It seems like the best I can do blogging is an entry every 2 months. At least it's better than nothing! The last time I wrote, Lila was just beginning to get over her colic. While she still has a quick temper and cries her fair share, I think it's safe to say the colic is gone. Praise God! That was definitely a very stressful thing for the whole family.
The past two months have been nuts! We had Sav return from Kenya, Sav leave for England, Sav's Birthday, Ang's birthday, Mom's birthday, Ben's birthday PARTY, Ben's birthday, a family reunion, and the Life Challenge. Oh, and the Ranger's trip to the World Series... oh so close! It's all a blur!
We had Ben's birthday party up at the church to save money. It was the Saturday before his actual birthday and it was Toy Story theme. We got a great deal on a big bounce house with a basketball hoop and a slide. Hector did balloon animals and we had a teen paint faces. Ben had a ball! We invited all of his friends from church and school, although alot of his church friends couldn't make it this year. He was very polite opening all of his presents. The only problem came when they started to take down the bounce house at the end. Ben started bawling, saying, "my birthday going by by", "no, wait, please". It was so sad. He got lots of Toy Story and Spiderman toys. Spiderman, along with Batman and Power Rangers (just in the last two weeks) have become his new obsession. That's all he wants to watch, and of course, act out! On his actual birthday, we had family over. It was much lower key, but very fun for him.
So, for the month before his birthday, we kept telling Ben that when he turned three, he was going to be a big boy and wouldn't need his paci anymore. We actual got him to the point where he would say it. We would ask, "Ben, what's coming up?" He would say, "My birthday. I'm a big boy and throw my paci in the trash". So, we planned on letting him throw them away himself on his birthday. Mind you, I was very doubtful that it would work, but it was worth a shot. So, as we were leaving his birthday party to go to mom's, Ben said "I don't want to go night night". And I told him it was way past time for his nap. He then shocked me with his next statement. He said, "I'm a big boy now. I don't need my paci. My paci in the trash". We had not planned on attempting to get rid of it til his actual birthday, but he initiated it so I went with it. Now, almost a month later, he hasn't even seen one of his paci's. We never even actually had him throw them away, because we didn't want to tempt him. We just acted like we had thrown them away. The first week, he asked for it a few times, but there was never a meltdown, and now he doesn't ask at all. What a blessing! We couldn't believe how smooth it went.
So, Ben is still an incredibly low maintenance child, but he is definitely three. He's pressing his limits more and is far more dramatic. But he's also so much fun. His faces are priceless. And he still acts things out impeccably. He is becoming very particular in what he wants. He has his exact idea about how things are supposed to work, how his clothes are supposed to fit, and he makes it very clear to us, especially concerning his masks that he loves to wear. Unfortunately, we frustrate him often because we can't meet his expectations. We should have seen it coming last year with the playdoh. We had to make that disappear because we couldn't make the figures he wanted good enough! I'm very interested to see how this perfectionist side of him translates into adulthood!
Mrs. Hill is Ben's teacher at school. He has done much better this year going to school. Not near as clingy to me, and typically very well behaved. But one Sunday at church, the children's worship leader told Hector that Ben would not mind her. Hector had a strong talk to Ben and we hoped that would work, but just in case we prepared Mrs. Hill that he was having a rough week, and to let us know if she had any problems. Dad picked Ben up from school that day, but Hector went to open house that night to meet mrs. hill (i already had gone to the meet the teacher day). She told hector that she typically didn't tattle on the kids, but since I had asked, she felt like she had to tell me. She said that for the first time in 20+ years of teaching, she had to put a kid in time out. It was time to go outside, and Ben decided he wanted to take his shoes off. When she tried to get him to put them back on, he ran from her and hid in the tunnels so she couldn't get to him. We were so proud that our son was her first time out! She was very kind about it and said it was no big deal. We actually had a good laugh about that since Ben is typically so well behaved. And it was partially our fault, because through the summer we had let him take his shoes off whenever he felt like it. That's not the case anymore!
So Miss Lila is growing so fast! She is a little chunk but so stinkin' cute. She is completely different from her brother. Everyone says she looks so much like me. I love it! Ben looked nothing like me. Everyone says Ben looks like Hector. But everyone also says that Ben looks like Lila. Very interesting. Her personality appears to be following in her mama's footsteps as well. She's very vocal, knows exactly what she wants, and is a little impatient. Oh, and she likes to eat :) Ben is much more like Hector, very creative and mellow, but he get's his intensity from me. Last week, I threw a toy at him to get his attention while he was watching one of his shows, and he didn't even blink. Come to think of it, that sounds a lot like his dad too! Lila is starting to belly laugh which is so cute. She's got one big dimple, one little dimple and a little dent on the left side of her nose when she crinkles it. Dad's the best at making her laugh. She only crinkles her nose when she smiles extra big. She's now rolling over both ways. She loves outside! Too bad it went from blistering hot to what's beginning to be freezing over the course of just a month. She is still quite a mama's girl. I love that too... most of the time.
Just recently, she's really started paying attention to Ben. She'll watch him move across a room. In the car, when she's crying, if he sings to her, she stops. She already thinks he's the coolest thing ever. He think's it's pretty cool too. I don't even have to tell him to sing. As soon as she starts fussing, he starts singing. His favorites to sing to her are "Jesus loves me" and "My God is so Big". It is so neat to see them interact already. I can't wait to see how that relationship grows.
