Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Two surveys for the price of one!

I had my 28 week check up today, which went well. The best part of it was that Kaelyn decided that we didn't need to hear her heartbeat today. She worked really hard at trying to move away from the little machine and even kicked it several times. The nurse and I had a good laugh. We were able to hear the heartbeat (because lil Kaelyn can only go so far) and it sounded beautifully. A nice 145 bpm.

One thing I was definitely not crazy about was how much weight I gained this past month. Ugh! My doctor told me that this is completely normal to have a month where you spike really high (I did the same with Autumn as well). I just wasn't prepared for it. Like I stated before in my last blog post, I've been working at trying to not gain as much weight this time around. However, when I asked what my start weight was, I felt much better because I've only gained a total of 15 lbs so far. I looked back at one of my surveys and I had gained 24 lbs at about this time with Autumn. So a huge sigh of relief for me. Hehe.

Speaking of surveys, I thought it would be fun to compare surveys from now and back with Autumn. So my pregnancy with Kaelyn will be in bold and my pregnancy with Autumn won't. Enjoy!

How far along? 27 weeks and 6 days (28 weeks and 6 days)
Total weight gain/loss: Gained 15 lbs (Gained 24 lbs)
Maternity clothes? Definitely in the maternity pants and still trying to wear some of my old t-shirts. (I'd rather wear my lounge pants (that I made) with a sports bra and an oversized t-shirt... Ahhhh, sounds so much better than tight clothes!)
Stretch marks? My old ones are getting darker and I've noticed some new ones around my belly button (whose idea was it to get my belly button pierced?) (None (so far...))
Sleep: Ugh... Sleep is overrated. Especially now that I have to get up with Autumn in the morning. I don't get to sleep in til 10am like I did last pregnancy. LOL (Sleep? What's that?! Definitely tossing and turning or up and peeing... Take your pick!)
Best moment this week: Having Jordan feel Kaelyn's hiccups. He thought that was kinda funny. (Actually being woken up by her moving. I know it sounds crazy, but I kinda enjoyed it :-))
Movement: She moves, a lot! I'm beginning to think it was more than Autumn did. She's very active and isn't very shy. She's definitely let a lot of people feel her move. (Everyday, several times a day. She's a very active baby!)
Food cravings: Cool Ranch Doritos!!! (Pickles and Culver's Icecream (but not together... Ewww))
Gender: It's a girl!!! (It's a girl :-D)
Labor Signs: None... (None (yet...))
Belly Button in or out? Belly button is definitely an outie now. (Neither. It's more of an even-ny... LOL... I guess it depends on how I am sitting. But definitely more out than in sometimes.)
What I miss: Again... Sleeping on my stomach! (SLEEPING ON MY STOMACH!!!!!! :-/)
What I am looking forward to: I would have to say the same thing, being able to hold her in my arms and introduce her to Autumn and Jordan. However, I can wait (hehe). (Being able to hold her in my arms, kiss her little cheeks and see that beautiful face that Jordan and I created. Miracle of life is such a beautiful thing!)
Weekly Wisdom: Your house doesn't always have to be 100% clean. Anybody who has kids (recently or not) will understand that there are toys everywhere and food everywhere. If they don't, don't invite them over. Hehe (Make sure you don't sneeze on a full bladder....... :-/)
Milestones: I think it's funny how excited I was with Autumn that I was going to have a baby in 3 months. But now I'm going into panic mode, because I have nothing ready for this baby that's coming in 3 months!!! (I think just being less than 3 months away from my due date is a milestone.)
Realization of the week: SO MUCH TO DO IN 3 MONTHS!!! (I'm gonna have a baby in 3 months!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!)

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Now and Then

I was finally able to take a picture of my baby bump today. I've been lazy when it comes to makeup and making myself look decent. And on the days that I do, I forget to take a picture. Well, I enjoy Jordan taking my picture for me. That's a chore in and of itself ;-)

As I was posting my picture on facebook, my friend Jen asked if I had one of my pregnancy with Autumn around the same time (27 weeks). Sure enough, I did! I had one of myself at 27 weeks with Autumn. Perfect! After emailing the pictures to Jen, she did a little side by side... Wow... What a difference!

