Saturday, July 26, 2014

Toddler Cabin - Summer 2014


This was our 3rd edition of Baby/Toddler Cabin. We were missing a family due to a house move, but was still a grand time. We picked up Nora from the sitter’s and went straight there - she gets SO excited and it makes us happy : ) 

I found a rental through VRBO.com in Liberty, IN by Brookville Lake, only about 1hr 20 mins away - perfect. The house was very small, but the price and distance were right. 

The weather also didn’t cooperate until later Saturday, but the house was stacked with an amazing wooden doll house and loads of toys for the three girls who were aged 2 1/2, 2, and 17 months. 

The parents had a nice Saturday night to sit on the deck with a fire. 

Sunday we were all out by 10am. 

On the drive home, Nora had to pee. We were in farmland Indiana with nothing to pull off for. We pulled onto the side of a soybean field and my 31-week pregnant butt held Nora under her arms while she squatted in the grass. Girlfriend peed thankfully. Geezum.

Next time we’ll have another baby in the room with us! 

Woo hoooo!

She’s so excited, the animals jumped on her head.

Tim reads to Nora & Evelyn

Taxidermy animals are always in these cabins! There were TWO real stuffed turkeys. Foul. 


Nora napped in the car 2 hours then another 45 minutes on the couch - a first!



Potty Training - *EDIT

It’s my own fault - I wrote about it, I jinxed it. 

Friday Nora came home in our sitter’s 1-year old’s shorts because she went through her two extra outfits due to accidents - including a poopy accident! Sigh. 

Then this morning her diaper was filled to the brim that it leaked all over my lap. 

She peed her pants at the zoo. 

She pooped in her pants at home. 

She peed her pants at the food truck rally in her stroller.

One step forward, 22 steps back. Busy laundry night. 


Friday, July 25, 2014

On the Exercise...

31 Weeks

My last run was approximately the 2nd week of June [week 26?] - and that’s okay! I am pretty proud of myself for running that long. The trigger was losing our A/C for a week with upper-80 temps - not safe going on a run, then coming back to a warm house [in my opinion]. 

I’ve been walking about 1.5 miles at least twice a week and trying to get some gentle yoga in. We have a hilly neighborhood, so I’m definitely getting cardio. The yoga is very helpful for my joints and muscles. 

I do miss running - a lot. Running is near the top of my priority list as something I do for myself. I’m not sure how our schedule will shift with a second child [no matter how many chromosomes they have!]. It will be an adjustment, but I hope I can find a way to get back to it. 

My ideal goal is to run the Half Pig at the beginning of May... which could be possible, but I want to set realistic expectations... We’ll see!

Hannah, Nora - keep up!

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Potty Training

2 Years, 7 months

Time to give our vivacious 2 year old a shout out! Her interest in the potty started around 19 months and she actually would go pee on the training potty. 

Fast forward to ... gosh I don’t even know, this past winter? I didn’t read too much about strategies to potty train, I just kind of went for it - we started by putting underwear on her when we were home/on the weekends. Then we made the jump to sending about 4 pairs with her to the babysitter. Nora would always come home with at least one pair of wet underwear in a bag, but we were proud she was getting there. 

I’d read that kids who do cloth diapers are potty trained earlier... I’m not so sure I buy into that anymore. We stopped with the cloth full time a while back and I think the tactile difference between disposable diapers and a thin pair of cotton underwear is enough to signal to her that she wouldn’t want to have wet underwear. 

We’ve gone FOUR days with dry diapers in the mornings this week and she’s been asking to go potty at night instead of peeing in her diaper - I think we’re there!

Though I’ve heard when a new sibling comes along, there can be a potty regression - we’ll be ready. I was confident we wouldn’t have 2 kiddos in diapers at the same time, and it looks like we’ll achieve it!


Monday, July 21, 2014

One Baby, Not Two

31 Weeks

For the second week in a row, a Kroger employee has balked at my belly. 

Last week, the cashier next to us asked Tim with wide eyes, “When is she due?” September 20th. “Do you think she’ll make it? That baby looks low.”


This week I went by myself and my sweet older bagger told me I looked like I had a lot going on and when I was due [with leery eyes]. I told him and he asked me if it was a single birth. Oh My God. I assured him one baby was in there, though it was my second child.

I mean, I feel big, but I know I got bigger at the end and I know I have more growing to do. I’m also aware I could be carrying more amniotic fluid since Hannah can’t swallow much due to her Duodenal Atresia. Though I don’t know this for sure b.c no one has told me how much extra I’m carrying since week 24.

I went back and looked at my 31 week with Nora - same dress. I think I look about the same. Mom, you think I’m further out, too, but I’m not so sure. Either way, was fun to do a side-by-side.

