So I finally got around to making a movie of our summer adventures in the States...only a month late! Click here to watch it.
Just to explain about the "What happened to the bacon?" part in the video, there was a cooking show on tv when we were at the beach. They had roasted a chicken with bacon on it, then took it out of the oven and the bacon was gone, so we were asking, "What happened to the bacon?" Finley got hung up on saying this, and replying, "I don't know." It was pretty funny, and he still talks about the bacon sometimes to this day! (FYI, we later determined they used the bacon on the salad.)
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Baby & Finley Updates
Let's start with an update on Finley. Finley had a very exciting morning yesterday. He got to start going to "school"! We're sending him to a little preschool/structured playgroup three mornings a week from 8:30-11am, which I think will be great for Finley, the baby (soon), and me!
Even just over the summer, Finley has really grown up seemed ready for this next step...but that doesn't mean that I thought it would be a seamless transition; I figured he would have a difficult time separating from me at first. I stayed the first 15 minutes of class, and Finley was good with that, but when I tried to leave he became very upset. I gave him a couple of hugs, explained that I would be back in a little while to get him, and left silently praying it wouldn't be too traumatic for him, especially given my recent hospital stay that he's still trying to get over. I kept my phone closely by me, but the teacher didn't call and Finley made it through his first morning of school! She did say he had some good crying going on for a bit, but she was able to distract him after a while with water play and things went well after that. Yay! He was perfectly happy when I got there to pick him up!
To celebrate Finley's new stage, we took a brief outing to buy him a little backpack to carry his diapers and change of clothes in when he goes to school. Finley picked out a Thomas the Train backpack, despite not knowing who Thomas is, and it is terribly cute. He loved it so much he wanted to wear it the rest of the evening! We hope this will help him be excited to go to school. We go back again on Friday morning, and I'm sure there will probably be more tears then, but I hope they'll be even fewer than yesterday.
To backtrack a little and give a me+baby update, I was released from the hospital midday on Monday, armed with antibiotics and more of that really not fun medicine to calm contractions in case I start having lots again. While very happy to leave, I was also very disappointed to hear the doctor say those dreaded words: "bed rest". Ugh. I mean, I understand that is standard protocol for situations like this, but I was still very disappointed. I have wanted so much to have a "normal" pregnancy and enjoy the rest of this time with Finley before #2 comes along and rocks his world.
Though I'm supposed to be on bed rest, I think it's going to be more of a modified than strict bed rest, unlike earlier in the pregnancy (when I was literally not allowed to do anything but lay flat the entire day and night and get up only to go to the bathroom). This time is more staying off my feet and not physically exerting myself. I think I'll still be able to do a little bit, as long as I keep the contractions under check.
I have to say, though, Finley isn't making it easy on me. Since I've been in the hospital, his sleeping has gotten quite messed up and the tantrums are in overdrive. It's all been a bit too much for him to handle on top of adjusting to all the other changes going on. I'm pretty sure that the doctor didn't want me to be wrestling a hysterical 31 pound toddler when she said "bed rest", but it's kind of something I have to do right now. The good news is that the doctor said once I get to 36 weeks, anything goes. So I'm already planning a trip to gym for myself and lots of fun super active things with Finley that day! 36 weeks is Sept. 14, for those of you who are counting down the days like me!
So what's in store for the future? The frustrating part is that we have no idea, because we have no idea what caused this whole ordeal. It could have been some sort of uterine irritation/infection that once settled won't cause any more problems. In that case, I could carry this baby full term or even overdue! Alternatively, it could be some other sort of issue that may resurface, causing me to have the baby early. Guess we'll all just be waiting around to see...
Though I'm supposed to be on bed rest, I think it's going to be more of a modified than strict bed rest, unlike earlier in the pregnancy (when I was literally not allowed to do anything but lay flat the entire day and night and get up only to go to the bathroom). This time is more staying off my feet and not physically exerting myself. I think I'll still be able to do a little bit, as long as I keep the contractions under check.
