Epic.

*****I'll be frank- this post is about poop. You might want to turn around now if you're in the middle of lunch. Consider yourself warned.*****

We've been dealing with constipation for months- it got much worse when the boys switched over from formula to whole milk. We've had various levels of success with prune juice, but have recently added Miralax to the mix.

A half dose of Miralax hasn't really been doing the trick so Dr. B suggested a full dose would be just fine. So we've been doing that, on occasion. More often than not I've just mixed the half dose with the prune juice- sort of a double whammy if you will.

We've had more frequent and less painful poops in the past few weeks. Life is good.

Today I saw the biggest blow-out I've ever seen in my life.

The boys are eating lunch in the kitchen, I hear that tell-tale gurgle and know I'll have a messy diaper as soon as lunch is over. The boys continue to chomp on their guacamole potatoes and roasted veggies (and maybe a little mac and cheese). I go to get Lincoln out of his seat, clean him off and go to attend to Wyatt.

That's when I see it.

The small puddle on the floor.

Wyatt gives me one of his 100 watt smiles and I dare to peek below the tray on his high chair. The green and white polka-dotted diaper has seen better days. Lucky for me Wyatt refused to be dressed after his last diaper change so there were no pants to strip off of him, but man- it was a mess.

I cleaned up the floor, put Lincoln in the living room, Stanley in the kitchen, Wyatt in the bathtub and the poor polka-dotted diaper right into the toilet. Once every nook and cranny (on Wyatt- I'll get to the high chair later) was rinsed out and clean we went right back into a diaper (Up and Up I'm counting on YOU to contain whatever comes out of my son in the next few hours) and down for a nap. Poops like that take a lot out of you.

I've been doing this for almost 16 months. We've had a few blow-outs, not many, but a few. I've never seen anything like this. I'm beginning to see that constipation has some benefits. I'm procrastinating cleaning out the high chair*. I'm afraid to see what is happening in my toilet. My poor poor Super Whisper Wrap....you've been my favorite diaper in the arsenal and now I'm afraid I'll never be able to repair you.

Did I mention Mr. Wonderful is going out after work with Mr. Cook? Enjoy your Man Date honey- you've been working hard the past few months, you deserve it!

*Thank God for bleach.

16 weeks

From Zero to 40 with Amalah*
Your Baby:

"Is a little over four inches long and weighs a little over 2.5 ounces.

Has fingernails and toenails, all of which will be flesh-tearing talons by the time the baby is born.

Is covered with fine, downy hair called lanugo.

You:

Are leaving the more miserable symptoms behind in the dust, more or less. My gag reflex and appetite remained extremely sensitive until about week 16 last time, and the same held true this time around.

Can feel your rock-hard uterus about three inches below your belly button (especially when you lie on your back). As your baby grows your uterus will continue to inch upwards out of your pelvis. Translation: YOU WON'T HAVE TO PEE SO DAMN MUCH.


May be having very vivid but bizarre dreams. Some will be obviously pregnancy-related (the usual ones involve breastfeeding something other than a human baby or putting an animal or your baby in the oven or microwave to "cook" awhile longer), and others will be just plain weird or upsetting, like your childhood nightmares. They should be interpreted as nothing more than dreams stemming from nerves, hormones and your constant thoughts about the future. (In other words, you aren't really going to give birth to a turtle with a full set of human teeth.)"

I had an appointment on Monday and everything seems to be going well. I still haven't gained any weight- not surprising. I'm still sick. Actually, this week has probably been one of my worst for that. Let's just say I'm really getting tired of public restrooms. Baby Mystery sounds great- heartbeat was about 150 so all of you who like to guess the sex based on heartbeats can have a go with that (for reference the last appointment was 160). I am going to go on record and guess it's a boy. Last time I was able to eat spicy food and this time around it seems like it's the same deal.

Not that we'll have to wait much longer to find out- our big ultrasound is scheduled for March 24th, so if this little one cooperates we'll know for sure if we need to break out the clothes we already have or if we're looking at a new wardrobe.

In other news....my OB agreed to do our C-Section on her day off! She delivered the boys on a Wednesday and we thought that worked well and figured we'd go for Wednesday again only to find that her surgery day is now Fridays. How awesome that she made that change for us. I never would have asked but my midwife figured it wouldn't be a problem, next thing I know I've got a call from my clinic to schedule my surgery! So, as long as things continue to go well and I don't go into labor beforehand, we're looking at an August 4th baby.

