. 

Please visit the web site www.miraclebaby.org to contact the NICUPS and order your Letters from Santa.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, and thank you in advance for any help you can offer!

Have a wonderful holiday season! 

Scout Gibson
Fundraising Coordinator, NICUPS

On The Potty

So at daycare, they try to put the kids on the potty to get them used to it. Tia is one of those that actually likes it. At home she is constantly sitting on her potty and lately, she even pulls down her pants and sits on there. Yesterday at school, Tia went pee on the potty. She got a gold star and everything! So one step closer to potty training Tia. So proud of my baby girl!

Teaching for Junior Acheivement

Today, on my birthday, Chris and I are going to be teaching for Junior Achievement. We will be teaching 2nd graders all day at Jefferson Elementary School, an inner city school here in St. Louis. This is something the staff at my organization does every year. This is my fourth year doing this. I invited Chris to help out this year and teach so he will also be helping. My co-worker Karry and I have done it every year together so Chris will be a great addition to our team. We are teaching on Our Community which talks about living and working in a community. What is neat about Junior Achievement is that it gets kids excited about business. So seeing business people, such and us, volunteering to teach gives them more hope that no matter what your background, they too can achieve big things. I love teaching for J.A. It is a long day and it really makes me appreciate teachers! Karry is going to teach the first two lessons, I'll be teaching the 2nd two, and Chris will teach the third. It will be neat. I'm excited to teach with Chris. Now that we have Tia and another baby on the way, we may have a deeper connection with these kids than if we were non-parents.

Tia's School Pics

Tia’s school pictures are in. She is 1 year and 10 months old in these.
You can order at: www.images4kids.com
Access Code: NKW5-14
Password: 26016

Night Night Time

Tia is a night owl. She does not want to go to bed. She does everything she can to get out of it. Then when all else fails she puts on the charm. She'll start singing 'I love you...you love me...' and when that is done, she'll sing 'twinkle twinkle.' Then she'll say 'I love you' loudly then after you say it, she'll say it even louder...almost like her way of saying I love you more. Sometimes she'll ask for a drink and we'll take her to get one. Other times she'll request all of her stuffed items like Be-be a teddy bear, Lamby a lamb head blankie, and puppy which is a big puppy dog. Then sometimes she'll just squeeze you so tightly that it makes it so hard to put her down. She is just so sweet and on a whim, she'll cry out in anger because she hates going to bed. When we finally get her down, we can hear her talking for a very long time until finally she'll go to bed. Chris puts her to bed most nights so he gets the sweetness and the resilience. Nap time is the same way! The girl is definitely our daughter and I know Chris and I are night owls, so it doesn't surprise me.

The Candy Witch

I often hear some great ideas that make me want to do them with my kids. A friend who told me about the Elf on a Shelf told me about the Candy Witch. As you know I am a creative, which means I am attracted to creative ideas and am always coming up with creative ideas. So the Candy Witch is like the tooth fairy and is used the night of Halloween. Basically, you tell your kids they can pick out a few pieces of candy for each day of the next week and then they put the rest of their candy outside their door when they go to bed. Then tell them that the Candy Witch is coming and will take the candy but leave you a present. Then after they go to bed you take the candy and leave them a small present. My friend left her daughters a DVD. What a great idea since you know how much candy they get each year. I am definitely going to use this in the future.

Big Belly

All of a sudden this past week, my belly has grown immensely. Everyone has noticed and I feel further along than I am. Little Baby #2 really kicks me all of the time and let's just say that I feel pretty pregnant. I am just happy to be past that 'I don't have a beer belly stage' and am now noticeably pregnant. So excited about this baby and to see how Tia does. I really hope they are close growing up. Although with girls - you just never know!

Halloween was pretty good. It seemed like a light crowd compared to last year, but last year was on a weekend. I made some bags up with candy and some halloween toys. Tia enjoyed handing out the candy to the trick or treaters. Chris will laugh because I was calling them customers. Every time another kid would show up, I'd say 'here comes another customer' and Chris would crack up. Tia had some candy and she wore her Ladybug costume from last year. I can't believe she fit into it. Didn't she look adorable. Tia had a good Halloween!

Toilet Infatuation

So I know most kids go through a toilet infatuation but for some reason I thought Tia would miss it. Nope! She loves sitting on her potty but not too long ago we found her cup of milk inside it. Then this past weekend Chris found Tia coming out of our bathroom all soaking wet and he realized she had been playing in our toilet. Ew! Later I went to go to the bathroom and found my sock, my razor, and the toilet bowl cleaner inside. Thankfully she didn't flush. We have told her how icky it is but I guess kids just get a curiosity for toilets. Kids!