I have to say, though, Finley isn't making it easy on me. Since I've been in the hospital, his sleeping has gotten quite messed up and the tantrums are in overdrive. It's all been a bit too much for him to handle on top of adjusting to all the other changes going on. I'm pretty sure that the doctor didn't want me to be wrestling a hysterical 31 pound toddler when she said "bed rest", but it's kind of something I have to do right now. The good news is that the doctor said once I get to 36 weeks, anything goes. So I'm already planning a trip to gym for myself and lots of fun super active things with Finley that day! 36 weeks is Sept. 14, for those of you who are counting down the days like me!
So what's in store for the future? The frustrating part is that we have no idea, because we have no idea what caused this whole ordeal. It could have been some sort of uterine irritation/infection that once settled won't cause any more problems. In that case, I could carry this baby full term or even overdue! Alternatively, it could be some other sort of issue that may resurface, causing me to have the baby early. Guess we'll all just be waiting around to see...
Monday, August 20, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Stay in, Baby!
Looks like I unexpectedly have time on my hands to blog! Last night, Nate and went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Hong Kong, called Linguini Fini. I had the totally addicting fragrant grass pasta with goat cheese fonduta and tiramisu for dessert. Unfortunately I started having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions over the course of the evening. We're talking one every 3 minutes, and they kept on all night. (Normally, BH are supposed to be irregular and 4 or fewer per hour.) Instead of going away when I got home, rested, and drank water, they got a little worse and I started having mild cramping, as well, all of which was pointing to early labor instead of BH. So first thing this morning I was on the phone with the hospital, who said I needed to come in and get checked by the doctor since I'm only 32 weeks 2 days pregnant.
Nate and I left Finley with our new helper (despite it being her day off- thanks Cathrina!) and came to the hospital, where baby and I were monitored for a long time and checked by the doctor. Apparently the contractions were actually doing something (I won't go into the details of all that on here), so the doctor said we really needed to get them stopped to buy the baby at least a couple more weeks. She put me on antibiotics and a really fun medicine to relax my muscles that makes me jittery, shaky, and my heart race. I've spent almost the whole time here so far hooked up to monitoring devices to keep an eye on the baby's and my heart rates, my blood pressure, contractions, and the baby's movements (the midwife commented on what an active little one she is- to the point that it's been difficult to keep the monitors on her!). I'm confined to the bed and bored out of my mind already, particularly since Nate was only able to stay for a few hours this morning before leaving to take over Finley duty from Cathrina. Nate and Finley were able to come visit for a very short time this afternoon, but had to rush back home in order to receive an IKEA delivery. Finley quite enjoyed playing with the buttons on my hospital bed while he was here.
Best case scenario is that all signs of labor stop between now and tomorrow and the doctor lets me go home then, so that's what we're praying for. I've still had a few contractions since taking the medicine, but they've been irregular and infrequent, so that's good. Of course I'm concerned for the baby, but I'm also worried about Finley who is spending his first day and night ever without me since he was born. I wasn't planning on this happening for several more weeks yet, and therefore in no way had prepared him. Nor have I finished teaching things to our new helper in preparation for this. For example, she doesn't yet know how to put him down for nap, so I'm really hoping I can be home tomorrow before then!
So what's the good news in all this? Good news #1: The baby's head is already down and engaged so it's extremely unlikely that she would move out of position and flip around. (That explains why I keep feeling like I'm getting pounded in the bladder!) Good news #2: I was the first patient put into my shared room, so I get the awesome view out the window. Maybe tomorrow I'll take a picture with my phone, but it's getting a bit too dark now, and I'm stuck still being monitored again anyway. Good news #3: My roommate also has not yet had her baby, so I have no baby in here with me and may actually get to sleep tonight. Good news #4: It made me quite pleased this morning when my midwife, Ashley, commented on how little tummy fat I have and therefore how well she could feel the baby moving and hiccuping! That is exactly the kind of compliment a pregnant woman who feels huge needs to hear! Ashley also said the baby feels "solid" and "strong". I think she's going to come out kicking and punching, just like Finley!