So Halloween was a great success. Ben was Spiderman and Lila was a pumpkin. We did trunk or treat Sunday night and then went trick or treating Monday night. We knew Ben would like trunk or treat at church, but we figured he would be too shy to trick or treat the neighborhood. Boy were we wrong. We went all the way down our long street and back. Hector or I would walk him up the driveway, but then he would go by himself to the door, know and say "Trick or Treat" loud and clear. He would then say "Thank you. Happy Halloween" when he left. It was precious. It was a reality check for me of just how fast he is growing up. Lila had a ball. She just chilled in the stroller for most of it. I carried her towards the end and everyone commented on what a precious pumpkin she was. It was such a neat family night. It was yet another reminder of just how incredibly blessed I am. Thank you Lord for the family you created for me. It is far better than I could have ever asked or imagined!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Just to See Her Smile!
So, within the last couple of months, since my last blog, Lila developed a pretty severe case of colic. It's really kind of a blur. I would say for a good month and a half, she had to be held about 90% of the day, even when she was sleeping. If we got her to sleep in our arms, and attempted to lay her down, she would instantly wake up. If we would lay her on her back, she would last about 2 minutes if we were lucky, and then she would cry. If we layed her on her stomach, she lasted even less. Fortunately, the doctor told us that she get's tummy time plenty of other ways, like when we hold her facing us, or when she lays on our chest. Even when we held her, we couldn't just hold her. We had to most of the time, be up with her, walking, jossling, dancing. Whatever it took! She told us to hold her as much, stand up as much, rock her as much, as it took to keep her comfortable through the colicky months, which could be anywhere from 3 months to a year! What??? I about freaked out when i heard it could be a year.
For the first several weeks, she was fussy during the day and then had her major screaming episodes of colic in the evening. When the episodes first started at about a month old, we didn't know what the heck to do. She would scream bloody murder and nothing would console her. She was obviously in pain. She showed all the symptoms listed for colic. Screaming, writhing, scrunching her stomach and then flayling back. It was obvious she was in significant pain. One article I read said that colic is definitely the worst pain your child has experienced thus far in life. Thank you author, that makes me feel much better!
She also never slept soundly during the day. Fortunately, she's always slept very well at night. At a month, she was waking up about every 3 hours, but would eat and go back to sleep, something we had trouble getting Ben to do. At 2 months, she was making it 4-6 hours, eating and then going back to sleep. Now at 3 months, she's sleeping anywhere from 7-9 ours, eating, and then going back to sleep. I am very fortunately, because if I were dealing with the screaming during the day and then no sleep at night, I would have needed to be institutionalized!
We were giving her Mylocon around the clock, and it wasn't helping at all. The fact that she is the noisiest eater on the face of the earth doesn't help her gas issues. The doctor recommended gripe water, something I had never heard of before. It was a miracle worker! It didn't do it every time, but often times, Lila would be in the middle of one of her episodes, we would give her gripe water, and she would instantly ease.
A few weeks ago, she started having episodes all day long. So, instead of dealing with 2 or 3 a night, we would deal with 5 or 6 a day. Several nights, I just stayed over at Mom and Dad's to get extra help, especially when Hector went back to school. We were both completely worn out. So was the rest of the family. It truly took a group effort. We would have to take shifts, and by the end of your shift, you were totally worn out. Bc even when she wasn't screaming, she wasn't happy either. We would get one or two smiles a day and be thrilled! We appreciated them so much more, bc they were so few. Lately, Lila has become a major mama's girl. So other people would have to hold her in between episodes bc i was the only one who could calm her down during episodes. One day was so bad that I just stayed in the shower for about 45 minutes b/c it was the one place I couldn't hear her scream. If she was just screaming just to scream, that would have been one thing. But knowing she was in pain, made it so much harder.
This picture is of one precious and rare smile we caught at about 2 months. What a treasure!
Depressing blog so far, huh? Well, here's the good news. Lila turns 3 months old this week, and it appears that the colic is fading. She still has occasional episodes, but they are fewer and she can be calmed easier. She will now sometimes lay in her swing awake and happy! That is huge! The other day, she layed in my lap for over 30 minutes, just looking up at me completely content. No fussing. I didn't know what to do with myself! The entire time, we have been counting our blessings, completely aware of how minor colic is compared to other challenges we could be facing. But we are so incredibly thankful that we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It is very obvious that Lila is in less pain, Praise God! I can't wait to see the personality that emerges now that she's more herself. We've already seen more content and happy moment in the past week that we've seen in the previous two month combined. We'll take it!
For the first several weeks, she was fussy during the day and then had her major screaming episodes of colic in the evening. When the episodes first started at about a month old, we didn't know what the heck to do. She would scream bloody murder and nothing would console her. She was obviously in pain. She showed all the symptoms listed for colic. Screaming, writhing, scrunching her stomach and then flayling back. It was obvious she was in significant pain. One article I read said that colic is definitely the worst pain your child has experienced thus far in life. Thank you author, that makes me feel much better!
She also never slept soundly during the day. Fortunately, she's always slept very well at night. At a month, she was waking up about every 3 hours, but would eat and go back to sleep, something we had trouble getting Ben to do. At 2 months, she was making it 4-6 hours, eating and then going back to sleep. Now at 3 months, she's sleeping anywhere from 7-9 ours, eating, and then going back to sleep. I am very fortunately, because if I were dealing with the screaming during the day and then no sleep at night, I would have needed to be institutionalized!
