A little recap of life around the Coak household. :)

~Christmas was wonderful!!! Got all we wanted & more. So blessed & loved! :) Austin had a great time opening presents and has been loving playing with all his new toys and wearing some new clothes!

~His one year well baby appointment went well. Stats are to the right but I'll type them here too. Weight: 22lbs 9oz (50th%). Length: 28in (10th%). Head: 18.5in (70th%). He is doing great she said and we got the ok to start introducing cow's milk. He likes it so far. He has had it a couple times in a sippy and we are going to start slowing replacing one of his formula bottles with a milk bottle once a day at first and then go from there...wont type out the whole weaning schedule! :) He self weaned himself from breastfeeding about a week ago (been self weaning for about the last month). It went smoothly and if I wasn't pregnant he would have probably kept going. Gotta move on though. He's a big boy! :) His hemaginoma is starting to get smaller. We are also now watching his sternum. He has the same issue that several on my dad's side do. It's called pectus excavatum and basically means the sternum caves in a little. There are varying degrees of this. We are lucky that Dr. Camille studied with the surgeon who invented the procedure to fix this condition during her pediatric surgery rotation. Alan had his corrected several years ago so we obviously have that experience too.

~At his one year appt they also draw an iron and lead level. His lead level was normal...didnt think there would be an issue since he doesnt go to daycare and we dont live an old house. His iron level was 10.9 and the normal is 11-16 so he is on a vitamin with iron for the next 3 months and will get it redrawn at his 15 mt appt. I'm sure it'll be just fine. Thankfully he takes the vitamin in his oatmeal. Its very bad smelling and stains horribly (from my NICU experience).

~I am 12 weeks along today with baby # 2. Still sick in the very early morning and the late evening. Had some vomiting on Tuesday morning....Austin's early morning diapers and the smell of formula just sent me over the edge. Andy has been changing him first thing in the morning (because of that) but didn't that day! Next doctors appt is Jan 16th.

~School starts January 9th (technically) but our first class day in Indy isn't until January 18th and clinicals start for me on January 19th. So I have 2.5 weeks left. :( The first half has gone so fast....hopefully the second part of break goes slower.

Merry Christmas Everyone!! :) Enjoy your families today!

Austin's birthday party went great!! He was totally not sure what to do about his cake! Oh well, maybe next year. He got lots of new toys/clothes! Can't wait til its warm out so we can try out his new wagon from my parents!!

OB appt for baby # 2 went well yesterday. Got to have another ultrasound due to my tilted uterus. It makes it near impossible for the doc to hear the heartbeat with the doppler this early on. It was nice to see the baby moving around and to see the look on Austins face when he heard his/her heartbeat! :)

Christmas is 5 days away! We finally put up our Christmas tree and decorated the house last night. We have about half our presents bought now. Been slacking this year. I've been wanting to make & decorate cookies but havent done that yet either!

Ended up with an A in my class! :) My GPA is now 3.75.

Our boy is ONE! This year has gone so fast. We have enjoyed every minute of it...even the hard parts.

New things~
-walking!! walks all over the place...sometimes he gets going a little fast and falls but its very cute to watch!
-says "oug" for dog :)
-scowls at you if he isn't getting his way or you tell him something he doesn't want to hear
-waves and claps mostly on command now :)

Austin has his one year appt on December 27th. Can't wait to hear his weight & length!

We have our next appt on Monday to check on baby # 2. Chinese gender chart says this one is a boy too...haha! We'll see. It was right with Austin but most of the other old wives tale type things were wrong about his gender. The nausea is bad when I first wake up, gets better over the course of the day, and then strikes almost like clockwork again around 6pm. I feel my worst from about 6-9pm...and then I just go to bed... Thankfully Austin has been a great sleeper lately! He sleeps from about 8:30pm to 7-7:30am! Yes, he put himself on that schedule and we know we are very, very lucky! It's going to be rough when baby # 2 arrives to get used to waking up all the time again!!

I will have a one year old in 3 short days! Insane!! I'm not ready for my baby to be a toddler!!

He is doing very well with the whole walking and balancing thing! So big! :) I am really loving my time home with him during the semester break! :)

Can't believe its December! This year has gone by way to fast! I have a feeling that time is just never going to slow down...

