Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Hey, I got this!

I remember when I first had Bella I was so overwhelmed as a new mom.  I just couldn't get the hang of it, until one day when I just got it. I don't remember the exact moment but I remember that I felt like "Hey, I got this!" and then I was a pro.  When we found out we were having a second little one, I thought to myself no biggie I'm a pro now.  Maybe I would've slipped right into it under other circumstances, you know the one's where everything goes the way I plan! (Did you get the sarcasm there?) Well, it didn't quite go that way.  I have spent the past 5 months thinking, What the hell what I thinking? Two is harder than I thought! This is complete chaos! I'll never get the hang of this! Then last night after we got home from 6 flags, everyone was asleep and I was going over the day and it finally hit me! Hey, I got this!  We managed to balance a baby that easily overheats, (on a 92 degree day by the way) a catheter regiment, and a 4 year old whose been having meltdowns left and right lately!  Amazingly (with a lot of help from Nana, Gramma and Grampa) we did it. Not without a few hiccups we did it!

We packed a good sized cooler with ice packs, frozen mini water bottles, frozen washcloths and teethers.  A stroller fan. Lots of formula bottles and a bunch of catheters. Suntan lotion, hats, bathing suits and extra clothes! Of course this was mostly packed the night before with my nice little list next to the bag! Thank you type A personality!  As we headed into the park it seemed like we'd never see an actual ride, since we stopped multiple times to get ourselves situated.  After a couple kiddie rides for Bella we headed to The Grove where we had free food and soda/ice tea.  We were with Eddie's work group (we'll Eddie, my mom and my dad's work group) Everyone works for the same company. It was great because everyone ate and while we were there we got to use the bathroom there to cath the baby. It worked out well since it was AC and cleaner than the ones in the park. I was surprised that I managed to cath pretty well even with people in and out of the tiny bathroom and the hand dryer going off every two seconds thus scaring the baby.  So mission accomplished! We were off to rides again. Bella did so great, she barely whined the whole day.  She was even really patience while the adults wanted to go on rides.  We did have a few hiccups, like losing my drivers license! Boo!! Otherwise, a successful day! I even went on a few roller coasters, which is totally out of character for me! 

So, it turned out great! Baby Eddie didn't overheat at all! He even napped at his regular times.  Bella had fun without any major meltdowns (she even cleaned her room this morning, like really cleaned it!).  Both kids came home, bathed and were in bed by 9:00!

Guess what SB, I got this!

Gramma and baby Eddie on his first ride, the carousel!

Nana and Bella on the teacups!

Cowgirl Bella (I think her TN came out)

Us with the characters (and Cousin Mikey as Sylvester!)

Bella's favorite ride, the swings!

Baby Eddie staying cool!

Monday, July 2, 2012

Just a little brain surgery!

So I'm saying this here but don't let Eddie know I said it or he'll remind me every day!  I've realized the more you freak out about something the more it's usually not that bad!  Surgery was a breeze last week.  He went in at 7:30 and and hour and a half later the surgeon came out. I was all freaked out and sick over it since he said it would only take about 20 min.  In true Kristin fashion. I was upset about nothing since he said the actual procedure only took about 10 min.  I must have looked a mess because I felt like I was going to pass out from the relief.  He asked if I was okay. Oh gee!  Then off to see him in recovery where again I was all worried for nothing.  When we walked in he looked up and gave us a big smile! Like "hey ma, just a little brain surgery!"  This kid continues to amaze me.  He only had to be there for that day! They let us go home late that night around midnight, and the only reason we waited that long was because he needed 3 rounds of antibiotics spaced out every 8 hours.  Plus, they also didn't even need to give him any narcotics. Just a couple of rounds of Tylenol. I thought for sure the next day would be brutal for him as far as pain.  Nope! I gave him one does of Tylenol in the am just in case but he didn't seem uncomfortable and nothing after that.  I did give him some at night because I thought he might be uncomfortable but it turns out he is just having trouble going down lately.  (We've had a few tough evenings lately.)  Nothing too bad just a little fussiness right before bedtime.  Good thing one of us has enough patience left by this point to rock him to sleep while he whines.  Friday morning we started cathing.  NOT FUN! Although, again in true Kristin fashion I was all worked up for nothing.  It isn't that bad and by yesterday he was getting better at sitting still while I'm doing it! The first few days consisted of either me getting pee all over me or getting no pee at all.  Yesterday I got it 3 out of 4 times! Without much of a struggle.  I feel kind of bad though since Eddie hasn't really done it yet.  He's watched me but my control freak self takes over and wants to just do it.  I think now that I'm getting the hang of it I'm ready to let him start trying.  I just figured since I'll be doing at least 2 or 3 of them a day I should get the hang of it first.  I'm so thankful though that he jumped right in right away and wanted to do it.  I know most dad's would not only be freaked out a bit but I also know a lot of Dad's who don't even change diapers.  I'm hoping once we get it down it will seem easy for others (sitters) to want to learn how to do it.  I don't expect anyone to be comfortable with it.  So I take no offense if our babysitter list starts to dwindle.  To be honest, if it wasn't my cutie I would probably be a name dropping off of someones sitter list. 

Baby Eddie headed to the PICU from recovery



















We headed to the Chicopee Fest of All Saturday night to watch a friends band "Trailer Trash" play and watch the fireworks.  It's a 5 minute walk from our house to the park which makes it nice.  I didn't stay the whole time since lately I've noticed baby Eddie is extra sensitive to some stimulation like loud noises or bright lights.  We were told because of his Chairi that this might happen.  It could just be because he's a baby too either way I thought 1. it would be easier to cath at home then there and 2. the fireworks would be pretty loud and scary for him.  Plus, selfishly I hate going to the fireworks.  I'm not a fan of loud noises or crowds. It's not a favorite place of mine. So while baby Eddie slept I watched them out of my front window.  I could only see the high ones but that was good enough for me.  Watching the idiots that missed it sit in traffic outside my house looking for a parking spot was much more fun anyways!

Last night we had our friends Pat and Hannah over with baby Eddie's bestie baby Elias.  They were so funny touching each other and inspecting each other.  We've decided they love each other!  They're only a day apart so they have to be best friends forever like it or not!

Elias and Eddie "hugging" and checking out the camera like we're crazy!


Hope everyone has a "cool" and fun week.  We'll be at mom's pool all week keeping cool! Hopefully a couple of play dates to help the time pass!