It is hard

I wrote the following last year

"My little one was born early. 

My little one was in the NICU. 

My little one had to be transferred to a different hospital. 

My little one came home with medical equipment. 

My little one needed help breathing and eating. 

My little one needed medical equipment until he was 17 days old.

My little one was hoovering too close to being too small for my comfort.

My little one is too small for Newborn clothing and diapers

yet...

My little man is a miracle!

He has survived so much, in his short time outside of me. 

He began breathing with out any help,

his liver began to function like it should,

he opened his eyes. 

He is now being alert,

able to eat with minimal help, 

and...

the best thing of all...

able to hold my finger with his little hands. 

He is strong. 

Really strong. 

He is sweet, 

small,

and 

perfect"

Today, I write about our challenges. My little one has come so far in year it is amazing. So, peanut this is for you. 

I spent the first year of your life watching.

w\Watching you breathe,

watching your chest move up and down

watching your weight gain,

watching...

I spent the first year of you life waiting.

Waiting to see if your little body needed a surgery, 

waiting to hear that your weight gain was good

waiting...

I spent the first year of your life praying. 

Praying for your health,

 praying for me,

 praying for you dad,

praying for strength. 

We had so many ups and downs.

 You rolling over,

your problem with an internal organ, 

your first smile, 

colic,

 you giggling,

 your weak immune system, 

crawling, cruising and trying to walk,

 falling, hitting your head and having your first nose bleed.

and now....

I sit, I watch, I listen, I wait, and I pray. 

I pray you better. 

I pray that you are not sick with what I fear it is. 

I am filled with worry watching you struggle, 

and I I hope that you find comfort in my arms. 

Each month was a new adventure. I feel so blessed to have had this crazy whirl wind of a year. 

Thing that make me smile

There are some things that make me smile no matter what, and there are days where I need that. The items in my list just make me smile and giggle even if I am having the worst of days.

1. Baby giggles- it is like magic twinkling bells. Seriously, if you need a laugh or to smile find a baby. 
2. Baby smiles- they are the same thing as baby giggles only silent
3. Watching my family play together- this one is especially true when my son and dog play together.
4. Doggy kisses- come on, if a dog is kissing you how can you not smile?
5. Being outside- In winter (especially when it is -40 outside) being out in the warm sun after months of staying in is amazing.

and of course seeing this picture of his fear of Santa.

Why morning sickness isn't just morning sickness

I am a survivor, not only of NF, but of HG.

What is HG you may ask, HG is known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum, and it is a pregnancy complication. When I got pregnant, I know I went away from my blog. I had too, because looking at a computer screen made me sick. Every thing made me sick, which was a symptom of the HG.

HG occurs in 2% of pregnancies and is sadly miss labeled as "Just some Morning sickness" but it isn't. It is more than bad morning sickness. It is characterized by a few different symptoms

1. Extreme and persist nausea and vomiting
2. Dehydration
3. Electrolyte imbalances
4. Extreme fatigue
5. Depression
6. Head aches and confusion
7. Fainting
8. Low blood pressure

There are many different ways to treat HG. Many people know of using Zofran for treatment. I tried it and it didn't help me. I ended up in the ER with an IV. I like to think that the Duchess Kate and I have something in common. We both had HG.

My HG story is a simple one. I have Moderate HG. While I did need an IV a few times, I never needed a Zofran Pump or PICC line. But, I did spend days on the bathroom floor and plenty of days laying in bed. I couldn't move with out getting sick. It was a good day for me when I could count the number of times I puked on one hand. But, it was a bad day, if I was up to two or more hands. It was a bad day when I couldn't leave the bathroom floor. It was a bad day when nothing I ate stayed in me.

If, you or any one you know are suffering from HG, you are not alone. I found this website (http://www.helpher.org/) recently and wish that I had found it while pregnant. It provides wonderful information and plenty of resources.  If you have a family member with HG, please be supportive.

Do Not say it is just Morning Sickness.
Do Not make fun of her for puking.
Do Not comment on her looks.
Do Not say she is exaggerating.

Do hold her hair back.
Do support her when she does find something that she can eat.
Do pray with her to have a safe and healthy delivery.

Caio,

A year in review

Looking back on this year, I can see how things have changed in my life.
2014 was a very exciting, stressful, loving and difficult year. Yet, I wouldn't change it for a thing.

Looking at this blog, I am thinking of changing things around.
I have been very neglectful and that I not what I want. So look for some big, exciting changes in 2015.

Ciao,

How to do laundry with a baby

I am going to write a funny post.

How to do laundry with a baby

1.  Gather all the laundry. Do not set the laundry basket by the baby. 
2. If you made the mistake of setting the basket by the baby or the baby crawled to the basket, please re-gather all the laundry. 
3. Take care of the baby melt-down that occured from you putting the dirty clothing back into the basket. 
4. Put the clothing into the washing machine. 
5. Snuggle and play with baby.
6. Put the wet laundry in the dryer, while holding the baby to prevent a meltdown since mommy went to a different room and he can't see her. 
7.  Pick up while the baby naps. 
8. Start putting clean baby clothing away while baby naps. 
9. Baby wakes up and is crying. 
10. Leave the clean clothing in the laundry basket until the next time baby naps.  

And that is how you do laundry with a 10 month old.
Ciao,

I'm back

I am back.
I took a hiatus from writing for a while. I was struggling trying to figure out what I wanted to write. I was looking for that light, those words that I knew would be worth reading. While, now I know.

Tomorrow is Winston's 4th birthday. I can't believe that my pup is no longer a puppy but a dog and that I have had him for over 3 years. I feel that time has started to fly. This year I shopped local for his present. I went to a small local pet store and got him some chew toys designed to clean his teeth. I have been bad at brushing his teeth lately so I am hoping this will help.

I have also started working on birthday presents for my son. I have decided to do 25 books as a count down for Christmas. Each day in December we will open a new book to read at bedtime. Both my husband and I are very excited to do this. We have 6 books already wrapped. Even though my son is only 10 months, we believe this will be a great family tradition. 

School Days

I know, I know. I have been pretty absent this summer. You see, I have been very busy,setting up my classrooms. Yes, you read that right, classrooms. I now am a working mother. I have a job teaching ESL at a local school district. So, naturally, I have been setting up me rooms, and making sure to get all the cuddles I can with peanut and Winston. It has been difficult, but I am making it work. I will try to update and write more. For now, here is a cute picture of my peanut.

Long time no post

Hi all,

It has been a month since I last posted..where has that time gone?!?!
Well.
I am going to do one big post!

So, this nifty website called Influenster sent me a box and goodies. And I am now going to review them.


 I loved the bold look the mascara gave me. As someone with short eye lashes, good mascara is a nessesaty of mine, and it needs to work well with my sensitive eyes. Well, the mascara gave me a #Retroglam look. :) I will be buying Rimmel again!

I enjoyed the lotion. I love lotion and the Nivea Lotion was wasweome. It made my skin super soft. I also liked using the air fresner in my car.

Other than that, I haven't used my other products. .I haven't needed the playtax or the nails.

My son is now 6 months and has started food.  He is having a blast with it and so am I. We are using Baby Led Weaning. I am going to do a whole different post on that topic.

Lastly,  I have my dream job.