Daisy Scouts

So some changes will be coming soon!! Shiana has been interested in becoming a Girl Scout so I started to try and get her into it. This past week there was an informational meeting about it and found out that it is really hard to find groups to take girls in, she is a Daisy scout. So it basically came down to waiting till groups would take girls or to have someone to volunteer as troop leader and form a new group for the new girls.....

I was that mom. I volunteered to be troop leader. So I am will be a Daisy Scout Troop Leader as soon as my training is finished, which should not take long. 

I am very nervous about how all of this will play out, especially since it is a new group and my first time doing it. But everyone has "guinea pigs" to test things and learn from. I am just telling myself that as long as the girls have fun and get what they need to and I communicate with the parents then all will be fine and then I will have the summer to make changes and plan ahead.

So now my blog will, hopefully be filled with exciting new things that my scout troop will be doing and how we will be helping out community. 

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. 

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. 

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 =)

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 =)

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. 

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.