Still nauseous ALL THE TIME! :( Really is not cool at all. Still fighting with the insurance company this time around too about my Zofran. OB writes it for every 6 hours....insurance company will only pay their part of it within their rule of 24 pills in 30 days. So I've been cutting them in half to attempt to trick my body. 8 weeks have flown by (well technically only 4 since we found out). Hoping the rest goes by fast...or at least until the nauseous part is over...which took til 22 weeks with Austin. Yuck. Still don't care either way about the gender...although if its a girl then Andy says we will be done having babies...

Austin is doing great!! :) He is becoming such a fast little guy! Not walking on his own quite yet but he is very close. He makes this cute "nom, nom, nom" sound when you ask him if he is ready for breakfast/lunch/dinner. :) Still nursing...yes still. It's safe during pregnancy and he isn't quite ready to wean yet. He does get 2 formula bottles a day to help.

2 more clinicals days and then this semester will be over...well after I take my final by Dec 9th. Then no more driving to Indy til January 18th (for class)!!! Woohoo!! Clincals for next semester will be at Ball Memorial in Muncie and will start either the week of Jan 9th or the week of the 16th...haven't decided which week I want to start yet. Beauty of grad school...more lenient on letting you pick as long as you get all your hours in.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! Hope it was a great day for all. :)

Andy & I are now expecting baby # 2! Due July 13th, 2012. We've known for 2 weeks but have been telling close family/friends first. :) It wasn't exactly planned...happened a bit quicker than we expected.

Also forgot to do Austins 11 month post. Just been soooo busy! (and tired & nauseous)

New things he does now:
~waves consistently
~claps
~takes few steps alone but prefers to hold onto something/someone
~dances
~walks verrrry fast around the furniture!

Loves:
~his book about the zoo animals
~yogurt melts!
~being busy ...always active!
~giving kisses :)
~watching baby einstein

He is growing fast!  I am estimating he weighs around 22lbs...maybe a tad more. His one year appt isnt until Dec 27th. His birthday party is December 18th...coming up fast!! We are doing a zoo theme. :)

Happy (belated) November!

This week has been busy so far and I'm going to continue to go nonstop until Saturday afternoon then I have nothing Saturday night! Woohoo. Baby shower to go to on Sunday for Erica! :)

Found out today that I might not get to go to Ball Memorial for clinicals next semester. My professor said their census has been chronically low and it might not make for the best learning experience. Boo. She said that I should try to talk to Lutheran/Dupont again to see if they will budge. If nothing gets worked out then I will have to pick another Indy hospital or go to Memorial South Bend (which is 2 hrs away). Of course, nothing can just come easily lately!

I can't believe October is almost over. Crazy! It's been a busy month but November is going to be even busier.

We have figured out our Tuesday babysitter situation ...at least for the short term...hopefully it'll work out! :) My mom is going to watch Austin Tuesday mornings (in addition to Mondays) and Andy will take a half day every Tuesday and make up the hours throughout the work week. So some weeks he will have 2 half days since he already has a half day on my Wednesday class days. Ahh...dont even want to think about next semester. (dont worry...we actually are somewhat)

Our former Tuesday sitter is still not happy with her current in home daycare so she asked me if I would like to babysit (for pay) for her baby on Thursdays & Fridays (to lessen the amount of days that he is there) until mid-December when he gets a spot in a new daycare center. I said yes....it will make my weeks so much busier but the extra money will be nice. I start this coming week....I already know him since I was watching him for free on most Thursdays this semester already since she was watching Austin on Tuesdays. Sorry for all that rambling...I could have just said..I got a very part time job. Haha!

Austin is doing great!! :) He is dancing, clapping and waving now! The clapping is hit or miss....he tries but isn't always successful. My mom took a long lunch on Thursday to take us the Wild Zoo Halloween. Austin was a cute little bumblebee! Had several options of costumes to borrow but I liked the bumblebee the most. :)

I am working very hard on teaching him not to bite me while he's nursing...it's a challenge. Prayers on that please. :)

Looking forward to the end of the semester ...the driving to Riley is very hard on me still. I just can't seem to get enough sleep on Sunday & Monday nights. I tried making my coffee more concentrated but I'm still having trouble staying awake while driving and if I am sitting still for very long during the clinical day. My preceptors are happy with how I'm doing. :) My midterm evaluation went well...better than I expected.

