Unexpected Bumps in the Road

  Well, since we hope to greet our second boy in a few short weeks, I thought I might touch on how this pregnancy has gone.  It is hard to believe, but when people ask if this time around has been easier, I think I would have to say no. I am so blessed not to have been on bed rest and chasing Co around definitely keeps me from sitting around stewing about every little detail like I did with him, but I still take more than my fair share of stewing moments when I get a moment's silence. This time has just been plain hard. Oh so worth it, but hard. I think, which I never imagined, I will be mom to two boys. I just don't think I can go through this again and Chris gets nervous at the talk of three rug rats, anyway. He says they will outnumber us then. Plus, we would most likely end up with another boy. So, no pink. No princesses. No American Girl dolls. No unbelievably cute clothes with lady bugs, strawberries or other things I could not get away with dressing the boys in. But, that is ok. This is obviously God's plan for us and I am completely and totally in love with a 2 year old little boy already who has shown all the things there are to love about boys.

Anyway, I thought at the beginning I may be having a girl because I felt so much sicker than I did with Cohen. Although, I have found my memory is not exactly the best. And I think trying to keep up with Cohen magnified the sickness.  Being on bed rest vs. full time mom is quite the change in scenarios! We also struggled all winter starting at Thanksgiving with one sickness after another. Seemed like one of us was sick all the time. At the worst, we were all sick at once. I was more sick in the last 6 months than I have been in the last 6 years! And Chris never gets sick. And Cohen was completely healthy his first year. So, it was overwhelming. We would maybe get a week or so break, then amazingly get another round! So we were ready for spring when it rolled around and it seems like the sicknesses have at least spread out some.  

The most unexpected and somewhat scary incident happend the first week of February, though. We were having a run-of-the-mill Friday night. We had run some errands and had dinner when we decided to get crazy and rent a movie. Never mind we were gambling on the fact we either a) would never watch the movie b) would watch part of the movie or c) would pay a late fee so we could take the time necessary to finish it. Nevertheless, Chris ran in to rent one of the pre-approved movies we had discussed and I stayed in the car with Cohen. Cohen was upset because he wanted to tag along. As I was trying to calm him down and reason with him, I found myself grasping for words that weren't there. Everything came out mumbo-jumbo. At leat Cohen calmed down to give me a quizzical look because even he recognized how odd I sounded.  At the same time, I received a simple text that I could not comprehend. I read and re-read it attempting to understand it. The whole car was spinning and the radio seemed to get exponentially louder, causing ringing in my head. When Chris came back, I struggled to explain to Chris what had happened. I stuttered and struggled and he tried to remain calm, asking me several questions. He pulled the car over and gave me a stroke test like raising my arms and whatnot. I seemed to pass that and assured him I didn't need to go to the ER, but we needed to get Cohen home and to bed. He reluctantly headed home. I continued to stutter but seemed to slowly improve. When I got out of the car, I was tipsy and had trouble standing, but kept going. I was just exhausted and had to sit down. Chris got Cohen to bed and came out of Cohen's room asking if I was ready to watch the movie. I had a nagging feeling I should not ignore this episode, so I had Chris call the doctor on-call who told us to go immediately to the ER. I was flustered and upset, but we called my sister to come stay with Cohen.  She arrived in pajamas and I decided Chris should stay with Co if my sister was willing to drive me to the hospital. My parents had decided to take a rare trip out of town to see the WSU Shocker basketball team play in Northern Iowa. My sister was a good sport and though totally unprepared to go out in public, took me to the ER. I thought it would be a late night nuisance and waste of a co-pay and they would send me home with looks on their faces like they felt sorry for this hypochondriac. In fact, if I weren't 16 weeks pregnant I would probably have stayed home eating popcorn and staying up way too late watching our movie. The thought had crossed my mind that I had also made a trip to the ER at 16 weeks with Cohen that resulted in bed rest. 