We were giving her Mylocon around the clock, and it wasn't helping at all. The fact that she is the noisiest eater on the face of the earth doesn't help her gas issues. The doctor recommended gripe water, something I had never heard of before. It was a miracle worker! It didn't do it every time, but often times, Lila would be in the middle of one of her episodes, we would give her gripe water, and she would instantly ease.
A few weeks ago, she started having episodes all day long. So, instead of dealing with 2 or 3 a night, we would deal with 5 or 6 a day. Several nights, I just stayed over at Mom and Dad's to get extra help, especially when Hector went back to school. We were both completely worn out. So was the rest of the family. It truly took a group effort. We would have to take shifts, and by the end of your shift, you were totally worn out. Bc even when she wasn't screaming, she wasn't happy either. We would get one or two smiles a day and be thrilled! We appreciated them so much more, bc they were so few. Lately, Lila has become a major mama's girl. So other people would have to hold her in between episodes bc i was the only one who could calm her down during episodes. One day was so bad that I just stayed in the shower for about 45 minutes b/c it was the one place I couldn't hear her scream. If she was just screaming just to scream, that would have been one thing. But knowing she was in pain, made it so much harder.
This picture is of one precious and rare smile we caught at about 2 months. What a treasure!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Life with Lila
One challenge we faced with this birth is that labor was too fast for me to get the antibiotics I needed because I tested positive for Strep B. We didn’t know this until later in the day when the nurse came in and told us that they had to take the baby to do some blood tests. Then they came back after a couple of hours and said that they were going to have to give Lila two rounds of antibiotics since I hadn’t gotten them in time. They would be given over the course of the next 24 hours several times. So, the first day, poor Lila spent most of her time in the nursery. And she was poked several times before they could get a good IV in.
Then on day 2, she started looking a little yellow. Hector noticed it first. We asked that they test his bilirubin level, and sure enough, she was high for her age. So we had an awesome night nurse, named Joni, who helped me pump and syringe feed Lila extra colostrum to try to flush out the bilirubin. Well, they tested her the next day, and it appeared that her numbers had leveled out, so they sent us home. Unfortunately, the next day, they went up, and we got the wonderful home bililight again. I’m not complaining though, because even though we had to do that for a few days, we didn’t have to go back to the hospital to put her under the big light!
Since we’ve been home, things have been great. Especially after we were cleared of the jaundice. One thing that’s very different about her from her brother, she loves to eat! She’s far ahead of schedule for weight gain. We took her to get a sonogram last week, and it looks like she has reflux just like her brother, but that’s ok. We’ve been through that once, so we are better equipped to handle it. Things definitely seem to run smoother with #2. She eats and sleeps better than Ben did. She eats a lot more than Ben did! One interesting difference is that she just now is willing to take a pacifier and does so very sparingly. Ben loved his. Hopefully that means separation will be easier down the line. For now, it means she’s a little more difficult to please when it’s not feeding time. Actually, for the first couple of weeks, I fed her pretty much any time she fussed. Thus, the overweight issue. So, we’ve toned the feedings down a tad.
Overall, we love being a family of 4. Hector has been a life saver. I don’t know how I would have done this without him. He’s taken 6:30AM morning duty with Ben, and has taken Ben to do a ton of fun things, like Six Flags, the Zoo, and the Dallas Vigilantes, not to mention swimming just about every night. It’s been a wonderful summer so far. We are so blessed to have our baby girl here. Ben loves her as much as we do. His melt downs have definitely gone up a notch, but at least they’re directed towards us instead of her!
Thank you Lord for the perfect family you’ve given us. Hector and I are so humbled by the honor of raising these two precious children for your Glory! Please continue to guide our steps.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Lila Grace Santiago has arrived!
OK. So, I'm obviously not very good at this blogging thing, considering my last post was four months ago. In my defense, I've been a little busy. So, I'll do my best to sum up what's happened since my last post.
As I've mentioned before, this pregnancy was really hard on me. My poor husband had to deal with no cooking and very little cleaning for the second half of it. I was exhausted all the time. It's like I had a bad case of mono. I don't know what I would have done without my mother. Thanks to her, my son remained in one piece, and groceries stayed in the house! Any home cooking we did get was from her or one of the sweet ladies from church.
At 32 weeks, I went on modified bed rest. I was supposed to stay on bed rest until 37 weeks, to try to prevent Lila from coming earlier than Ben did, since the second often comes sooner than the first. I didn't change much at first, but at 34 weeks, my body really started telling me to stay down, so I did. That is until 36 weeks and 3 days. That was the day Ben was born in my first pregnancy. So, I thought to myself, this one is going to be different. I had actually convinced myself that I was going close to full term this time. So that day, we went out to Lewisville for Hector's mom's 60th birthday. We went to Chili's for dinner, and didn't leave until about 10:30PM. We were standing outside saying goodbye to his family, and I finally told him that I was exhausted and had to go. On the way home, I told him that if he wanted me to go into labor, I just needed a day or two more like that!
Typically I went to bed around 9PM. That night, I didn't get to sleep until midnight. And guess what happened at 1AM? Yep, you guessed right. My water broke! It was the strangest feeling, because it woke me up out of a dead sleep. I jumped out of that bed so fast that I didn't get a drop on the sheets. Go me! You would think that the second time I would be much calmer. But I wasn't. I ran to the bathroom. My heart was pounding out of my chest. After weeks of saying that I was so ready for her to get here, I kept saying to myself, I'm so not ready yet, I'm so not ready yet! But I knew it was time. So this time, instead of yelling at Hector from the bathroom. (My water broke with Ben at 8AM while I was on the toilet. Very clean way to do it!), I crawled up next to him in bed and gently woke him up to tell him. His response was the same as it was with Ben - "You're kidding. No you're not. Stop lyin'. Don't mess with me." The only difference was, this time he didn't think I was just saying that to try to get him up for church!
