J&J Strike Again: A Boy After My Own Heart

Russ took Jonson and Joseph to school today since they were getting on my nerve so bad I was worried I might drive them to the nearest pond/lake and plunge us all into the waters. Seriously, just kidding. But, they were being really annoying. I got up late and was sort of in a hurry (my fault) and I begged the two of them to be quiet and let Mia and Popi sleep in. Of course, Jonson starts in with the mouth noises/slamming doors and Joseph turns on the whine. Fun stuff at 6:45am. Let me tell you. So, Russ drove them to school and said they were both really good on the ride. Yay for him! hehe

Howeva, Joseph started in singing "We will, we will, Rock you, stomp you." I know, really cute, eh? Evidently though, he just sang that same phrase over and over and over and over and over. Well, you get the picture. After the 400th time, Russ told Joseph that he'd like to hear more of the song, rather than the same phrase repeated. When Russ suggested that there may be other words to the song, perhaps another refrain or some different lyrics, Joseph informed him that, "That's how the song goes, Russ! Duh!"

Aaaaawwww. A boy after my own heart. My sister complains about this very trait in me ALL the time. It's not that I don't know other lyrics to the song, it's just that I believe the particular phrase is the BEST part of the song and deserves repeating.

An RC Cola and a moon pie.

What's Love got to do, got to do with it baby.

Baby Chronicles: Le Leeche

So you all know that we call the baby the leech. From dictionary.com...

leech  /litʃ/ –noun

1. any bloodsucking or carnivorous aquatic or terrestrial worm of the class Hirudinea, certain freshwater species of which were formerly much used in medicine for bloodletting.
2. a person who clings to another for personal gain, esp. without giving anything in return, and usually with the implication or effect of exhausting the other's resources; parasite.
3. Archaic. an instrument used for drawing blood.

Very fitting, if you ask me. :)

Baby Chronicles: Peachy Puke

Ugh. So yesterday was the first day that I actually felt pregnant in terms of the nastiness that every woman says is inevitable. I decided early on that it was mind over matter and all I had to do was decide not to be tired, sick, and weak. Rrrrrright. About that...

I woke up on Sunday morning feeling pretty good. Nan took the boys for the weekend so Russ and I were enjoying sleeping in, relaxing, and getting some stuff done. I had been up for about 30 minutes or so when Russ brought me some diced peaches. Yum, right? I've been eating at least a couple of containers of diced peaches every day for the last week. The best part is the juice. Anyway, I downed the peaches in no time and was sitting there, minding my own business watching HG TV when my mouth started watering, my stomach started churning, and it became apparent that I might want to make my way to a puke receptacle. I made it to the kitchen sink and was standing there trying to choke it back when something smelly in the kitchen took me over the edge. I was FULL ON sick in the sink. Thank goodness for garbage disposals!

Russ was a doll, rubbing my back, getting washrags, and just generally feeling miserable for me. When it was all said and done, I felt a lot better but still putrid off and on for the rest of the day. Seriously, I hope this jazz doesn't last long! I'm practicing my mind over matter mantra again today. So far, so good.

Baby Chronicles: Ketchup Slurp

I think I may have had my first craving this morning. Of course, I was feeling sorta sick to my stomach after cleaning up after my nasty dogs (and gagging profusely) but I figured I better eat something before I became a raging biatch. So, I stopped by McDonald's to purchase a sausage biscuit and hashbrown. I smeared a packet of ketchup on the hashbrown and gobbled it down.

Before I even tucked into the sausage biscuit, my mouth started watering for some more ketchup! I am ashamed (and amazed, really) to admit that I ripped open a second packet of ketchup and slurped it down... raw, if you will. It was DE LI CIOUS! Seriously, how could it possibly be so tasty?!? How could I have been missing out on this "happiness in a package" all these years?!? I was thinking to myself that we may need to invest in McDonald's ketchup.

Now, hours later as I type this at my desk, my stomach is sorta turning at the thought of slurping down ketchup from a foil lined packet. Could I be any grosser?!?

Wait... what's that?... I think I'm gonna need some more ketchup!

Baby Chronicles: Flutterbeat

OMG! I woke up this morning and had one bit of spotting. Something must be wrong. Talked to mom and she said everything was probably fine but should call my doctor.

6:30am

Called the after hours number and within 3 minutes, a nurse called me back. She says everything is probably fine and that some early spotting is usually nothing to be alarmed about. As soon as the office opens, I should make an appt to see Dr. Collins. Get ready for my day as usual and take it easy. Mom helped me finish getting the boys ready for school and I took them into Pflugerville.