I've been working really hard on being healthier this time around. I gained way too much weight when I was pregnant with Autumn (almost 50 lbs to be exact). I wasn't going to let that happen again. With Autumn I was lazy, I didn't go out much, I sat on my computer all day. Ate the wrong foods. Wasn't having the best sleep schedule (sleeping too much or not enough). Just basically being lazy in general. I ate way, way too much fast food as well. Ugh, I feel sick just thinking about it. Now I am walking 1 1/2 miles a day with Jade. Running around with Autumn ALL DAY LONG. Eating much, much healthier. It helps having Autumn around to feed because I don't want her to eat junk food period. I'm still struggling with portions. My eyes are bigger than my stomach and I feel like I always have to eat what's on my plate. So it's something I need to work on.

I went back on my blog to my 27th week with Autumn, just to see what I wrote about. It wasn't what I was hoping for, but it'll do. I was really more curious about numbers and my survey that I usually do. But that was at 28 weeks so I think I'll wait until my doctor's appointment on Wednesday before I compare those numbers. For now, enjoy the picture that Jen sent me. It's amazing, how much healthier I look this time around. I feel much better too!

Friday, June 24, 2011

What to do?

Friends, I need your help! My brother called me yesterday and said that my parent's neighbor wants to know if we want to take their dog...

Here is what my thoughts are. I absolutely love this dog. She's beautiful, young and wasn't given much attention or exercise from her owners. They left her on a leash all day outside. She would run away from them when she had a chance and would try to pull away from me when I went to bring her back. She's been around Autumn and Jade several times (we used to let her in the house when she got away) and even though she's a little puppy hyper, it wasn't horrible.

The cons... Autumn just got bit by another dog. I'm still horrified by that idea and Jordan and I said we weren't going to get another dog because of it. More dog food to go through, we'll have to get a dog cage because she's still young and could chew up stuff. I enjoy gardening outside with Autumn and Jade (who doesn't run away and will stay on command).

A little background about her. She's a Native American Indian dog. Kind of like a husky, but a little less hyper. Still higher energy, needs a firm owner (which we are) and exercise. I think she's just under a year old. And the reason why they want to find her a new home is because they don't give her the time and energy that she needs. They came to my brother first because we have shown interest to these neighbors before that we want their dog.

So please, I need some external advice from you guys. I really would love to take her. I've wanted her since I first met her, but I'm honestly scared. Or, is this why God had Kallie bite Autumn? So we could have the dog we've always wanted? I wish I knew the answer...

(The pic was taken during one of her many visits to my parent's house).

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Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Updated Look

So on my last blog post a friend of mine mentioned that I needed to "update" my name and look of my blog. I was definitely thinking about it, because for one thing, it's not just Autumn's story anymore. She's going to have to learn to share soon enough :-)

Trying to think of a new blog name was difficult enough. I'm still not 100% sure if I'm gonna stick with this one or not. This title popped into my head first because number 1, my life is crazy. Between the new house, Autumn getting a mind of her own, baby #2 on her way and Jordan and I constantly running around like a chicken with its head cut off... Well, you get the picture... Then number 2, our family is built on a foundation of love. We would be here without it (and, of course, God). So then the phrase "crazy little thing called love" just popped into my head and I couldn't get rid of it. So this'll be my title (for now).

Jordan and I planted our first garden last night. I started small, because this is new to me and I didn't want to overwhelm myself. We have tomatoes (already planted from a few weeks ago), green beans and sugar snaps. Can't wait til we're able to finally eat from our garden! I was going to take pictures, but my battery was dead. So it's currently charging. I need to start taking more pictures. I've been slacking.

Let me know what you think about the new blog. I'm going to take some pictures of Autumn this afternoon and make a new post about her. It's been a while since I've posted any pictures of her. It's time you got to see my lil cutie again!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

My poor baby :-(

I feel, absolutely horrible. I never would have purposefully put my daughter, or anyone else for that matter, in this sort of danger. I still, can't believe it actually happened...