So, we called Mom and Dad to come over and watch Ben while we went to the hospital. The story continued just like Ben's. When the nurse checked me, I was only 2 CM dialated. At first, she couldn't even tell that my water had broken. Lila was blocking the flow. (Sorry to be so graphic). We she finally saw that it had, they checked me into a room and put me on Pitocin. Last labor, Pitocin and I didn't get along. I didn't think I would need it this time, because I was having contractions on my own once I got to the hospital. But get this. The nurse said my contractions were too close together, so they needed Pitocin to stabilize them. I told her I would be fine with Pitocin if she promised to give me the epidural as soon as I asked, even if I hadn't dialated past a 2. She agreed. And sure enough, my labor wasn't progressing and I needed an epidural at a 2. My anathesiologist was awesome. My epidural was perfect. I could still feel my legs and even lift my hips, but felt no pain for most of the labor. Several hours past and I was still at a 2. When she checked me at 7AM, I was still at a 2. Then I told her, I was feeling pressure, so she checked me again about 8:30, and said "let me recheck to make sure I'm right". I thought she was going to tell me that I was still at a 2. Instead, she tells me I'm complete. I said "huh?". She said, "Well, about a 9 1/2". No one but Mom and Hector were at the hospital at that point, because everyone including the nurse and doctor thought I would deliver around lunch. She mom got on the phone to get Dad, Ang, and Sav up to the hospital asap.
Everyone made it in time. Lila Grace Santiago came into the world at 9:01AM. She weighed 16 lbs 15.8 oz and was 19 3/4 inches long. Delivery was fast. I pushed through about 3 contractions with the nurse and then about 2 with the doctor for a total of about 15 minutes. My epidural had worn off some, but I was glad it did, because I felt the delivery which was really cool, even though a little painful. No bruising, no trouble breathing. A healthy baby girl!
OK. What happened after delivery is going to be in a separate post. This is getting ridiculously long! :)
As I've mentioned before, this pregnancy was really hard on me. My poor husband had to deal with no cooking and very little cleaning for the second half of it. I was exhausted all the time. It's like I had a bad case of mono. I don't know what I would have done without my mother. Thanks to her, my son remained in one piece, and groceries stayed in the house! Any home cooking we did get was from her or one of the sweet ladies from church.
At 32 weeks, I went on modified bed rest. I was supposed to stay on bed rest until 37 weeks, to try to prevent Lila from coming earlier than Ben did, since the second often comes sooner than the first. I didn't change much at first, but at 34 weeks, my body really started telling me to stay down, so I did. That is until 36 weeks and 3 days. That was the day Ben was born in my first pregnancy. So, I thought to myself, this one is going to be different. I had actually convinced myself that I was going close to full term this time. So that day, we went out to Lewisville for Hector's mom's 60th birthday. We went to Chili's for dinner, and didn't leave until about 10:30PM. We were standing outside saying goodbye to his family, and I finally told him that I was exhausted and had to go. On the way home, I told him that if he wanted me to go into labor, I just needed a day or two more like that!
Typically I went to bed around 9PM. That night, I didn't get to sleep until midnight. And guess what happened at 1AM? Yep, you guessed right. My water broke! It was the strangest feeling, because it woke me up out of a dead sleep. I jumped out of that bed so fast that I didn't get a drop on the sheets. Go me! You would think that the second time I would be much calmer. But I wasn't. I ran to the bathroom. My heart was pounding out of my chest. After weeks of saying that I was so ready for her to get here, I kept saying to myself, I'm so not ready yet, I'm so not ready yet! But I knew it was time. So this time, instead of yelling at Hector from the bathroom. (My water broke with Ben at 8AM while I was on the toilet. Very clean way to do it!), I crawled up next to him in bed and gently woke him up to tell him. His response was the same as it was with Ben - "You're kidding. No you're not. Stop lyin'. Don't mess with me." The only difference was, this time he didn't think I was just saying that to try to get him up for church!
So, we called Mom and Dad to come over and watch Ben while we went to the hospital. The story continued just like Ben's. When the nurse checked me, I was only 2 CM dialated. At first, she couldn't even tell that my water had broken. Lila was blocking the flow. (Sorry to be so graphic). We she finally saw that it had, they checked me into a room and put me on Pitocin. Last labor, Pitocin and I didn't get along. I didn't think I would need it this time, because I was having contractions on my own once I got to the hospital. But get this. The nurse said my contractions were too close together, so they needed Pitocin to stabilize them. I told her I would be fine with Pitocin if she promised to give me the epidural as soon as I asked, even if I hadn't dialated past a 2. She agreed. And sure enough, my labor wasn't progressing and I needed an epidural at a 2. My anathesiologist was awesome. My epidural was perfect. I could still feel my legs and even lift my hips, but felt no pain for most of the labor. Several hours past and I was still at a 2. When she checked me at 7AM, I was still at a 2. Then I told her, I was feeling pressure, so she checked me again about 8:30, and said "let me recheck to make sure I'm right". I thought she was going to tell me that I was still at a 2. Instead, she tells me I'm complete. I said "huh?". She said, "Well, about a 9 1/2". No one but Mom and Hector were at the hospital at that point, because everyone including the nurse and doctor thought I would deliver around lunch. She mom got on the phone to get Dad, Ang, and Sav up to the hospital asap.
