Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Keylan's Birth

So I made another post for Keylan's pregnancy because he was my "high maintenance" baby. But this I will start the morning I headed to the hospital. I was scheduled to have a repeat c-section at 8:00 the morning of April 16, 2010. I got to the hospital at about 5:30 to prep and monitor him. My mom dropped Shiana off at daycare and then came up to the hospital to be with us. At 8 A.M. I walked down to the OR and got my spinal block, of course I felt like I was being smothered with the O2 mask on and strapped down. I don't remember a lot, no pulling or tugging like there was with Shiana, but he was cutting away a lot of scar tissue. He ended up having to cut on a different part of my uterus then intended, and it ended up being where my placenta was at. I lost a lot of blood and then it took a minute to get Keylan out. 

He was born at 8:36 A.M. I heard a little cry, saw him for 2 seconds and then he was gone. I can not say what happened once he left because mom and Jeremy were with him while my tubes were tied and I was closed up. I went to recovery and finally got to see him again for another 2 seconds an hour later. He was hooked up to monitors and IVs and tubes in his mouth and a nasal cannula, not how you picture seeing your supposed full term newborn. He had acidosis, from what they told us later that night, really bad. We finally got to hold our newborn after midnight. I got him to latch because I was determined to breastfeed, then they pushed formula on him. He was fed every 3 hours and once they started pushing formula on him he started to spit up really bad and he never gained weight. We had to fight to have him discharged at 6 days old, they wanted him to gain at least a quarter of a pound. Had we not fought he would had been in there for 3 weeks. We took him home, he was partially breastfed and bottle fed and because of weight and spit up he eventually ended up on just the bottle. He was eating 1-2 ounces every 1-2 hours because of spit up. 

At 2 months old, he had gained 1 pound. He ended up back in the hospital for failure to thrive. They tested for everything and finally figured he had a fast metabolism. Started him on Neosure, a high calorie formula, and zantac for acid reflux. He was still fed 1-2 oz every 1-2 hours but from there his reflux was controlled and he started gaining weight. 

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

It's been awhile

So it has been a while since I last updated. I have not been doing much, just cleaning house and being mommy. I have gotten a little more involved at Shiana's school and she is loving it when I come in. There is nothing like seeing her big smile and hearing her say that I am the bestest mommy in the whole world because I came to her school. She is still in advanced groups in her class which I think is absolutely awesome and she is now a car rider most days because she is tired of having to sit on the bus for nearly an hour to go 2 miles down the road. I love listening to her spell and read and we have been working on math problems (simple adding and subtracting) but my favorite is listening to her read and she loves it. I hope she has my love of books as she grows.

Keylan...what can I say about this charming little man of mine? lol. He is a very hyper almost 3 year old, dang almost 3 when did that happen? He is learning new things everyday. We have been working on our ABCs, he knows some of his shapes and colors, potty training is ish right now but definitely not stressing over that. He eats me out of house and home and I am scared to see what he is like when he is a teenager. And night times have been rough. He goes to bed easily, but has a tendency of waking up multiple times during the night. After having a rather unpleasant encounter with the NP at the place that we are going I am trying something new. 

My kids have both been very touchy, like me. They have to feel, be on, touch something while they sleep. Since they are having a rough time sleeping I have decided that their beds are going to be pushed together. I am praying this helps them and it helps me/us and everyone can get a good night sleep and have good days and not "cranky mommy days" as Shiana calls it. But I will update in a few days with how things are going on. 

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Unwanted changes...

So I decided that I am not going for my doula certifications, at least not this year. I am instead going to pay for and take my medical assistant certification and hope that I will pass that. I am also applying to the clinical lab tech program and hoping that I can get into that and move up. We also pretty much have the kids birthday parties figured out, now to reserve since things book so far in advance. I am hoping that one day I can be a doula or midwife, but right now things would be better with me working a steady job and getting into the tech program and making more money. 

But right now I am living the life of a full-time mom, part time student, and part time job along with everything else that is involved with taking care of a home. I am doing alright with all of it though =)

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

New Years Resolutions

I don't have a lot of resolutions this year, which is a good thing. But my resolutions are:

1. Start my certifications for Labor and Postpartum Doula and also Teen Educator.
2. Hopefully get into the clinical lab tech program (my fall back)
3. Figure out if homeschooling will actually be possible for us (hoping it is).
4. Better myself as a mom and wife and a whole. I hope to spend a little more time on me.
5. Eat healthier and get into a healthier lifestyle for our family.

See.. not that many. I am especially looking forward to starting my certifications. So if you are in Alabama and need a doula next year let me know =)

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Changes for the New Year

I love my kids to death and would do anything for them, but there are few things that do need to change. The number one is listening. I have two very strong willed kids and their thought process is that what is in their mind is what matters and that is it. Shiana does very well with the "system" at school so we are going to adapt it to home. If she listens and does what we tell/ask her to do, plays nicely, etc she will move up and if she doesn't she will move down. Then at night before bed she will have a calendar that she can write what number she was on for that day. At the end of the week she will get a treat or she can save them and have a special day once a month. Bedtime is another biggy, the kids share a room now. We have gotten Shiana use to the dimmer nightlight and they listen to music while falling asleep. I am hoping that once we get a cd player and some night music they will both sleep through the night. I am having more issues with Keylan because he constantly wakes up hungry or thirsty and it is cutting into his sleeping or at least getting a good amount of sleep at night. He has NEVER been a good sleeper, like at all since he was born. He had the same issues then plus reflux. I am hoping that with a few changes we can have a more stress-free, calmer and more peaceful home. 

Friday, December 7, 2012

I have figured it out...