I was really surprised after several questions and simple tests they told me they were going to admit me. I hadn't packed for this! I hadn't been away from Cohen for one night! I guess they noticed I was still struggling to formulate thoughts and suspected a stroke. The autoimmune disorder I have makes my blood clot too much, but with my daily injections and medication, the possibility of stroke was far from my mind. My ob was called and he agreed I needed to stay. It was late by now and they were calling in a ct scan person. That test was miserable! I had to have my head wedged in one place for about half an hour while these super loud noises were directed at me. All I could do was close my eyes, pray and forget I am claustrophobic. When that was done, I was eventually wheeled up to a room where the nurse interrogated me for what seemed like hours. I eventually fell asleep about 5 AM at the end of it. My sister had gone home to change and also go by my house to grab a bag Chris had put together. She came back up and fell asleep during the interrogation as well. They came in and woke us up to take blood. Then began a day of tests. I had a neck sonogram where we also found out we were having a boy! That was the highlight of the trip. Then I had occupational therapy where I walked down the hall clomping with my left foot like I couldn't quite pick it up. I had a consult with a neurologist and had to wait all day for a heart sonogram. I am glad the neurologist came in, otherwise I may not have gotten any answers.  He asked me a bunch of questions and right before he left, he looked at my eyes. "Hmmm. Interesting. Have you always had a droopy left eyelid?" No. What are you talking about? He said one pupil was slightly larger than the other and he suspected I had Horner's Syndrome. He said that might explain some things and he would be back after he looked at my tests again.  He came back and explained that there were a couple of things he saw. On the ct scan, there was a small, white dead spot on my brain and in my neck sonogram the blood flow indicated a dissected carotid artery. So, basically I did have a TIA, but they were not sure how all this tied in. The course of action was to double the blood thinner shots I was already on and hope the dissected artery would repair itself in a few months. Further tests could not be done until I had the baby. I would follow up with the neurologist's partner. After learning all this, I really just wanted to go home. Chris brought Cohen to visit me, but he was freaked out by all the ivs and everything hospital-like. They told me I could not go home at least until some blood clotting number was a certain level. I was more than upset   to stay another exhausting night when the nurse returned and said all my doctors agreed I could go home. What a weird experience!

Well, I haven't had any more "stroke" symptoms and my follow-up neck sonogram was clear.  After meeting with the neurologist last week, I will have one more test after the baby is born to determine the course of action for the future regarding blood thinner medications.  I have three injections a day and a handful of medications to take.  I have had a few other set-backs and worries, but everything seems to be ok now. We started weekly sonograms 5 weeks ago at 32 weeks and so far, this baby is passing faster than Cohen did. He seems to be a mover! Not sure how that will translate when he is born. 

Overall, I am excited, anxious and apprehensive.  We do not have the nursery ready or all of the things we need.  I am also very aware that my time with Cohen will never be the same again, which makes me sad. Cohen is already more attached to Chris right now, calling for him in the night and being upset in the morning when he is not there. When we meet Chris for lunch during the week, he is upset when he goes back to work and not home with us. I try not to take it personally.  I hope Cohen adjusts well and enjoys having a brother. I know it will take time and presents new challenges, but we are glad he can have a sibling and we are adding to our family.

Chances are you will not hear from us again for awhile, but the plan is to be induced Monday, July 8th.   We appreciate any prayers as we know as much as we plan, anything can happen! 

Exhausted Silence

To say it has been awhile, would be an understatement. I am so disappointed because I have failed to document so many things in Cohen's life the last several months.  The only excuse I have is that it was a difficult summer and a fall full of teething and a winter flurry of sickness. Plus, it is not easy for me to be pregnant. But, that is another story.  Our continual bright spot is Cohen. He turned two last month and it is oh so bittersweet. I enjoy each new stage and he really has turned into a little boy, but I miss the baby.
Cohen was a parrot for Halloween.. He surprised us by going around quietly, collecting his candy. He seemed to figure out what to do. He sure was cute!

Christmas was a struggle because we were all sick. It all started around Thanksgiving and really hasn't ended, yet. Cohen got a cold and had bouts of the stomach flu off and on in December until his cold turned into bronchitis/pneumonia at the beginning of January. Poor guy! Chris and I have had it all and it seems like one of the three of us is sick all the time. It is absolutely unbelievable and so wearing. I am exhausted and hope for a reprieve soon. A few weeks ago Cohen had a double ear infection and I simultaneously had some sort of nasty bug that I still haven't shaken. Cohen is done with his medicine but still wakes up coughing at night. Unfortunately, I think we are taking another trip the the doctor's office this week. Anyway, we worked really hard this year to get Cohen gifts that he would really enjoy and he was feeling so under the weather that we tried not to take his lack of enthusiasm personally.