*Edit 7/22: Tim said the bump is bigger on the right, too - I get it, I concede : ) 



Saturday, July 12, 2014

Good Sam Tour: Blergh.

30 Weeks

I believe I’ve mentioned I’m delivering at Good Samaritan because of their Level 3 NICU vs. Bethesda North which only has a Level 1. Though Hannah will be transferred to Children’s immediately, I guess we still need to be somewhere with the best care for any immediate needs. 

We took a tour of Good Sam today, mainly to know what door to enter and what floor to go to. Other than that, Tim won’t be spending any more time there once Hannah is transferred and hopefully I won’t be there much longer. Knowing those facts made this tour unexpectedly emotional for me and a real drag. 

I know Good Sam is extremely wonderful at what they do with amazing care… though I wasn’t ready for how old the hospital looks. I know they’ve been around a while, but was a little shocked at how drab it felt inside. Or maybe that was my mood being projected on my surroundings.

I looked around at all the first-time parents and sad feeling rose inside me; knowing we wouldn’t be staying in this hospital, that my husband and baby will have to leave me alone there… Then they walked us to the nursery and I could barely look inside without tears starting to fall out of my eyes. My baby won’t be in that cozy nursery. I stayed back from the window. 

I left the tour in a foul mood and once we drove away, I lost it for a few minutes. A brief moment of me needing to let it out, sad we won’t have a “normal” experience. 

Once I shook it off, Tim reminded me that Children’s is where we’ll be spending our time and that place rocks and has such a positive, pulsing vibe in it - this truth made me come back around to my good place. Being around other families in the Children’s NICU will feel more supportive. 

So while I know there are good intentions with comments like “Oh, you’re so strong/I couldn’t do what you’re doing,”… well, I’m no stronger than anyone else and yes, you could do this; any parent would tighten his/her bootstraps, find determination and move forward.

Today took me off-guard. Though the emotional stumble surprised me, I’m glad I had it; remind myself it’s okay to stumble as we take this new path. 




Friday, July 11, 2014

If You'd Like to Learn More:

I found this resource for anyone who would like a fairly short guide of information/education on Down syndrome [Compared to what Tim and I are delving into]. I didn’t know squat until our path was re-directed. 

Some things I’ve learned: 

• Did you know it’s called Down syndrome because Dr. Langdon Down was the man who first named the genetic condition in 1866?

• Individuals with Ds are more similar than you than dissimilar. 

• In 1983, individuals with Ds were expected to live to 25. Today’s life expectancy is 60. 

• Children with Ds are in the same classroom as typical children.

Here is the link to “Your Loved One is Having A Baby With Down syndrome:”

http://downsyndromepregnancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Loved-Ones-Booklet-DSP.pdf 


Happy Friday everyone and hope you learn one new thing about Ds! 


Monday, July 7, 2014

Nora’s [Ailo’s] Picnic

2 Years

Meals with a toddler are a challenge. I’ve heard we’re not the only ones, which is comforting. Nora isn’t a picky eater, she just picks. Like a bird. I’ve learned to have 3 different items on her plate to ensure she eats something. And I refuse to be a short-order cook. I’ve read enough to learn that promotes picky eating. So she eats what’s on her plate, or nada. 

Nora also likes to wander during mealtime which is frustrating. Tim and I sit there and try to remind her that we’re all eating dinner as a family and she needs to sit there until Mommy & Daddy finish too. Right. 

Sunday evening we grilled out and halfway through, Nora decided she wanted a picnic. I’m 7 months pregnant after an exhausting weekend, so I don’t care. It already looks like she’s setting up a placemat specifically for Ailo. We keep Ailo back for a short amount of time and then realize Nora needs to learn that she needs to eat her meals at the table. Anything on the ground is fair game for Ailo. 




 Lesson learned. Mommy & Daddy cry from laughter. 



4th of July Weekend: Sunday


Have I mentioned that every morning of the holiday weekend we all slept until at least 7:30am? Glorious. One morning, Tim and I even woke up before Nora - ! That’s a first in 2 years and 7 months! 

Sunday morning is when I always get groceries - the store is empty and quiet - I love it. 

After groceries we all packed up some gear and put our bathing suits on to meet the Kieffers and Nana at the Sharonville pool. The weather wasn’t as sunny as we were hoping and the kiddie pool was COLD, but we still had a lovely time. Nana graciously bought Jersey Mikes for everyone and we had plenty of snacks. 

Tim and I took turns with Nora in the awesome kiddie pool. She only went down the slide twice. I think the second soaking with Bobby was too much for her : ) My dear daughter ran up to every other toddler there to say Hi and make friends and every one of them turned away. It made me a little sad... Nora is just so social! 

Thanks again to Nana for having us to her great community pool!