Everyone made it in time. Lila Grace Santiago came into the world at 9:01AM. She weighed 16 lbs 15.8 oz and was 19 3/4 inches long. Delivery was fast. I pushed through about 3 contractions with the nurse and then about 2 with the doctor for a total of about 15 minutes. My epidural had worn off some, but I was glad it did, because I felt the delivery which was really cool, even though a little painful. No bruising, no trouble breathing. A healthy baby girl!
OK. What happened after delivery is going to be in a separate post. This is getting ridiculously long! :)
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Another Mass Update including potty training, Ben's big boy room, it's a girl, and Hector's job update
So, the further along i get in my pregnancy, the further apart my blogs get. Any extra time I have I spend sleeping. So, I have a lot to catch up on. I'm now 26 weeks pregnant. I look like I'm about 34 weeks, but that's ok. I was big with Ben too. Before I got any bigger, I had two goals: to get Ben potty trained and to move him into his big boy room. I knew potty training would be physically hard on me, and I wanted him to have plenty of time in his new room before the baby came. I'm thrilled to say potty training is completed, and Ben is loving his big boy room.
Hector did an incredible job on it. He definitely went above and beyond. We converted the guest bedroom into his room, so the baby can have the nursery. He painted a different sport on each wall. We have a basketball court, with a real rim. A baseball wall, with Ben's name in wooden letters (customized with Ranger decor), and a poster of the ball park, along with a huge painted baseball. Another wall is a football field, with the yardage marked and everything. It also has a huge score board customized with a clock and a "Ben" vs. "Them" chalkboard score area. The last wall doesn't have a lot of room because of the closet and the door. So Hector did a basketball, football, and baseball, and then did shadow figures playing soccer with a really cool soccer ball in the middle. Then on the back of the door, he did a tennis court. It looks awesome. Now we just need to add a scripture to the wall, and we'll be set. We plan to put "This is my son, whom I love. In him, I am well pleased!" I love the thought of him receiving that every day. Hector worked so hard, but I think it was totally worth it to see how proud Ben is of his awesome room.
We did the 3 day potty training approach at the end of February. Ben was 28 1/2 months. It was absolute madness the first day. I thought I had lost my mind to attempt such insanity. It basically involved letting Ben run around in his diaper and a shirt, and I was supposed to catch every accident in progress. Needless to say, we made many a messy dash to the potty. By day 2 it was a little better. It actually ended up taking us 5 days instead of 3, and even then, we had to watch him pretty closely. He wasn't very good at telling us verbally. We had to pick up his nonverbals. He's got it down now though. It's been about a month, and he's only had one or two night time accidents since week one, no day time accidents. So the program works. But I would call it Bootcamp Potty training instead of 3 day. For girls maybe. For boys, not so much.
Oh yeah, I guess another update is in order... I'm having a girl!! We're really excited. We would have been thrilled either way, but it's going to be great to have one of each, since we were stopping at 2 no matter what. Her name is Lila Grace Santiago. We found out at 20 weeks. We almost didn't though. She was crossing her legs tighlyt. The sonographer said that based on what I had told her about my difficulty in this pregnancy combined with how difficult she was being in the sonogram, she knew I was having a girl. It was really funny. Finally, Lila confirmed it. We got three good pictures to prove her femininity! Hector was speechless. It was too cute. After I helped him out of the chair, he ran out to the car to make calls. I had to grab a kiss on his way out. He was a little preoccupied. We're not exactly sure how we're going to handle this little girl, but we're excited to find out.
I think Ben really understands that she's coming. He watches Baby Story with me, and I explain what's going on. I fastforward through the screaming labor! When I point to my tummy and say "Who's in there?" He says "Baby sister". I say, "what's sister's name?" and he says, "Lala". It is too cute. Especially since Dad used to call Aunt Lila "lala". When we pray with him at night, we ask him if he wants to thank God for anyone or anything. He almost always starts with "lala". He's also getting way more clingy to me. The bigger I get, the more he wants me to hold him. I think he knows what's going on, or at least that something strange is going on.
Hector is in the process of painting the nursery. We had planned on keeping it the same because it's somewhat gender neutral, but when we found out we were having a girl, Hector caved. He said he had to give her her own room. So pink and green it is. Butterflies and flowers. Can't wait to see how it turns out. We got her entire set at babies are us for 70% off. It was my favorite set and just happened to be on clearance. I think God might have had a hand in that!
Good grief. Another update I forgot. We found out in February that AISD was going to lay off all probationary teachers at the end of the year because the state had significantly reduced education budgets for the districts. Well, that group includes my husband. It was really interesting though. When we found out, we were really at peace about it. Both of us were more concerned about the other. But God's been so faithful in providing, and He so directly led us to Bailey, we just knew everything was going to be ok. If he didn't want us at Bailey anymore, we were excited to see where he would take us. Well, after much debate at the school board meetings and a march on the capitol, things are still up in the air. Hector is supposed to find out for sure by April 18th. But it looks like he might get to stay where he is. He has an awesome principle that doesn't want to lose him. She's fighting hard to keep him. Either way, we'll be great. But it's need to see how valued he is!
God is faithful and He has been and continues to be so good to us. As I always say, I am completely undeserving but unbelievably grateful! Thank you Lord for your goodness and your grace.
