A Plan for Number Two

We had a nice visit with Dr. A on August 22nd. There was no one in the office, it was the end of their day and it was just us, Dr. A and a nurse.We sat and chatted with him about the end of my pregnancy with Grayson, about breastfeeding, about my cycles and how they have been regular {and how they returned around 3 months post-partum. Lucky me, ha!} and that we hadn't had a pregnancy even though we had stopped preventing five months ago.

Dr. A told us that whenever we are ready, we will go straight to what worked last time: Follistim + IUI. I breathed a sigh of relief at that moment. I had been so anxious all day because I didn't know what the plan would be. Once I knew, I was fine. I guess that's my control freak showing her ugly face. He did make a note to start with a lower dose of the Follistim since I responded so well last time, a little too well.

The only testing that we need to repeat is the infectious diseases. They are required every year. And also my TSH and prolactin levels. After that, the next step is to call Dr. A's office on cycle day one when we are ready for a treatment cycle. When that will be is something I have decided to keep between Nick and I this time around. We haven't had many surprises in this journey, so I would like to try and keep a few :)

xoxo,
Megan

The Truth

I won't lie. I have been hoping and wishing, with all of my might, that we would be one of those couples that are surprised with pregnancy number two. You hear about it all of the time. Those who go through hell and back to get pregnant the first time and then, surprise! They are pregnant with no medical intervention, maybe not even planned, and for some reason it happens and it's wonderful. And of course, no doubt, I am thrilled for them! Honestly. This isn't about me being upset for those that this happens to. Not at all. I am just mourning the fact that this hasn't happened for us. 

My cycle returned around three months post-partum and we haven't been preventing for a while. Sure, we could wait longer and maybe it would happen on it's own at some point in time. But who am I kidding, we aren't getting any younger and because we have some unexplained reason for it not happening the first time, it scares us to wait too long. Plus we are excited for another baby. Very excited. 

We never did get the answer why it was so hard for us the first time. What's crazy is that it took seven, yes SEVEN, mature follicles for us to have one viable baby. I wonder all the time if that means anything. I have no clue, but I wonder.

We are heading back to the RE, Dr. A, on August 22nd. I am looking forward to seeing them again and talking to him about a plan for baby number two. I do feel a certain confidence that we can achieve another pregnancy with Dr. A's help. I hope we can. But it sure would be awesome if my body would work the way it's supposed to for once.

xoxo,

Megan

Babies and Dogs (and cats, tortoises, etc)

I haven't blogged about it, probably ever, but I am extremely passionate about dog behavior. It all began with the Mastiff forum I was a part of when we first brought Apollo home. He will be seven this year! There was a fantastic dog behaviorist who gave great advice on our forum and I began to read everything she wrote, and then did my own research as well. I realized how misunderstood dogs are. They speak their own language and we as humans are trying our best to communicate with them in our language. My dream {and goal?} is to make dog training my career. I love it and I love to teach and I love to help people, which is really more of what a dog trainer/behaviorist should be doing.

I wanted to talk a little about kids and dogs. It definitely takes effort and it's not always easy, but a child's relationship with their dog can be so amazing and worth it. The most important thing to remember: It's the parent's responsibility to keep the child and the dog safe! 

Here are a few things I feel are very important to maintaining a happy home for both the children and the dogs {and cats, tortoises, etc. It applies to all pets}

• Dogs and kids should never, ever be left alone together. EVER. No matter how sweet your dog may be, you just never know.
• From day one, children should be closely supervised and assisted when petting their pets. We use the word "gentle." Please do not allow tail grabbing, ear grabbing, fur ripping, hitting, climbing on them. That hurts! Start early and teach them to respect animals. Grayson already understands gentle because we have been reinforcing it from day one. We always praise G when he does gentle petting. Encourage your children to pet the dog under the chin or on their shoulder/back. Discourage hugging or reaching over the dog's head. It may seem sweet, but dogs do not like to be hugged. It's a threatening position. And while you are teaching your children how to treat their own dog, this carries over to meeting new dogs too. 
• Create a safe place for your dog. Apollo has his own area in the house with his water bowl and bed, separated from the rest of the house by a baby fence. Don't wait until your dog is growling, or worse, biting, before putting him in his safe place. Apollo stays in his safe place unless we go outside together, on a walk or we are supervising a visit with him and G.
• Stress signals. Dogs give calming signals well before they start growling or biting, we just need to learn what they are so that it does not escalate. These are warning signals that we should take seriously before the dog feels he must use a different warning with more severe consequences. Living with Kids & Dogs is one of my favorite resources, and she further explains the stress signals here.