Tired Kieffers!



Here's a throwback from last summer! 


4th of July Weekend: Saturday


Saturday of the holiday weekend the Batty stars aligned; I had cousins in from Hawaii, Madrid, Missouri and Chicago! Plus our family up in Versailles were available so we had a small “reunion” with my Dad’s siblings/families. Only one family couldn’t make it due to vacation [we missed you Kevin & Jill!]. 

Everyone gathered at my parent’s house in Tipp - a midway point between those up North and those of us around Cincy. 

It was awesome catching up with our cousins who are all somewhere different doing different things. We all met Baby Sofia Nour, my cousin Brian’s 4-month old daughter who reside in Madrid. 

My cousin Melanie teaches in Honoloulou, so it’s always interesting hearing what life is like 4000 miles away! 

And my cousin Scott is part of the Pipeworks Brewery in Chicago who are really making a name for themselves. He always brings samples and it was a bummer not being able to sample his wares! 

We got home by 6:30 and crashed hard again - I’m finding the 3rd trimester is wearing me out quicker : ) 

The Batty/Coffmans attempted to recreate a photo of our family vacation back in ‘94? 

 

4th of July Weekend: Friday


Friday was our day for errands and cleaning, the Sheehans came over and Nora & Ava ran amok with just a few typical toddler sharing issues : ) Was nice to catch up with friends and the weather was truly amazing - the windows and doors were all open. We nearly had the A/C off all weekend. 


Nora asked me to take a picture of her and Ailo. 

Nora has a strong fondness for Miss Anne now!

4th of July Weekend: Thursday


2 Years, 7 Months

After some scheduling snafus last week, Nora ended up getting to spend the day with her BFF, Ava! She literally shook with joy when Tim dropped her off Thursday AM. They are two peas in a pod - or should I say, a bike pod! Anne took them on an 8-mile bike ride pulling 70lbs of toddler behind her! Impressive, eh? 



Anne reported that the two girls just laughed and gabbed the entire day. “Naptime” was simply them reading books on Anne’s bed. I was wondering how nap time would go, if at all. Oh well! 

I came to get Nora around 5:30pm - they were playing in princess dresses and Nora cried in the car because she didn’t want to leave - wow! With such an exciting day, Nora didn’t make it long - conked out by the time we reached Terrace Park. Waking her up in the garage was a nightmare - epic meltdown. She  wanted to keep sleeping in the car! 

Really, Mom?

Zonk.


Bedtime came fast Thursday night : ) 

Note 1: I had my monthly Level 2 ultrasound that morning - pretty uneventful, which is good. No doctor came to speak to me and the technician was super sweet and gave me another 3D image:



Note 2: Tim went to report for Grand Jury duty. He is an alternate for the alternates which essentially means they shouldn’t need him. Thank you Sweet Baby Jesus!


28 Weeks


I’m really 29 weeks now, but here was the 28 Week photo:


4th Batty Sister

Two weekends ago Stephanie and my Mom hosted a bridal shower for Stephanie’s best friend since 2nd grade, Rose. I was looking forward to it partially because I never doing anything alone anymore : ) Rose is kind of like the 4th Batty Sister since she’s been a friend of Stephanie [and the family] for so many years. Not to mention, she kind of resembles us a bit.

It was a nice day with great food! 







 Tim took Nora to see Nana & Papa. They “swam” in her backyard and Tim took this photo... so big!!




Thursday, July 3, 2014

Knowledge is Power

28 Weeks

Every day I visit some sites about Down Syndrome; message boards, parents’ blogs and pages on Facebook that I’ve “liked.” These are the resources that I find most helpful - seeing other families who are living a very normal life. 

One of my favorites is a father to a son named Noah. Theirs was a birth diagnosis [not prenatal like ours]. He has an old post titled “12 Things I Wish I Knew When I Found Our Our Son Had Ds” which I really liked:

1. Noah being born with Down syndrome doesn’t mean he’s sick or unhealthy.
2. Noah’s not going to be a vegetable. In fact, far from it.
3. Noah’s going to laugh and play just like every other kid.
4. Noah shares more things in common with a child without Down syndrome than differences.
5. In a few weeks your son having Down syndrome won’t be a big deal.
6. You’re going to have the ability to make a huge impact in the world.
7. Your going to have so much fun with your son. In fact, you’re going to have even more fun than you ever imagined!
8. You aren’t alone.
9. Your didn’t just exchange a happy story for a sad one.
10. Other people’s stories aren’t your stories.
11. Stay off internet.
12. You and your family are going to be just fine.
Throughout this process I’ve realized how little I knew [if anything] about Ds. I think and hope our family and friends will learn through our experience, maybe even educate themselves a little here and there, and we can all take this journey together into unknown territory!