Cohen has grown in leaps and bounds in many ways. He is 37 inches tall and 32 pounds. He says several words and has developed many favorites and hobbies. We bought him a kids' microphone recently and he "sings" into it by screaming or wailing and puts on a performance with hand motions and head tilting and hand raised like a real performer! It is one of the cutest things I have ever seen, although a little loud. Chris took him to a WSU basketball game this season and ever since, Cohen loves basketball and anything with the WSU mascot, Wu Shock. He plays for hours with his small basketball hoop and ball, but he always needs to have a game on for inspiration. March Madness is perfect for him! Unfortunately, the only game we have recorded is the one against Creighton in the championship Missouri Valley Tournament where they lose. But, don't tell Cohen that! He was so excited to watch some of the recent WSU vs. Gonzaga game that he could hardly stand it. He was cheering and screaming and wore himself out. So, for now, basketball is the hobby of choice, which may work out since he is pretty tall right now.

As you can see from the previous picture, Cohen has a new friend. He has never been one to become attached to anything. But, we started hiding the elf from "Elf on a Shelf" in early December each morning, Cohen became attached. He was enamored with Christmas overall and is so disappointed that the Christmas section in Wal-Mart morphed into the Lawn and Garden section. I guess this is his way of holding onto Christmas all year long. We never thought the elf would be so popular, so we never gave the name much thought. We are stuck with "Elfie". I even had Chris wage an eBay war to buy a new one for back up. There have been a few scary moments where Cohen has been aware of both of them and the look on his face was was priceless. We recovered quickly, though. Anyway, any time you see Cohen, you see Elfie. Kids everywhere exclaim, " He has an elf!"

Brushing Elfie's Teeth!!

Cohen seems excited to be a big brother in July, but we are sure he doesn't realize all it will entail. For now, he loves to talk about it and point out my ever-expanding belly to everyone and say "brother".  We are trying to have his summer go on as normally as possible and have signed him up for swimming and gymnastics. 

Oh, yes. There also was a big second birthday! Actually, we just had a small party with just my family this year but we made a big deal out of the day. First, I took Cohen to the bookstore on the WSU campus to get him a stuffed Wu. He was beyond excited to be on campus and see all the black and gold and Wu everywhere. He loved being there. His excitement made it all worth it, even though we had to park really far away with a limited time parking space and find our way to the student center which was under renovations, re-direct his idea of a good gift for himself (a $40 leather basketball) and hoof it back before my time was up for the parking spot. We must have seemed really out of place on a Friday morning out there! A huge pregnant woman hauling an over-energetic, two-year old that kept shouting, "Shock, shock, shock!".  Oh, well. I survived. We then met Chris for lunch at one of Cohen's favorites, Chik-fil-a.  I then dropped him off at my mom's to get a nap while I ran around and picked up the last of his "Thomas the Train" decorations.  My sister had put hours into making a very elaborate "Thomas" cake, as well. He was so excited about all of it! For dinner we had pizza and then he opened presents and had cake. He received many pieces to  complete the train table he got for Christmas. He also got a big Thomas tent that he wanted everyone to sit in with him. Overall, it was a great success!

Already 2!

Dessert at Chik-fil-a

The cake!

Well, there is much more to talk about, but if I go on, I will never post this. So, I will retire for now.

See you next time!