Hector did an incredible job on it. He definitely went above and beyond. We converted the guest bedroom into his room, so the baby can have the nursery. He painted a different sport on each wall. We have a basketball court, with a real rim. A baseball wall, with Ben's name in wooden letters (customized with Ranger decor), and a poster of the ball park, along with a huge painted baseball. Another wall is a football field, with the yardage marked and everything. It also has a huge score board customized with a clock and a "Ben" vs. "Them" chalkboard score area. The last wall doesn't have a lot of room because of the closet and the door. So Hector did a basketball, football, and baseball, and then did shadow figures playing soccer with a really cool soccer ball in the middle. Then on the back of the door, he did a tennis court. It looks awesome. Now we just need to add a scripture to the wall, and we'll be set. We plan to put "This is my son, whom I love. In him, I am well pleased!" I love the thought of him receiving that every day. Hector worked so hard, but I think it was totally worth it to see how proud Ben is of his awesome room.
We did the 3 day potty training approach at the end of February. Ben was 28 1/2 months. It was absolute madness the first day. I thought I had lost my mind to attempt such insanity. It basically involved letting Ben run around in his diaper and a shirt, and I was supposed to catch every accident in progress. Needless to say, we made many a messy dash to the potty. By day 2 it was a little better. It actually ended up taking us 5 days instead of 3, and even then, we had to watch him pretty closely. He wasn't very good at telling us verbally. We had to pick up his nonverbals. He's got it down now though. It's been about a month, and he's only had one or two night time accidents since week one, no day time accidents. So the program works. But I would call it Bootcamp Potty training instead of 3 day. For girls maybe. For boys, not so much.
Oh yeah, I guess another update is in order... I'm having a girl!! We're really excited. We would have been thrilled either way, but it's going to be great to have one of each, since we were stopping at 2 no matter what. Her name is Lila Grace Santiago. We found out at 20 weeks. We almost didn't though. She was crossing her legs tighlyt. The sonographer said that based on what I had told her about my difficulty in this pregnancy combined with how difficult she was being in the sonogram, she knew I was having a girl. It was really funny. Finally, Lila confirmed it. We got three good pictures to prove her femininity! Hector was speechless. It was too cute. After I helped him out of the chair, he ran out to the car to make calls. I had to grab a kiss on his way out. He was a little preoccupied. We're not exactly sure how we're going to handle this little girl, but we're excited to find out.
I think Ben really understands that she's coming. He watches Baby Story with me, and I explain what's going on. I fastforward through the screaming labor! When I point to my tummy and say "Who's in there?" He says "Baby sister". I say, "what's sister's name?" and he says, "Lala". It is too cute. Especially since Dad used to call Aunt Lila "lala". When we pray with him at night, we ask him if he wants to thank God for anyone or anything. He almost always starts with "lala". He's also getting way more clingy to me. The bigger I get, the more he wants me to hold him. I think he knows what's going on, or at least that something strange is going on.
Hector is in the process of painting the nursery. We had planned on keeping it the same because it's somewhat gender neutral, but when we found out we were having a girl, Hector caved. He said he had to give her her own room. So pink and green it is. Butterflies and flowers. Can't wait to see how it turns out. We got her entire set at babies are us for 70% off. It was my favorite set and just happened to be on clearance. I think God might have had a hand in that!
Good grief. Another update I forgot. We found out in February that AISD was going to lay off all probationary teachers at the end of the year because the state had significantly reduced education budgets for the districts. Well, that group includes my husband. It was really interesting though. When we found out, we were really at peace about it. Both of us were more concerned about the other. But God's been so faithful in providing, and He so directly led us to Bailey, we just knew everything was going to be ok. If he didn't want us at Bailey anymore, we were excited to see where he would take us. Well, after much debate at the school board meetings and a march on the capitol, things are still up in the air. Hector is supposed to find out for sure by April 18th. But it looks like he might get to stay where he is. He has an awesome principle that doesn't want to lose him. She's fighting hard to keep him. Either way, we'll be great. But it's need to see how valued he is!
God is faithful and He has been and continues to be so good to us. As I always say, I am completely undeserving but unbelievably grateful! Thank you Lord for your goodness and your grace.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
I'm a wuss
So, I know after you have a baby, you forget all the pain you went through to have him. That must have definitely happened with Ben, because in hindsight, I remember my first pregnancy as being a breeze compared to this one. I know it wasn't. i know I had my fair share of nausea and aches, but nothing like I'm dealing with this time. In the last 3 years, I've turned into a complete wuss. This time around, my allergies are outrageous. My hormones are worse. And my energy level in through the floor. I had another day yesterday where I could swear I either had a bug or food poisoning. I thought I was in better shape going into this pregnancy, but maybe not. It sure doesn't feel that way. I'm wondering if that is a foreshadowing of this child's personality. Is he/she going to be one that likes to shake things up, push the envelope, drive his/her parents nuts. It definitely seems as though the will of this child is stronger than Ben's. It will be interesting to see his/her personality when he/she comes out. I have so much to be thankful for, and this pregnancy is a breeze compared to others I know. I just have to keep my hormones in check and keep perspective. Thank you Lord for this life growing inside me and for the challenges I'm facing in bringing him/her into the world. It will make his/her entrance that much more special!
Monday, January 10, 2011
So much to catch up on
I can't believe September 30th was my last post. Time has flown by the past several months. So much has happened that I should have been writing about, but I haven't had any time or energy to do it. So, today, I'll do my best to catch you all up.