What am I talking about do you ask? Our newest dog, Kallie, bit Autumn in the face last night and even drew blood. I was in the other room when it happened. Jordan was sitting on the couch. Kallie on her bed next to the couch. Autumn was right on top of her. (Autumn is used to climbing all over Jade. She tolerates it. If Jade has had enough, she'll get up and walk away. Simple as that. Kallie has growled at Autumn a couple of times. It was something we were working on. But I didn't think it was going to be a big issue because she came from a family with 3 boys and a girl all around Autumn's age. So she couldn't have done anything horrible there.)

So apparently Autumn was laying over Kallie's mid section and playing with something behind Kallie's back. Kallie growled at Autumn and Jordan corrected her. Not a big deal to me. However, shortly after, Kallie reared back and bit Autumn in the face. Jordan said that it happened way too fast. All I heard was the sound of something getting hit (Jordan did punch Kallie, twice, I don't blame him) and then Autumn crying. Jordan got her away from Kallie as fast as he could. I ran into the room asking what had happened. Honestly, I just thought that Autumn fell while playing with Jordan. I had no idea what he was about to say next...

"Kallie bit Autumn." I can still hear it ringing in my ears. Words that I never thought I would ever hear. Ugh, gives me chills. Autumn was definitely very scared. I knew, right then, that Kallie couldn't stay with us. I wanted her out of the house. I also knew that if she drew blood, she would have to be put down. I know a lot of you readers out there have opinions on this topic. But I am a firm believer that if a dog is comfortable biting a human being and draws blood, then that animal will most likely do it again. I will not put any other human being in that sort of danger. Autumn did no harm, what-so-ever, to Kallie. Who's to say what's going to happen if someone did accidentally hurt her (I can't tell you how many times I've accidentally stepped on Jade's tail or feet and she never showed aggression. I've stepped on Kallie's foot once and she nipped at my ankles...)

Sure enough. After Autumn calmed down a little bit, I brought her face up to inspect and there was blood. Ugh. I immediately broke down in tears because I was almost 100% sure what was going to happen to Kallie. Honestly, Jordan was so ticked off that he was about to kill her himself. I knew he would regret it if he did. We didn't really know who to call at that time. It was a Saturday evening, who was open? Someone suggested Animal Control. So Jordan got their number and had them come over. We ended up taking a picture of Autumn's face just minutes after it happened in case she was in bed before AC got to our house.

Super nice lady came and filled out paperwork for Kallie, looked Autumn over and then took Kallie away. Honestly, yes, I am sad. Kallie was a super, super sweet dog. Don't get me wrong. She had improved, SO MUCH, in the 2 weeks that we had her. I worked so hard on her! However, she was 4 years old with a history that wasn't very well known when we got her. Who knows what she was like with other owners. Kallie is going to be quarantined for 10 days before they put her down. I thought that this was silly at first until I read the paperwork that Jordan got. It's mostly for the person who got bit because if Autumn were to get rabies or something else, they would have to test Kallie's blood.

So again, yes, I am sad. I'm getting teary eyed just writing this post. I also know that I am going to get a lot of hate messages as well for this. However, put yourself in my position. My child, my own flesh and blood, was injured by a dog who is definitely capable of doing it again or worse. Autumn is incapable of defending herself and does not completely understand the difference between Jade and other dogs. What if this was your child? What if this was my dog who bit your child? What would you do?

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

And the survery says...

How far along? 23 weeks and 6 days
Total weight gain/loss: Ugh, I think I've only gained 8 lbs so far. I forgot where I started. LOL
Maternity clothes? Definitely maternity pants. Kaelyn sits way too low for me to wear bella bands on anything non maternity. I can't stand the pressure on my uterus!
Stretch marks? No new ones, but old ones are getting darker.
Sleep: I have officially begun the "uncomfortable" stage of sleep. I really miss sleeping on my stomach and my RLS are keeping me (and Jordan) up at night. I have to attempt to reposition myself in the middle of the night. Then when I sleep on my back, Kaelyn kicks me to let me know that she's not ok with it.
Best moment this week: Having another ultrasound and seeing Kaelyn wave at me :-)
Movement: She moves for me a lot during the day and crazy at night. Jordan and I love watching her make my belly move.
Food cravings: Pickles... :-)
Gender: It's a girl!!!
Labor Signs: N/A
Belly Button in or out? Yup, it's an outie.
What I miss: Being able to fall asleep right away. My restless leg syndrome is worse this pregnancy :-(
What I am looking forward to: Seeing if Kaelyn will really look like me (my mom and I were comparing ultra sound pictures between her and Autumn and we think she'll look like me, hehe).
Weekly Wisdom: God is in control. I have to put my faith in this pregnancy in Him and trust that it's in His will.
Milestones: I only gained 2 1/2 lbs in the last month. That made me super excited because I gained way too much weight with Autumn. Yay for long walks!!!
Realization of the week: I am going to have a 2 year old and a newborn in less than 4 months. AHHHHHH :-D