I love to talk dog behavior, so if you have a question, I'd love to help!

Good resources for positive reinforcement training:
http://www.dogstardaily.com
http://positively.com
http://www.patriciamcconnell.com

xoxo,
Megan

Twelve Months

Milestones and Firsts...

• He is walking! Not all of the time and not without wobbles, but he's doing it. It began the week of July 22nd... he just kept going and we realized that he was really doing it. Here is some video:

• He understands how utensils work. He has a little trouble stabbing the food with the fork, but he knows how to feed himself with it and is very persistent in doing it himself. 
• We have been weaning him off of formula {ugh, I hate that stuff} and onto whole cow's milk this past month. He has done really well with the transition and continues to eat his solids well. He will take his water in a sippy cup, no problem. He thinks milk is for playing with when it's in anything other than a bottle. I am going to try a straw sippy cup to see if he will use that. At his check up today, his pedi tested his hemoglobin and it was great, measuring 13. She gave us the go ahead to stop formula and give him only milk. Yay!
• The two lateral incisors - I had to look that up, ha! - are coming in beside his top front teeth, so he has six teeth total now.

• He started at his new daycare on July 8th. He is doing really well, but he is still adjusting to his new teachers. He cries when I hand him off, but quickly stops once his teacher distracts him with something. It absolutely breaks my heart into a million pieces, but I know he is fine once I am gone. I love his teachers and his new classroom and curriculum. They have so much for him to do and they take the kids outside for walks. It's one full time teacher because there are just four kids in his class right now. There are a couple teachers that break her and cover her if she has to leave for any reason. Grayson does well with both of them too. I walked in the other day to pick him up and he was sitting in a circle with the other kids, listening to the teacher read a story. So cute, I almost burst. 
• We finished our Parent and Me beginner swim lessons. Grayson absolutely loves it and it shows. He splashes and laughs and kicks the entire time! We are going to continue swim lessons at our local YMCA.
• He went on a bike ride in the Burley D'Lite trailer for the first time! He knocked out. I about died pulling him {haven't been on my mountain bike much lately}, but it was fun and a great workout.

• He is very independent these days. He wants to walk or crawl instead of being carried. He wants to push the shopping cart rather than ride in it. He will sit in the living room {toy room 1} or the family room {toy room 2} by himself and play with his toys for quite a while. 
• He loves his Dada and when I ask "where is Dada?" he looks around for him and repeats Dada over and over until we find him. He is definitely a Momma's boy still and I am just fine if he stays that way forever! His kitties still taunt him and pass him by, just out of reach. He loves them and squeals in delight every time he sees them. He and Apollo are best buddies. They usually hang out together in the backyard, G's favorite place, in the evenings. He also adores other babies and kids. Another kid guarantees a huge smile and squeal from him.
• He is doing well developmentally; pointing, clapping, saying a few words, walking, figuring out his toys that require him to open things, put blocks or balls in them, cause and affect, he knows what "no" means, but I also explain everything to him and I never just say "no" - I always explain why we don't do that, etc. I know that he will understand these things before he can talk, so Nick and I want to make it a habit now. He gives us hugs and shows us affection. His favorite toys are instruments; drums, bongos, the harmonica, any toys that rattle when you shake them... he loves to make noise, and of course, kitchen utensils, specifically wooden spoons and spatulas. He really enjoys being outside and he gets very upset and angry when it's time to come inside or if he sees one of us go outside without him. I am so happy that he loves the outdoors because we love them too. He loves to drop things into boxes or baskets or trash cans, but I think he likes to throw everything out even more :)

Video of his throwing skills:

Other tidbits about being 12 months old...