15 Month Update

We now officially know why Cohen is bigger than most two-year olds and strangers expect him to talk and interact with them more than he does!  Cohen is 33 1/2 inches tall and in the 97th percentile.  He weighs 27 pounds(75th percentile) and is definitely a work out to carry around.  He is wearing mostly 18-24 month clothes, but has for awhile. I am glad he is healthy and Chris is proud of his tall boy, but I think he is growing way too fast!  His fourth molar finally pushed through, so he has a mostly toothy grin and a really light blonde mop of curly hair.  He is turning into a little boy and a baby no more.
Cohen is quite opinionated and throws the tantrums off and on to show it.  I just lay him down where he can't hurt himself and let him roll and writhe around until he is done. Usually over something very small, like moving him from one place to another.   He will even check to see if I am watching, and if I grant him a sideways glance, he will start groaning and crying again.  Silly kid!  He especially throws a fit if we take him away from his toy mower for anything.  He spends most of his free time mowing our carpet.  It is the first thing he looks for in the morning.  We began hiding it in the closet and he learned to open doors!  He also loves toddler-sized furniture.  He spends a long time situating himself in his little chairs and we are in big trouble if we attempt to sit in them.  Cohen will be across the basement and his antennae is up when we sit down on his stuff. He runs right over and ousts  us immediately by pulling our arm.  He also enjoys sitting in regular chairs now, too. For a few minutes. Then off to the next thing!
Cohen continues to add to his vocabulary. He also understands several commands and heads off to do what we tell him.  He has added a new dance move when he hears his favorite parts of a song.  He raises both his arms and flaps them up and down.  He mostly does this when he thinks we aren't looking.  So adorable!
He continues to love going to the pool, but this is the last week for toddler time.  This week he hasn't been up to it so far.  He hasn't been himself since his 15 month shots. But, we will try tomorrow maybe.  We have noticed he snores lately and is more restless at night.  We are trying to discern if it is allergies or a more serious problem, like his adenoids, that we need to check out.  We pray it is the former. He also wants his pacifier when he sleeps. After all this time, he is now attached to pacifiers! We only have a few months to break the habit.  But they have helped get him to sleep and away from a bottle. Most times we can sneak in at night and grab it from where it has fallen out of his mouth, otherwise if he sees it, he either has to have it or a big meltdown is on the way.
Cohen is so much fun right now.  He is so sweet and gives us many hugs and kisses. He pats my face or Chris's shoulder and starts babbling as if to tell us he loves us. He talks to the dogs and cat like they know what he is saying.  He is even starting to pick up the smallest schnitzels on the ground and take them to the trash to throw away.  He randomly will break in to dance with just the music in his head and continues to laugh when we do or at something we've done.  He loves bath time and loves to play with the TV remote, but as soon as he has turned it off he runs to me to fix it.  Whenever Cohen sees anything out of place, like a mess Tucker has made with Kleenex, he points at it and tells us.  He is such a smart cookie!

And now, here are a handful of our family pictures taken a few months ago:

Running

Wow. Where to even begin? I assure you my absence from the blogging world is not a reflection of the lack of happenings. Rather, the opposite. Since last time, Cohen turned one, started walking, grew 6 more teeth, babbles up a storm, dances like he knows what he is doing, had his first tantrum in public, had his second haircut, decided he is done with baby food, is somewhat of a regular at Nursery Rhyme Time at the library, enjoyed his second Fourth of July, and went to the pool for the first time. Whew. I am exhausted just typing all that!  Overall, it is amazing to see the daily development Cohen makes. It surprises me as well as scares me how much he knows and understands.  

We have started to kind of get a routine.  Cohen wakes up around 7 and 8 AM, generally and exactly four hours from then he needs a nap.  He eats lunch after his nap and is ready for dinner when we are. He then has a bath, which he is really starting to enjoy, then pajamas, a cereal snack and bedtime by 8 or 9 PM.  He is sleeping through the night more often, but strangely gets into these patterns where he will wake up the exact same time for several days.  I can't figure it out.  Although, it didn't help that our neighbor got a rooster that crowed between 5 and 10 AM every day. We are not out in the country, either! Just no city ordinance against it.  However, it  disappeared a week or two later. I am pretty certain Chris had nothing to do with it... it was lovely, though. Woke me up every day.

So, Cohen's party went well. A lot more work than I imagined.  Cohen was pretty serious during the whole ordeal and eating cake in front of everyone scared him.  He eats it privately just fine. Never would have known that from seeing him!  He received a Cozy Coupe Truck and a tricycle among many other nice gifts.  He loves to push both of those around and sometimes gets on the trike, just to ring the bell though.  We are confident he will enjoy it for its intended purpose, some day.  Here are a few pictures from the celebrations (there are more on facebook from his party):

The next big event happened on May 23rd. Cohen officially walked! We thought he would way before this time, because he had been pulling up on furniture and pushing things for months.  I guess he just wanted to make sure he could do it. He was so proud of himself. He has not slowed down since! I do know where the stage name "toddler" came from now!  Cohen is into everything and thinks the sky is the limit.  He wants to walk by himself everywhere now.  He wandered off in Toys R' Us one day while we were looking for shoes and found this popper push toy. He pulled it off the display and started cruising around with it.  I let him play for awhile, but told him it was time to go and put the toy away.  I couldn't believe he threw himself on the floor and cried like he was hurt.  It was quite an embarrassing scene.  We headed straight for the door.  He has mini versions of these each day, but they are usually short-lived since we ignore him.  Anyway, every day is a work out since we are now "Mr. Independent".

Such a big boy, mowing all by himself.