Nate and I left Finley with our new helper (despite it being her day off- thanks Cathrina!) and came to the hospital, where baby and I were monitored for a long time and checked by the doctor. Apparently the contractions were actually doing something (I won't go into the details of all that on here), so the doctor said we really needed to get them stopped to buy the baby at least a couple more weeks. She put me on antibiotics and a really fun medicine to relax my muscles that makes me jittery, shaky, and my heart race. I've spent almost the whole time here so far hooked up to monitoring devices to keep an eye on the baby's and my heart rates, my blood pressure, contractions, and the baby's movements (the midwife commented on what an active little one she is- to the point that it's been difficult to keep the monitors on her!). I'm confined to the bed and bored out of my mind already, particularly since Nate was only able to stay for a few hours this morning before leaving to take over Finley duty from Cathrina. Nate and Finley were able to come visit for a very short time this afternoon, but had to rush back home in order to receive an IKEA delivery. Finley quite enjoyed playing with the buttons on my hospital bed while he was here.
Best case scenario is that all signs of labor stop between now and tomorrow and the doctor lets me go home then, so that's what we're praying for. I've still had a few contractions since taking the medicine, but they've been irregular and infrequent, so that's good. Of course I'm concerned for the baby, but I'm also worried about Finley who is spending his first day and night ever without me since he was born. I wasn't planning on this happening for several more weeks yet, and therefore in no way had prepared him. Nor have I finished teaching things to our new helper in preparation for this. For example, she doesn't yet know how to put him down for nap, so I'm really hoping I can be home tomorrow before then!
So what's the good news in all this? Good news #1: The baby's head is already down and engaged so it's extremely unlikely that she would move out of position and flip around. (That explains why I keep feeling like I'm getting pounded in the bladder!) Good news #2: I was the first patient put into my shared room, so I get the awesome view out the window. Maybe tomorrow I'll take a picture with my phone, but it's getting a bit too dark now, and I'm stuck still being monitored again anyway. Good news #3: My roommate also has not yet had her baby, so I have no baby in here with me and may actually get to sleep tonight. Good news #4: It made me quite pleased this morning when my midwife, Ashley, commented on how little tummy fat I have and therefore how well she could feel the baby moving and hiccuping! That is exactly the kind of compliment a pregnant woman who feels huge needs to hear! Ashley also said the baby feels "solid" and "strong". I think she's going to come out kicking and punching, just like Finley!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Our New Home
This past weekend we made the 5-minute-away move to Stanley, to our new apartment with 3 bedrooms! I'll admit, the move probably was and is the most difficult for me. Not that I was so attached to our old apartment, but rather I have found it quite stressful trying to figure out where to put everything in the new place and wanting to hurry up and get settled. We have less storage here than in Red Hill, and the helper's room is very small, a weird shape, and doubles as a laundry room. I'm trying to let go a little (a lot?) and be okay (for now) with piles of art that needs to be hung, boxes of clothes, shoes, disassembled toddler furniture, and other miscellaneous items cluttering the apartment. We've also had a few problems that are making the transition slightly more annoying, particularly that the dryer still isn't working and won't be for a while longer yet, and also that the car basically fell apart the weekend of our move-- nice timing!
The great news is that there are some wonderful things we're loving about the apartment. The apartment is bright with big windows, has a nice little pool and gym, is walking distance to all kinds of things, has awesome water pressure and showers, and much better air conditioning (praise God for A/C)! Here are a few photos of our new place to get you started.
That's all the photos for now, because most rooms aren't yet ready for photos!
As for Finley, he's doing pretty well with the changes so far. A little trouble getting to sleep, but otherwise not too bad. Of course, he is a toddler in his "terrible two's", so there's plenty of trying to push buttons on the oven and microwave (after being told not to a million times), throwing his ball and other toys at the freshly painted white walls, and I even caught him trying to put his mouth on the electrical outlet in our bedroom the other day! We definitely had to have a "never, ever, ever" talk about that one, and it may have taken a year off my life.