Is my dog walking me?

I know several of you out there are having this problem. You dog takes YOU for a walk. I tolerated it with Jade because let's face it, she made me walk faster. But with Kallie, it was too much. I was afraid to walk her with the stroller because she could take off at any moment. And she's strong!

I wasn't about to let this happen because I wanted to take the dogs on 2 daily walks. One with Autumn and one without. Jade, like I said, I tolerated. But if I wanted her to heel, she would. However, the idea of walking 2 dogs (one who pulled a little and one who I thought was trying to win a dog sled race) made me super uneasy. I ran across this webpage a few years ago when I was having problems walking our boxer. I just skimmed it over then and didn't do much about it. Not to mention that the dog pictured was wearing a choke collar and I refused to use one!

I read the webpage over again, very carefully and took it all in. I then decided to give it a try this morning with Autumn in her stroller (yes, I was nervous). I first had to establish dominance by walking out of the house first. It seemed silly to me, but I figured that the person who wrote this had to have some sort of clue what was going on. Kallie wants to, so badly, bolt out of the house. Jade will stay if I tell her to. So I was firm. Made Kallie sit, several times, and calm down before she was allowed out of the house. I even walked out of the door and stood there until she was calm. Then I attached her to the leash and let her out. Right now Kallie has a long leash (I'm heading over to Chow Hound after this to get her a shorter one) so I had to basically loop it through the stroller so that I didn't have a big bulky wad to hold onto. Now comes the walk....

Kallie is, of course, super excited! I don't blame her. I've been enjoying these walks very much myself. But I also read that an excited dog doesn't mean a happy dog. She needs to work off her energy, not create more. By allowing her to roam the street, sniff everything and check out the latest bird tree, she is making herself more excited and therefore, not burning her energy. And when she burns her energy, she will become a happy dog. We relate our dogs so much to humans that it's hard to understand this sometimes. But after what I saw today, it made much more sense to me.

Have you ever watched dog shows where they have the dog's collar super high up on their neck? First time I saw this I thought it was silly and also cruel. I thought they were choking the dog. Yes, it is the weakest point on their neck, however, it's amazing how they will not pull when the collar is positioned that way. It worked, almost INSTANTLY with Kallie. I slid her collar up and immediately watched her slow herself down. I did have to correct her a couple of times, but that was it!!! She stayed by me, RIGHT NEXT TO ME, almost the whole time. I am absolutely amazed. Stunned. I was the dominate one. She had to listen to me. She even watched me a couple of times while we were walking to see what I wanted her to do next. We didn't take the long walk this morning (Autumn was getting fussy). But she was not hyper, at all, when we got back to the house. I even let her off the leash, before we even hit the garage and she STAYED BY MY SIDE!!! Again, completely stunned (she's already taken off into the neighborhood before we put the gate up on our fence).

Even though I am not a fan of choke collars, I will be getting one. The dog's normal collars do slip down their neck when they're relaxed and I could see Kallie's urge to start pulling again. This will just help keep her collar close to her head so that she won't pull at all. Wow, again, I am super excited about this and honestly couldn't wait to share this with you. I just gave you guys a brief summary of what I did with Kallie today. But please, please take the time to read this webpage if you are having problems with your dog pulling during the walk. I am 100% positive that this will work for you fully within a week. I am still shocked that it worked immediately for me!

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/articles/dogwalk.htm