We have been planning to enroll Cohen in a "Baby & Me" swim class at the Y, but weren't sure how he would respond. Sometimes he is overwhelmed and upset by new people and situations.  As an example, we bought a bath mat for the tub and the new texture freaked the little guy out!  So we decided to buy a little pool to test things out.  He was initially upset and would not sit down.  Finally after getting his bath toys and having Chris join him, he warmed up to it.  We joined the Y recently so Cohen and I would have something to do this summer. He went his first few times this week and he took awhile to get acclimated, but surprised us by wading everywhere (too deep, actually), splashing, clapping, laughing, sliding down the slide, and standing under fountains. He is getting so tan, it is not fair! Actually, I am the fair one and Cohen got Chris' skin. I'm not bitter.  But, we are glad to add some variety and a bit of socializing to Cohen's summer calendar.

He looks the part!

Such a good dad! (He's wearing a suit, I promise!)

Starting to relax

Isn't he adorable?

  Since I missed all the remainder bear pictures, here they are:

41 Weeks

42 Weeks

43 Weeks

44 Weeks

45 Weeks

46 Weeks

47 Weeks

48 Weeks

49 Weeks

50 weeks

51 Weeks

52 Weeks

I don't know if you can tell, but Cohen got increasingly hostile towards the bear near the end.  He was less excited each time and it was more difficult to get a happy picture.  I think he was ready to be done with this weekly ritual. (Sniff, sniff)  Now he is a big boy!

Busy Boy! Part 1

It is difficult to believe Cohen's first birthday is quickly approaching!  It seems like yesterday and yet a lifetime ago that we were putting the finishing touches on the nursery, I was waddling around, and we could hardly wait to meet our little boy!  But now Cohen is at such a fun age.  His emerging personality is amazing to watch each day. We have been able to do so many fun things recently.  Cohen has experienced many firsts as of late; his first haircut, his first Sesame Street Live show, and his first trip to the zoo to name a few. 
First of all, I learned the hard way not to leave Cohen in his crib for even a few minutes if he is at all in a disgruntled/mad mood.  A few weeks ago, I came back only to find him with dark brown flecks speckled around his sheepish grin.  I attempted to stay calm while I searched for the source, fearing it was dried blood somehow.  Luckily and not so luckily, I quickly found teeth marks on the side of his crib.  It really didn't bother me too much, which surprised me.  Maybe motherhood is mellowing me out, yet!  When I told Chris of the matter, he just laughed and said it adds character to the crib.

Anyway, he has only done it once since and he was pretty mad.
February 25th was also a momentous occasion! Cohen had his first haircut.  It was a little sad, but his hair was so long and Cohen was even getting food in there, so we gave in.  Chris held out a little longer than me, but finally caved when I pointed out how it is always in his eyes and we were finding oatmeal and other traces of meals in there.  Cohen was so intrigued by the goings on around him that he sat fairly still on dad's lap.

Before (Completely thrilled)

Snip, snip!

After! (Still thrilled)

We weren't too sure what Cohen would think about Sesame Street Live, but decided to go ahead and buy tickets.  Cohen has seen a little bit of the show, but not much.  We thought in any event it would get him accustomed to crowds and would be a fun family outing.  Unfortunately, Cohen has recently adopted the habit of waking up earlier on the weekends. So by the time we got to the morning show he was tired and ready for a nap.  Cohen was pretty solemn about the whole ordeal. Pretty sure he didn't smile once.  But, I think he was taking it all in and thinking about it.  He even watched quite contently until intermission when we decided to go.  The funny thing is, Chris refuses to pay to park by the arena.  So, of course he called around to see if the shuttles were running and they were.  We were the only ones to ride the bus from the baseball stadium!  So, our bus driver was ready and waiting to take us back to our lone car in the parking lot at intermission and was pleased to call it a day early!

First Bus Ride

Not sure about this!

Cohen's friend is way more excited and Cohen is more interested in his friend!

Hanging with Oscar

We are in the nest

Watching

Happiest on the way home

 Next, we went to the zoo on a nice day a few weeks ago.  Chris took off from work early.  Cohen was definitely taking it all in.  At this stage, it is a challenge to point out the far away animals, but he enjoys the close up animals.  His favorite would be the otters, because they came up really close to the glass while he could pound on it.  He also enjoyed the free-walking geese as much as anything! The really neat thing was the bears were down in the water fighting up against the glass. Chris and I were more interested because it was at the very end of our trip and Cohen was ready to go home.  Fortunately, Cohen received a family membership as an early birthday present so we can go back any time!

About to go in

Watching the monkeys

Figuring out the ape

Trying to snag dad's sunglasses

Getting the goose

Excited about the otters

Wrestling bears; close to the action

Check back soon for Part 2!