What I want to do with my life. I am going to become a doula. I have been trying to figure out what I want to do for a while. I ultimately would love to be a midwife, but they are technically illegal here in Alabama. But, for those that do not know what a doula is, a doula is a person that supports a mom and/or expecting parents during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and post-partum. My first step is to find a good program to go through to get certified. I plan on starting with labor and post-partum first and then working my way to childbirth educator and lactation consultant. There are several programs so there are options, and I plan to pay them with tax return and go from there. I am really excited to start this journey in my life, we know that it will be tough for a little bit but we will get there. I have just felt a calling to this field and believe that more moms need the support.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Controversial parenting tag

Yup I'm joining in, maybe if I put it all out there I can just refer people to my blog. These are my views, I am not calling any one a bad mom just something's I feel more attached to. If you read this and have a blog I invite you to do this too.

The Topics: 
Pro-life Vs. Pro-choice
Baby Wearing
Circumcision
Adoption

Baby Piercing
Breast Milk Vs. Formula
Spanking
Co-sleeping
Home Vs. Public Vs. Private Vs. Charter Schooling 
Vaccinations
Medicating Children
Cloth Vs. Disposable diapers 

CIO

My add-ons:
ERF
Feeding (BLW, etc.)

Pro-life vs. pro-choice: this is a no brainer. I am whole heartedley pro-life! Life begins at conception and deserves to live. No woman has the right to decide to end a life.

Baby Wearing: I wish I had done more of this with Shiana. I LOVED wearing Keylan was the only way to get grocery shopping done and cleaning the house. It made my life easier especially with having Shiana to take care of too. I have learned that there are thins that should not be done. Crotch danglers are especially dangerous to a baby's hips.

Circumcision: Oh where can I start with this. I am absolutely 100% AGAINST infant circumcision. I have been and always will be. A newborn boy deserves to be able to decide for himself when he is old enough to make that decision. 80% of the males in the world are intact. Circumcision is cosmetic surgery to make what you think a penis should look like, this involves ripping thousands upon thousands of nerves away from the head. Keylan is intact and has never had any issues in the two and a half years that he has been alive. If you want more information on it I am honestly open to discuss it.

Adoption: I personally could not give my baby up for adoption, it takes strong and loving parents to do it. I would though LOVE to adopt one day. 

Baby Piercing: This is a new one mostly for me. I pierced Shiana's ears at 1 and wish I never had done it. She fell at about 20 months old and busted her ear. I had to take her earring out because of how infected it got. I decided then that I would wait till she was old enough to tell me she wanted it done. After all that I believe that a girl should be able to say if she wants it done or not. There are press on earrings for special occasions; plus as they learn to crawl and walk as toddlers they will fall many times and why risk a serious injury to a pierced ear?

Breast milk Vs. Formula: Breast is best. I wish that I had stuck with it longer with both kids. I can't believe that I missed out on that special bond. With Shiana I started school and it was really hard to keep up and then she was on formula. With Keylan we made it roughly a month and he had so many issues that he needed to be gaining more weight steadily.

Spanking: I personally hate spanking! I may do a pop on the butt, but that is it. I want to be more peaceful and show my kids that they can make good decisions without having to resort to spanking them.

Co-sleeping: I love co-sleeping. Keylan has been in our room/bed every night of his life. I love the cuddling and snuggling (cuggling as Keylan calls it). There are nights that Shiana sleeps in the bed and I do let her. 

Home Vs. Public Vs. Private Vs. Charter Schooling: Shiana is in public school and we love her school and teacher. It has helped start the growing and learning process. But we have decided that we are going to Homeschool them. We had it decided while I was pregnant with her and she is really excited about it. She has so many things that she wants to learn about that she won't get to learn about in school.

Vaccinations: I will honestly say that at this point both kids are fully vaccinated, but I have been giving it serious thought to discontinue getting them. There are so many that are not needed and they are so full of junk that who honestly knows what is in them and ultimately into our kids?

Medicating Children: I think this means giving unnecessary amounts of medicines? I am not sure. I give my kids benadryl for their allergies and when absolutely needed they get tylenol. I do use herbal supplements to help boost their immune system, etc...

cloth vs disposables: I used disposables on Shiana. And for a while cloth on Keylan, till we moved home and were sharing washer and dryer with my parents and what not. I loved my cloth diapers!!! So cute and fluffy and a thousand times better for the environment  I am still using sposies on Keylan and hoping though that we can have him semi-potty trained by his birthday.

CIO: I am 100% against Cry It Out. It can cause issues in kids. And I just can't see how a person can just leave their screaming, crying upset baby in a room by themselves. I do not have the heart to do that to my kids; I brought them into the world to love and take care over, not just to stick in a room to cry when i see fit.

ERF: extended rear facing; this is another one of my heart felt passions. I do NOT see how in the hell a person can think it is okay to turn their baby around at 6 months old. I learned from my mistakes with Shiana and thank god that nothing ever happened to her. ERF is 500 times safer and is the easiest thing in the world to do. Know how easy it is? Just don't turn the seat around, be lazy leave it where it is. But turning is not the only thing in keeping your kid safe, no coats in the seat (use in backward or a blanket), Keep the straps tight and the chest plate at hmm where? the chest. 

Feeding: Rice cereal should be skipped all together. Jar food is crap. Baby led weaning is awesome as is homemade purees. With both you know what is going into your kids foods. Purees take maybe an hour or two a month and fresh fruits and vegetables. BLW is feeding baby what you eat. The best time is when they have met all "requirements" that you know they are ready. 2-3 months old is not the right age for any baby, they still need only nourishment from breastmilk/formula.

I made this because I am honestly tired of saying that I shove things down people's throats. I have never done such a thing, I have never once told a mom that she is a bad mom because she does things differently. I expect the same respect from other moms just the same. These are all basic things that affect every single mom and baby and should always always be researched.