But Finley's also really fun right now because of all the awesome new things he can do. (Warning: I'm about to talk about bodily functions.) He shocked us last week by going poo-poo on the potty, and then did it again this week! We still don't think he's ready for full on potty training, because he can be quite resistant to the potty at times and won't even read our book Diapers Aren't Forever. He seems to be in this in-between phase where he's becoming more aware of the potty and his bodily functions and sometimes refuses diapers, but most other times really wants the familiarity of his diapers and won't tell us until after he goes. We're just going to let him lead the way for now, and if he goes on the potty, great. If not, diapers for a while longer.
Baby Girl Dennison is active as ever, with only 8 weeks left until she receives her eviction notice. Around now is typically another growth spurt, which I can tell due to my increased appetite yesterday and today!
The great news is that there are some wonderful things we're loving about the apartment. The apartment is bright with big windows, has a nice little pool and gym, is walking distance to all kinds of things, has awesome water pressure and showers, and much better air conditioning (praise God for A/C)! Here are a few photos of our new place to get you started.
The kitchen: Very modern and much better appliances and decor than Red Hill, but a bit smaller.
The baby room: Currently Finley's room, but he'll be moving out soon and decorations will be changing from blue to pink!
Our private roof: Very spacious! We look forward to getting a grill and some furniture for up here. You can faintly see the nice ocean/mountain views in the background. (Sorry, yucky weather for these photos, as a typhoon is approaching at the moment.)
A different view from the roof.
View of the complex out the window in the stairwell going up to the roof. You can get a glimpse of the landscaping and pool.
That's all the photos for now, because most rooms aren't yet ready for photos!
As for Finley, he's doing pretty well with the changes so far. A little trouble getting to sleep, but otherwise not too bad. Of course, he is a toddler in his "terrible two's", so there's plenty of trying to push buttons on the oven and microwave (after being told not to a million times), throwing his ball and other toys at the freshly painted white walls, and I even caught him trying to put his mouth on the electrical outlet in our bedroom the other day! We definitely had to have a "never, ever, ever" talk about that one, and it may have taken a year off my life.
But Finley's also really fun right now because of all the awesome new things he can do. (Warning: I'm about to talk about bodily functions.) He shocked us last week by going poo-poo on the potty, and then did it again this week! We still don't think he's ready for full on potty training, because he can be quite resistant to the potty at times and won't even read our book Diapers Aren't Forever. He seems to be in this in-between phase where he's becoming more aware of the potty and his bodily functions and sometimes refuses diapers, but most other times really wants the familiarity of his diapers and won't tell us until after he goes. We're just going to let him lead the way for now, and if he goes on the potty, great. If not, diapers for a while longer.
Baby Girl Dennison is active as ever, with only 8 weeks left until she receives her eviction notice. Around now is typically another growth spurt, which I can tell due to my increased appetite yesterday and today!
Monday, August 6, 2012
What's Going On?
So here's a post to catch everyone up on what's going on in our lives these days. We've been back in HK for a little less than a week, but already so much is happening!
Finley did awesome on the flights (no tantrums!!), but my body wasn't loving flying at 29 weeks pregnant and I was very grateful to eventually get off the airplane, lie down, and give my mid-section a rest! I was so uncomfortable and somewhat swollen, even despite my attractive black knee-high compression socks. Mind you, I usually don't have any issues with swelling, but that's what an entire day and night of flying in your 3rd trimester will do to you! Since getting back, there have been lots of days of waking up at 3 or 4am and very frequent Finley tantrums thanks to the jet lag, but we're now almost back into our sleeping routines and Finley's mood is getting back to normal. Give us a few more days and I think we'll be good to go again!
An unfortunate result of Finley's jet lag and resulting insane tantrums was him discovering that he could jump out of the crib. Problem is, he is not a cat and doesn't land gracefully on his feet. I put him in time out in his crib one day, and 30 seconds later I heard a loud THUD and Finley's screaming/crying tantrum switched to frightened crying. He was in a heap on the floor, and I was just grateful he didn't break any limbs! Geez! We were planning to move Finley to a real bed very soon anyway, but we haven't actually bought the bed yet and therefore will have to be extremely vigilant until then. I'm honestly hoping that it scared him enough that he won't do it again, plus I had the very serious, "Never, never do that again," talk with him, but who knows. I haven't figured out a new plan for timeout. I guess we'll have to try making him sit on a "time out rug" again, because I'm afraid he might throw a "time out chair".