Starting to plan Austin's birthday party....most of the places we've looked into to rent are more than we want/can spend. Our house is too small and it'll be way to cold to try to have it outside! We are tenatively thinking of these date options: December 3rd, 4th, or 18th. My cousin Amy is having her twins first bday party on Dec 10th so that rules out that day and the 11th since my side of the family won't want to travel 2 days in a row. Then Dec 17th is Andy's cousins wedding. Most of his family all lives in town so traveling has never been a issue they've had to deal with! I personally like December 18th because it's closer to his bday and the semester will be over.

Austin still has his cold. :( Took him to the doctor this morning and he doesn't have a ear infection so we just have to wait out this cold which can take up to 2 weeks from the first day of his symptoms. Just very thankful that he didn't develop croup (he was exposed to it last week).

He stood alone for the first time on Tuesday night! He was taking a toy off the couch and let go of the couch for a few seconds so he could hold the toy with both hands. Then he just sat down like it was no big deal! I haven't seen him do it since but I'm sure he will do it again soon.

Still working out the details for November and the first week of December for who's going to take our Tuesday babysitters place. I am going to talk to Kelly and see if she can do any more half days or even full days (shes very busy) because Austin seems to really enjoy her. :) Thankful for that. I honestly wasn't sure how it would work out since we usually only see Andy's family twice a month or so.

Happy 10 months to Austin Jacob!! :)

Poor baby has been sick since late Thursday night. He has a cold with a fever off and on. Hoping he is better very soon!

As far as monthly updates...

-tooth # 1(bottom) is most of the way through...tooth # 2 (top) is about halfway through and tooth #3 (bottom) just broke the surface this weekend. :) Crazy!

-he is super fast at crawling now!

-pulls up on everything and now cruises along the furniture, dog crates, etc

-started waving recently! He doesn't do it very consistently yet but I think he knows what he means. :)

-still loves to dump stuff out of his pails/containers and knock over stacks of blocks

-will usually sit still and listen to someone reading to him...especially if its a touch and feel book or a book that has a button or two that he can push. :)

-loves to be outside still and go on walks :)

-transitioned to his "big boy" seat last weekend! He is rear facing still but was really outgrowing his infant seat as far as comfort and weight go (his went to 22lbs and he is probably 21lbs or so).

-likes to eat puffs, yogurt melts, & shredded cheese as well as his jar food...I think he will be ready for more table food soon.

-still working on the sippy cup...slow process...but thats ok

Found out today that our Tuesday babysitter is quitting at the end of the month! She's been working part time with/for my Mom (which is how we've been able to use her one day a week) but she has found a different job and starts Oct 31st. Sooo...now we have 5 Tuesdays to find coverage for! This also means that I'll be done babysitting her lil guy on Thursdays at the end of October.

Just pray that we can get something reasonable figured out! Andy is going to potentially start working every Saturday so he can get a half day every week to help out on some of the Tuesdays...he already watches him a half day on my Wednesday class days.

Can I just quit now?!? I don't really trust many people to watch him. I'm just so picky! What the heck am I going to do when I graduate and start working??

Starting to get caught up on my reading for school...I was able to get some done during naptime on Friday and then again during Sundays naptimes. :) Still behind and very glad class doesn't meet this Wednesday and make for even more reading! I need to function on less sleep so I can stay up later after Austin goes to bed.

Clinicals at Riley are finally starting to go a bit better. Still HATE the drive and HATE leaving before Austin wakes up. ...leaving at 4:30am is so overrated! My professor is pretty confident that I'll be able to go to Ball Memorial for Spring semester so that will be nicer (I hope). It will be a hour and fifteenish minute drive and there is only one NNP. I'm thinking it will be better suited for my shy personality.

Every time I make this long boring drive while half asleep my dislike for Donna gets stronger. If I still had my job, I could do clinicals here. If she even knew half of the crap we've been through since she fired me, she might feel bad! Probably not though...I haven't heard anything good about her. As you can see I am still not over my termination!