8:00 am

Stopped at Mom & Dad’s house in Pflugerville. No more spotting. Called the doctor and a different nurse says to just watch it and call them if there is any more bleeding. Everything is probably fine. Stay home from work today. Took a nap.

9:30am

Noticed a little clot. Called the doctor. Still, no bleeding. Take it easy, relax. Call if there are cramps or bleeding.

11:30am

Haven’t taken my antibiotic for the supposed UTI. Wonder if I should continue taking it? I called the doctor and got a different nurse. She’s the same one I talked to on Friday over the possible UTI. She says the lab results are back but the UTI test was negative. Given all of the symptoms, she’d like to get me in to see the Physician’s Assistant.

1:15pm

Russ went with me and I got an exam. No new blood but we should do an ultrasound.

4:00pm

We have a heartbeat!!! Baby Johnson is alive and well and sitting smack dab in the middle of my uterus! The yolk sac is there and everything looks fine. Dr. Darby can see no reason for concern so the small amount of bleeding is probably nothing to worry about. We both breathed a sigh of relief. We have the following first pictures of Baby Johnson, aka “the leech.” The leech just wants to get a bit of a head start on some early blood letting!

Really, it was truly amazing and finally felt real once we saw the flutter of the heart beat. 106 beats per minute, right on target for BJ’s age of 7 weeks. Here's a picture of the little leech. If you zoom in, you can see where CiCi (the tech) marked the yolk sac and baby.

Baby Chronicles: Jalepeno Nightmares

Last night, I dreamed that I had the baby. It was a girl. She was tiny (about the size of Caroline when she was born premature). They whisked her away right away and Russ went with her. I stayed in the room, all alone for an hour before I got concerned and went to find them. I found Russ with the doctor and the baby in a surgery room. The baby was dead. I threw a straight up fit for them to let me hold her and rock her. Finally, I totally lost it and they made me go back to my room. I slept for a bit and when I woke up, they were wheeling the baby into the room on the isolette, as if the whole ordeal before had never happened. Except, this time, the baby was HUGE. My tiny little infant hardly bigger than my hand before was now the size of Olivia is now (she’s more than 7 months old!) They put the baby on my lap and it started going for my boob to nurse. I was totally freaking out. I was yelling that the baby was trying to EAT me! I was begging them to send in a lactation specialist and they told me no. Then, the baby was dead again and I woke up. What a crazy, bizarre dream! I wonder what it means… other than that I ate too much Mexican food too late!

Baby Chronicles: Bladder Blabber

Oh no! I woke up at about 3:30 am with an incredible urge to go to the bathroom. I dashed to the bathroom and when I layed back in bed, I had sharp, shooting pains in my side, down low near my uterus. OMG! I thought I might be miscarrying. My crying woke Russ up and he and I laid there for a couple of hours. The pain finally went away and I slept.

Called the doctor this morning and the nurse thinks it may be a UTI. She is trying to get the results of their standard UTI test from the lab. By early afternoon, she called to say they wouldn’t have the results but that I should start an antibiotic (safe for the pregnancy) right away and get some rest. I'm going home from work early for a nap.

Baby Chronicles: First Dr. Visit

We met with the nurse today. Everything is a go. She answered a million and one of our questions. This thing is just starting to sink in. I think it’s real!?!

Baby Chronicles: Announcing Baby Johnson!

I think we should surprise Clark and Joyce and tell them with flowers or send something to them. I went online looking for ideas and came up with the idea to send them a baby picture frame with a note inside. We went to Aaron Bros Framing today and picked up several frames, one for Nette too. We’re working on getting the Johnson’s to move out to Texas soon (maybe sometime next year) so here’s what I’ll put in the frame:

Coming to a hospital near you
(hint, hint)

May 2007

Baby Chronicles: Mother's Instinct

Feeling pretty good. Russ and I have decided that we’ll not tell anyone else (only he and I plus my sister know) until after our first appointment with the doctor. We’re guardedly excited. This morning, I sat down to put my shoes on and sorta groaned when I sat. Mom was sitting beside me in the recliner and she looked at me shrewdly and said, “Don’t you feel good?” and I said, “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just sleepy (It was early in the morning!) and my tummy is upset.” She gave me the mom stare and said, “Are you pregnant? Have you taken a test? You should take a test.” Um, ok. So, the cat is out of the bag. Can you believe that mom guessed it?!? Insane mom instincts, I guess. We should probably find a clever way to tell Clark and Joyce too. No fair to only have one side of the family know.