We had to let our previous helper go before we left for the States, and our new helper Cathrina (pronounced "Katrina") just started with us a couple of days ago. So far so good, but it is stressful to train and adjust to a new helper (a total stranger, albeit a friendly one, living in your small apartment with you!). In the beginning, it's quite time consuming trying to show her exactly how we would like everything done and how everything works, but it should be worth it soon. Finley really seems to like her, but he's not quite ready to be left alone with her just yet. We're praying she'll be a great match for our family and that she'll be especially awesome and trustworthy with the kiddos. (Did I really just say kiddos, plural?? Crazy, right?)
On Saturday we're moving into our new apartment! We're excited, but a little nervous about where we're going to put our stuff. Our current place has very little storage, but it does have a little space where we can put a few bigger items like suitcases and such. The new place does not have that, so we'll have to get creative. But the new place does have a private roof top! Nate and I are going to buy a grill as our anniversary gift to each other now that we'll have a place to put it. (Happy 6 years, Nate! Look forward to celebrating more with you once we can leave Finley alone with the helper and once we're all over jet lag!)
In case you were wondering how Baby Girl Dennison is doing (because I was!), we went for a doctor visit today and she's looking great and her head is down. Let's hope it stays there! I'm feeling pretty big considering that I have 2 more months to go, and my back hurts some kinda bad every night and sometimes in the day, but overall I'm okay. I'm just grateful that I'm currently having a "normal" pregnancy and that the baby appears healthy. Based on her measurements today, Grace estimated that she weighs about 3 lbs 5 oz already! I had a blood test today to check my iron and Vitamin D levels, and I'll go back again in 2 1/2 weeks for a growth scan. Nate and I are settled on a name, and we bought some bedding and a few tiny, cute little baby clothes to get us started. 9 1/2 weeks until the due date-- we're in the single digits! Things are getting exciting!
Oh, and I got my grades back and found out today that I'm officially finished with my masters! Woohoo! It's a little anticlimactic since I'm not in Michigan to do the whole cap and gown deal, but I'm still trying to be excited anyway. I'm grateful to have found an online program that was actually good (some aren't!) and offered the flexibility I needed as an overseas mom of a baby-turned-toddler. It worked out really well!
If you're still reading, thanks for sticking with such a long, photo-less post! I promise there will be more photos and videos coming soon!
Finley did awesome on the flights (no tantrums!!), but my body wasn't loving flying at 29 weeks pregnant and I was very grateful to eventually get off the airplane, lie down, and give my mid-section a rest! I was so uncomfortable and somewhat swollen, even despite my attractive black knee-high compression socks. Mind you, I usually don't have any issues with swelling, but that's what an entire day and night of flying in your 3rd trimester will do to you! Since getting back, there have been lots of days of waking up at 3 or 4am and very frequent Finley tantrums thanks to the jet lag, but we're now almost back into our sleeping routines and Finley's mood is getting back to normal. Give us a few more days and I think we'll be good to go again!
An unfortunate result of Finley's jet lag and resulting insane tantrums was him discovering that he could jump out of the crib. Problem is, he is not a cat and doesn't land gracefully on his feet. I put him in time out in his crib one day, and 30 seconds later I heard a loud THUD and Finley's screaming/crying tantrum switched to frightened crying. He was in a heap on the floor, and I was just grateful he didn't break any limbs! Geez! We were planning to move Finley to a real bed very soon anyway, but we haven't actually bought the bed yet and therefore will have to be extremely vigilant until then. I'm honestly hoping that it scared him enough that he won't do it again, plus I had the very serious, "Never, never do that again," talk with him, but who knows. I haven't figured out a new plan for timeout. I guess we'll have to try making him sit on a "time out rug" again, because I'm afraid he might throw a "time out chair".