8-4-2010 the date seems so ROUND and EVEN to me....am I the only one who likes odd numbers a little better? Oh well, not a big deal in the end. I mean we did schedule the boys to be born on the 13th (love!) and they came on the 12th...so I think the universe might be telling me to let go of my odd number date love.

Now the planning can commence.

*I like the Zero to 40 week by week better than the one at Babycenter- you can also check out Amalah here.

Daddy's Boys

The Force is strong with these boys. Their cousin Henry was kind of enough to loan the boys his light saber and it brought back alot of memories for dad. They also managed not to use the light saber on each other. Big plus.

15 Weeks.

From Zero to 40 with Amalah
Your Baby:
Is as big as a...wait for it...beefsteak tomato! Doesn't that sound deliciously substantial? Has started "breathing" amniotic fluid in through its nose and respiratory tract, giving those lungs some very early practice for the real thing. Can sense light and pressure from outside of the womb, so if you want to get a jump start on annoying the crap out of your kid, shine a flashlight on your stomach or chase it around with the doppler wand every night. Or gently caress your belly while singing lullabies in a variety of foreign language and mediating on the Zen-ness of it all. You know, whatever your personal parenting style goes for.

You:
May be experiencing some of the weirder symptoms of pregnancy, many of which can start early in the second trimester. Including! For example!

Sinus congestion! Runny nose! Stuffed-up nose! So much freaking mucus, and not in the places where you would ASSUME mucus would be involved. It's called rhinitis of pregnancy and once again, they just blame it on "hormones." Get yourself a humidifier or vaporizer, inhale steam in a fogged-up bathroom or try those saline nasal drops. Ask your doctor before taking any decongestant or medicated nasal spray.

Bleeding gums! A side effect of all that extra blood you've got coursing through your system. (Nosebleeds are common too.)

Skin pigmentation! The linea nigra, or that darkish line that runs down the center of your belly, sometimes shows up as soon as you start showing, sometimes much later. Moles, freckles and birthmarks can spread and/or darken. You might notice some melasma, or "mask of pregnancy" across your face, particularly if you spend a lot of time in the sun or have a naturally olive or darker complexion. A lot -- but not all -- of these changes will fade after you give birth. When in doubt, slather up on the sunscreen to increase your odds that they'll be temporary.

Forgetfulness! Pregnancy brain! Gestational amnesia! Whatever you want to call it, you probably know what I'm talking about.

So here we are at 15 Weeks! It's been an up and down kind of week. Last week was great in the feeling good department, this week was, well, not the best. Not the WORST, but not the best. I'm beginning to see a pattern. If I have to get up early for anything (less than 6 hours of sleep) I have a difficult time later on in the evening the nausea and vomiting comes on pretty strong around 7 and doesn't really go away until around midnight. Yuck. Of course, this is when I need to be getting ready for work. Lovely. I've tried to push all appointments back as far as possible so I can stay in bed longer, but we all know that doesn't work as well as we plan.

I'm still waiting to feel this little baby. I looked back and I could feel kicks around 16 weeks with the boys and I haven't felt a thing this time around. I'm guessing I have an anterior placenta again that is probably muffling some of the movement. I hardly ever felt Wyatt, he was snuggled in pretty good. Lincoln always put on a pretty good show though.

I have an appointment on Monday and we'll schedule the 20 week ultrasound and hopefully (hopefully!!!) we'll schedule the C-Section. Wouldn't that be nice to have a date. I mean, since we know how this is going to play out anyways we might as well give everyone a chance to make some plans.

*I've been stalking the hospitals visitor policy for updates to the current H1N1 guidelines. Currently siblings under 5 are not allowed. My Mom assured me these will be lifted soon so I'm confident that by August the boys will be able to visit their little brother or sister in the hospital. And really,I'll get to see them. I can't imagine 5 days without my boys!

15 Months

Today we had our 15 month appointments with Dr. B. Everything looked good, the big surprise was the boys growth:

Lincoln:
Height- 31 3/4"- 75%
Weight- 24lbs 4oz- 50%
Head size- 49.5cm- 97%+

Wyatt:
Height- 31"- 50%
Weight- 23 lbs 5.5oz- 25-50%
Head size- 48.5cm- 95%

I'm pretty surprised by their weights- how did my babies get so long and thin? It's so weird to think this fall I thought we'd be in 18 month clothes by now- I had SERIOUSLY chubby babies on my hands. We're still rocking our favorite 6-12 month Gap Khaki's 6 months later. I can't even believe it.

They'll be rear facing for much longer than I thought!