October 12 - Ben's 2nd birthday. We had a Texas Rangers theme. And little did we know, the Rangers would be playing in the playoffs that night. I think it was against Tampa Bay. This was Ben's family party. The house was packed. We set up a baseball field in the front yard and Ben had a great time playing with Paxton and Caleb. It was a wonderful night. Ben had more gifts than he knew what to do with. Hector, Craig, and James had to leave at 8:30 to go play in a softball game the team would have had to forfeit without them. About everyone else left that same time as well, so Ben and I wrapped up the evening cuddled up on the couch watching the Rangers beat Tampa Bay. It was the perfect end to the night.
October 23 - Ben's scheduled friend birthday party. I was so excited about this party. It was going to be a Fresh Beat Band theme. We had FBB decorations coming out the wazzoo. We had a FBB pinata, special ordered, and we had personalized invitations that looked like FBB concert tickets. The tickets were sent out, RSVPS were in, and then October 14th hit. We were in New Braunfels for the Life Challenge. It was our first night there. Ben woke up at about 1AM throwing up. He then proceeded to throw up 16 more times through the night. Hector and I took turns sleeping sitting up so that we could just lean him over when he would puke. It was awful. Definitely our worst sick night with him yet. We took him to the doctor the next day, and he said that the cold he had morphed into a stomach virus and could last up to 7 days. He gave us phinergen just in case he started back up. The next night he did fine. It looked like we were in the clear. Then Saturday night came, and Dad and I both started puking. Mind you, we were running this deal. The next morning was worship followed by our wrap up, our favorite part of the weekend. Dad attempted to do the worship but had to go lay down b/c he was so sick. I had started earlier in the night, so I was doing better than he was (for adults this appeared to be a 12 hour bug), so I did the wrap up. It went ok, but wasn't the same without dad. Oh, and did I mention, our friend Kim Avis got sick too, and later we found out two other people from the Challenge did on the way home. Oh what a child can start! Oh, and btw, Ben puked again that night. And then again on the way home, ALL over his carseat. We had to pull over to the side of the road and it took hector almost an hour to get it cleaned up. It was nasty. That started the first of about 6 more nights of throwing up for Ben, and he would throw up about the same time each night. But after a week, we started wondering what else it could be. Mom suggested that it might be his reflux. Come to find out, that's what it was. His virus had triggered a recurrence of his reflux. So, the first day was a bug, but every night after that was his reflux. Since then, he's had to be back on his medicine to keep it under control. :( So, needless to say, we didn't get to have our friend party. And it took us so long to recover physically, mentally, and house wise from this junk that we decided not to reschedule. The family party was plenty! Ok. moving on.
October 21st - One thing I didn't realize when I was throwing up at the Ranch was that I was already a couple of weeks pregnant. I hadn't had time to get a pregnancy test b/c i had been taking care of Ben. I didn't want Hector to get one b/c if i was I wanted it to be a surprise for him. Finally, on my way out of town for business with Dad on the 21st, I took a test. And sure enough, it was positive. I didn't even have time to absorb the results, b/c we had to get on a plane to go to McAllen. Once we got there, I took another test just to be sure. The results were the same. This was technically an unplanned pregnancy. Hector and I originally planned to start trying in September because that would make the baby due at the beginning of summer, when he could be off of school. Because of that, and some issues I was having with my birth control, I went ahead and got off of it. But then we decided that we needed to wait another year. We just weren't ready yet. Well, I think God liked our initial plan better because that's how it happened. I am now 16 weeks pregnant! I'm through the first trimester. Besides extreme fatigue, two stomach bugs, severe allergies and the worst cold I've ever had, I've been great! Mild morning sickness has been the least of my worries. We find out in a month what we're having. We're very torn. We would love another boy. We know how boys work. We're more comfortable with boys. But we also think it would be fun to have a little girl. I always wanted a boy first and then a girl. So really, there's no losing. We will be thrilled either way!
December 25th - From the time I found out until now, we've been consumed getting ready for Christmas. This year was so much fun! Ben was old enough to really get excited about Santa Claus. We went to see Christmas lights, watching Christmas movies, read Christmas books. You name it. If it had to do with Christmas, we were there. We saw Santa twice. Ben didn't cry either time, but the 2nd time he actually smiled! Both times he talked about Santa for hours afterwards. On Christmas day, he got so much stuff, mainly in the Toy Story, Wonder Pets, Handy Manny and Mickey Mouse arena. Those are his favorites! He would have been content with a fraction of the gifts that he got, but he loved them all! We actually set a few back because we didn't want to press our luck and have him open up to many and get frustrated. It actually worked out perfect because for the next several days, he would go to the tree and pick one up and say "present please". and we'd open up another one. He was so well behaved and so polite. It couldn't have gone better. The Monday after Christmas is when i got my 2nd stomach bug, followed by the worst cold I've ever had. Ben threw up once too. Tuesday, Hector had to take him to the doctor, and ended up that he had an ear and an eye infection. So we're not sure if he had the bug, or if it was just part of his infection.
So, that brings us to today. I'm finally feeling better. Ben appears to be well. Things seems to be getting back to some version of normal. Oh, one other thing, Hector has started converting our guest room into Ben's toddler room so that he can be out of the nursery long before the baby comes. Hopefully, that will be done in the next month or so. He is creating a sports themed masterpiece, so I can't wait to see the finished product! By March, we plan to have him in his new room and potty trained! So, I'm sure there will be some entertaining posts in the near future! Sorry for the length, but there was a lot to catch up on!