• He is sleeping very well, just like his Momma :) 12 hours at night and typically one nap mid-day, 2 to 3 hours long. 
• He is wearing 12-18 month clothes.
• He is wearing size 3 diapers.
• He weighed in at 22 lbs 9 oz and measured 29 inches long.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Well, this is his last formal monthly update. Cue tears. I figure I will post updates still, to track his development and milestones much like a baby book, but nothing formal. I still can't believe he is a year old. It seems the years fly by faster and faster the older I get. It's a great reminder to cherish and savor each and every moment.

xoxo,
Megan

The Party

Grayson's birthday party was so much fun. It was a pirate pool party and the weather turned out perfect for swimming. It was so great to see all of our family and friends. Grayson had a blast - he smashed his smash cake, opened gifts and played in the pool. It was a great day.

We had a taco guy serve lunch and my Mom made banana and lemon cupcakes for dessert. Yum.

Grandpa dressed up as a pirate :)

He smashed his cake so well, but he would not eat a single bite. 

Video of G smashing his cake:

Video of his birthday song at brunch the next day:

Happy Birthday

Twelve months. One year. Unbelievable. I think back to when we first started trying to have a baby, back to all those failed cycles and failed treatments, back to the day I took my first positive pregnancy test, back to that first time I felt him move and back to the most amazing day of my life, July 28, 2012, when I delivered him. What a journey. It still feels so surreal that he is here. I feel so lucky and so happy. I couldn't ask for anything more.

Grayson has changed my life. Nothing is the same as it was before he was here. Becoming a parent, becoming a Mom, it changes you. All good changes, of course. I appreciate every single second of this life. I am more patient. I am kinder. I understand things I never did before. About love. About family. About life. I have never loved someone more than I do Grayson. I love my husband, so much. And my family too. But the love a mother feels for their child cannot be put into words. It's insane.

This year has flown by. I am so thankful for my iPhone. I took thousands and thousands of pictures and videos these past 365 days. I love to look back at them, although they make me weepy too. I remember how tiny he was, and knowing I will never have those moments back is tough on a Momma. Can't he stay tiny forever?! Instead I try to focus on watching him grow up and taking great joy in watching him learn new things. 

Happy birthday, my son. You will always be my baby boy, no matter how old you are. I love you so, so, so, so much.

One year video montage. Thanks to my wonderful husband for putting it together.

 

xoxo,
Megan

p.s. I will be back soon with his birthday party pictures, family photos and a full 12 Month Update after his doctor appointment on the 30th :)

  

Landscape and Pool Project

We are SO excited about this project! We wanted a pool when we were house shopping, or a house under our budget that we could do our own pool. We definitely preferred doing our own because most of the houses we were looking at had old pools and none of them were our style. It worked out perfectly with this house.

The front is almost complete. The landscaping is done, but in the future, we want to paint the exterior {pink?! eww} and put new lighting up. I have been looking at rustic/industrial copper fixtures, like this or this. We asked for a drought tolerant landscape with a natural, but modern feel. They did a fantastic job!

The front yard...

Before:

 

After:

 

 

 

 

And the back yard...

Before:

Demo complete and pool hole is dug.

Steel, plumbing and electrical

Shotcrete

Planter walls are in, stack stone is started, new concrete patio decking is poured and pool tile is in.

Another view from the other side of the yard.

Mini pebble plaster finish complete and filled with water. Tom, the desert tortoise, lives in that planter to the left, that wraps around the back of the pool. He has so much room now and it's planted just for him :)

After:

We would eventually like to stucco the walls and plant more plants, but we love it! I have always dreamed of having my own pool after swimming in everyone else's all my life. I am a fish and now Grayson is proving to be one too, so it's worth every penny to us :) 

We are having Grayson's first birthday at our house so everyone will be able to enjoy the pool. Stay tuned for pictures at the end of this month.

xoxo,

Megan