We had to let our previous helper go before we left for the States, and our new helper Cathrina (pronounced "Katrina") just started with us a couple of days ago. So far so good, but it is stressful to train and adjust to a new helper (a total stranger, albeit a friendly one, living in your small apartment with you!). In the beginning, it's quite time consuming trying to show her exactly how we would like everything done and how everything works, but it should be worth it soon. Finley really seems to like her, but he's not quite ready to be left alone with her just yet. We're praying she'll be a great match for our family and that she'll be especially awesome and trustworthy with the kiddos. (Did I really just say kiddos, plural?? Crazy, right?)
On Saturday we're moving into our new apartment! We're excited, but a little nervous about where we're going to put our stuff. Our current place has very little storage, but it does have a little space where we can put a few bigger items like suitcases and such. The new place does not have that, so we'll have to get creative. But the new place does have a private roof top! Nate and I are going to buy a grill as our anniversary gift to each other now that we'll have a place to put it. (Happy 6 years, Nate! Look forward to celebrating more with you once we can leave Finley alone with the helper and once we're all over jet lag!)
In case you were wondering how Baby Girl Dennison is doing (because I was!), we went for a doctor visit today and she's looking great and her head is down. Let's hope it stays there! I'm feeling pretty big considering that I have 2 more months to go, and my back hurts some kinda bad every night and sometimes in the day, but overall I'm okay. I'm just grateful that I'm currently having a "normal" pregnancy and that the baby appears healthy. Based on her measurements today, Grace estimated that she weighs about 3 lbs 5 oz already! I had a blood test today to check my iron and Vitamin D levels, and I'll go back again in 2 1/2 weeks for a growth scan. Nate and I are settled on a name, and we bought some bedding and a few tiny, cute little baby clothes to get us started. 9 1/2 weeks until the due date-- we're in the single digits! Things are getting exciting!
Oh, and I got my grades back and found out today that I'm officially finished with my masters! Woohoo! It's a little anticlimactic since I'm not in Michigan to do the whole cap and gown deal, but I'm still trying to be excited anyway. I'm grateful to have found an online program that was actually good (some aren't!) and offered the flexibility I needed as an overseas mom of a baby-turned-toddler. It worked out really well!
If you're still reading, thanks for sticking with such a long, photo-less post! I promise there will be more photos and videos coming soon!
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Summertime in NC
We got to spend a week in NC with my family after our time in MI and SC. It was a super hot week, but that didn't stop us from hitting the NC Zoo two different mornings (thanks Brett!!).
Finley kissing a baboon through the glass. He still talks about this baboon.
Riding on the endangered species carousel.
There was a special dinosaur exhibit at the zoo this summer, and we spent much of our time there. The dinosaurs were quite realistic, moving and making sounds, and a couple of them even spit water on us! I'm pretty sure Finley thought they were alive.
Love this photo. Finley is like, "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?!?"
Not sure who's bigger, me or the T-Rex. Geez, Nate should have told me to suck in the gut.
Close encounter with a sea lion.
We had a fun time at Granny and Papa's one night eating yummy NC BBQ and homemade strawberry ice cream. Papa got out Jessica's and my old rocking horse and cleaned it up for Finley. It was a hit! In fact, he got a little too crazy on it at times and needed a spotter so he wouldn't just let go and fly off!
Checking out bumblebees in the flowers.
Having a chat with Papa about the ice cream maker and it's noises.
A little help from Granddad to get up close and personal with the bumblebees. (He just couldn't leave them alone for more than a couple of minutes all night.)
First time playing t-ball!
Grandmommy cuddles with Isaac.
Time to serve the ice cream! Of course, Finley wouldn't eat any of it, but the rest of us had his share.
Getting baseball tips from my cousin Brandon, the expert.
No trip to NC is complete without a tractor ride from Granddad. Finley was excited, but wanted to cover his ears at first from the noise.
Proud mama. Jessica and Brett are wonderful new parents! Naturals!
Auntie and cousin time with baby Isaac.
Hanging out with Aunt Jessica and Uncle Brett.
Finley kept covering his eyes, so we attempted a "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" photo, but of course Finley moved his hands away from his eyes right as we took the photo.
Sweet Isaac.
It was such a wonderful time in the States, and we were so sad to leave! Finley really had a blast with all his family this year, and he was a source of constant entertainment and hugs. We already miss everyone!
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