October 12 - Ben's 2nd birthday. We had a Texas Rangers theme. And little did we know, the Rangers would be playing in the playoffs that night. I think it was against Tampa Bay. This was Ben's family party. The house was packed. We set up a baseball field in the front yard and Ben had a great time playing with Paxton and Caleb. It was a wonderful night. Ben had more gifts than he knew what to do with. Hector, Craig, and James had to leave at 8:30 to go play in a softball game the team would have had to forfeit without them. About everyone else left that same time as well, so Ben and I wrapped up the evening cuddled up on the couch watching the Rangers beat Tampa Bay. It was the perfect end to the night.
October 23 - Ben's scheduled friend birthday party. I was so excited about this party. It was going to be a Fresh Beat Band theme. We had FBB decorations coming out the wazzoo. We had a FBB pinata, special ordered, and we had personalized invitations that looked like FBB concert tickets. The tickets were sent out, RSVPS were in, and then October 14th hit. We were in New Braunfels for the Life Challenge. It was our first night there. Ben woke up at about 1AM throwing up. He then proceeded to throw up 16 more times through the night. Hector and I took turns sleeping sitting up so that we could just lean him over when he would puke. It was awful. Definitely our worst sick night with him yet. We took him to the doctor the next day, and he said that the cold he had morphed into a stomach virus and could last up to 7 days. He gave us phinergen just in case he started back up. The next night he did fine. It looked like we were in the clear. Then Saturday night came, and Dad and I both started puking. Mind you, we were running this deal. The next morning was worship followed by our wrap up, our favorite part of the weekend. Dad attempted to do the worship but had to go lay down b/c he was so sick. I had started earlier in the night, so I was doing better than he was (for adults this appeared to be a 12 hour bug), so I did the wrap up. It went ok, but wasn't the same without dad. Oh, and did I mention, our friend Kim Avis got sick too, and later we found out two other people from the Challenge did on the way home. Oh what a child can start! Oh, and btw, Ben puked again that night. And then again on the way home, ALL over his carseat. We had to pull over to the side of the road and it took hector almost an hour to get it cleaned up. It was nasty. That started the first of about 6 more nights of throwing up for Ben, and he would throw up about the same time each night. But after a week, we started wondering what else it could be. Mom suggested that it might be his reflux. Come to find out, that's what it was. His virus had triggered a recurrence of his reflux. So, the first day was a bug, but every night after that was his reflux. Since then, he's had to be back on his medicine to keep it under control. :( So, needless to say, we didn't get to have our friend party. And it took us so long to recover physically, mentally, and house wise from this junk that we decided not to reschedule. The family party was plenty! Ok. moving on.
October 21st - One thing I didn't realize when I was throwing up at the Ranch was that I was already a couple of weeks pregnant. I hadn't had time to get a pregnancy test b/c i had been taking care of Ben. I didn't want Hector to get one b/c if i was I wanted it to be a surprise for him. Finally, on my way out of town for business with Dad on the 21st, I took a test. And sure enough, it was positive. I didn't even have time to absorb the results, b/c we had to get on a plane to go to McAllen. Once we got there, I took another test just to be sure. The results were the same. This was technically an unplanned pregnancy. Hector and I originally planned to start trying in September because that would make the baby due at the beginning of summer, when he could be off of school. Because of that, and some issues I was having with my birth control, I went ahead and got off of it. But then we decided that we needed to wait another year. We just weren't ready yet. Well, I think God liked our initial plan better because that's how it happened. I am now 16 weeks pregnant! I'm through the first trimester. Besides extreme fatigue, two stomach bugs, severe allergies and the worst cold I've ever had, I've been great! Mild morning sickness has been the least of my worries. We find out in a month what we're having. We're very torn. We would love another boy. We know how boys work. We're more comfortable with boys. But we also think it would be fun to have a little girl. I always wanted a boy first and then a girl. So really, there's no losing. We will be thrilled either way!
December 25th - From the time I found out until now, we've been consumed getting ready for Christmas. This year was so much fun! Ben was old enough to really get excited about Santa Claus. We went to see Christmas lights, watching Christmas movies, read Christmas books. You name it. If it had to do with Christmas, we were there. We saw Santa twice. Ben didn't cry either time, but the 2nd time he actually smiled! Both times he talked about Santa for hours afterwards. On Christmas day, he got so much stuff, mainly in the Toy Story, Wonder Pets, Handy Manny and Mickey Mouse arena. Those are his favorites! He would have been content with a fraction of the gifts that he got, but he loved them all! We actually set a few back because we didn't want to press our luck and have him open up to many and get frustrated. It actually worked out perfect because for the next several days, he would go to the tree and pick one up and say "present please". and we'd open up another one. He was so well behaved and so polite. It couldn't have gone better. The Monday after Christmas is when i got my 2nd stomach bug, followed by the worst cold I've ever had. Ben threw up once too. Tuesday, Hector had to take him to the doctor, and ended up that he had an ear and an eye infection. So we're not sure if he had the bug, or if it was just part of his infection.
So, that brings us to today. I'm finally feeling better. Ben appears to be well. Things seems to be getting back to some version of normal. Oh, one other thing, Hector has started converting our guest room into Ben's toddler room so that he can be out of the nursery long before the baby comes. Hopefully, that will be done in the next month or so. He is creating a sports themed masterpiece, so I can't wait to see the finished product! By March, we plan to have him in his new room and potty trained! So, I'm sure there will be some entertaining posts in the near future! Sorry for the length, but there was a lot to catch up on!
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