Time to shower, go to bed, and wake up at 3:30am again.

So many emotions this week already. Grr. Not going to type right now because it will just be one looooong rambling vent about clinicals, lack of study time, sleep issues for me, anxiety, missing my boy, etc, etc. Just be praying for me if you have the time!

Happy (belated) October readers! Meant to post last night but didnt get to it. :)

Had a great day yesterday visiting cousins!! :) Love spending time with my cousin Stephanie and her lil man Matthew. :)

This is another 3 day Indy week...then next week is only 2 days. Finally...it'll start alternating like its supposed to.

Need to start planning Austin's birthday party soon!! Can't believe how fast he is growing up. He is very, very active now. Constantly on the move!

My busiest week for September is over!!!

Wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be thankfully. It started with cohosting Emily's bridal shower Sunday the 18th. Then clinicals at Riley on Monday & Tuesday, PICC insertion class in Indy on Wednesday, babysitting all day Thursday, and NRP recertification in Indy on Friday. Whew! Over 1,000 miles on the Equinox this week...and lots of coffee! The next two weeks are still kinda busy but then I'll get a little bit of a break after that. :)

I think Austin is happy to have his mommy to himself this weekend! :) He is such a sweet baby. Very fast on crawling now. He likes to go after the dogs, dog toys, my laptop cord, my school papers, etc.... theres always something more interesting than his toys. haha! His first tooth is showing a lot more now and is sharp!

Just over a month now til my bestie, Emily, gets married!!

Happy (belated) 9 months to Austin Jacob! :) He had a great appointment yesterday morning! Stats are on the right side of the column but I'll list them again with the percentiles... weight 20lbs 11oz (50th%), length 26inches (5th%) and head 18inches (55th%). Everything has stayed in roughly the same percentile which is a good thing...shows he gaining and growing along his growth curve. He still is a shorty...wonder if he'll have a length growth spurt?!

We had a chat about his development and she is very happy with it all. I told her about my comparisons between his 3 cousins of similar ages and she showed my the Denver Developmental chart and how he is within the normal range on everything. That helped to ease my anxiety. Wish there weren't so many questions/exclamations from people though!!! .."He doesnt have any teeth?!!" or "Hes not crawling yet?!!" or "He doesnt devour puffs/cheerios,etc?!" Gah people! Leave us alone. He is doing it all on time!! Your baby/friends baby/relative was probably the exception and not the rule!

Austin did start crawling this past week on Wednesday night. :) Very exciting!! He also has the beginning signs of his first tooth on the bottom left! We can see the white part so it should come through completely within the next week. :)

He is still sleeping 9pm to 7am. Although on the days where Andy has to take him to my Moms or Maya's he has to wake him up around 6:30am. Very nice that it works out for Andy to do drop off and pick up because I would have to drop him off at 4:15am (on 2 of the days) if he couldn't! We do still have some days where he wakes up at 4 or 5 am (about once or twice a week), eats and then goes back to sleep. I don't mind it AT ALL because I miss him terribly when I am in Indy so I enjoy the extra nursing/cuddling session even if it does make me more sleepy. He is still in our room. The video monitor has arrived (thanks mom & dad) so we just need to hook it up and try it out. Sad that he will be in his own room soon! :(

He is also starting to pull up on the couch ...crazy! He doesn't go all the way to standing but he pulls up on his knees. Loves to read and be read to! Enjoys being outside and going on walks with us and the dogs. :)

He is growing so incredibly fast and I can't believe he is that much closer to being a year old!

Compliance officer finally called me back with her decision today (first call about this started Aug 9th). They have decided that I will not be able to do my spring semester clinicals at Lutheran Hospital due to my previous termination. I said "discrimination against a student". They don't care...they have a statement in their contracts saying they can deny whoever, whenever. Just fab. So I'll be driving for clinicals both semesters. Guess it could be worse...I could not be in school and still not have a job. Hopefully I will have employment opportunities (that arent a bazillion miles away) when I graduate in May.

The next step is Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie. They have an NNP who has expressed interest in the past about the possibility of being a preceptor. Hopefully she still has interest and hopefully since they are now part of IU Health there will be no red tape and contracts to figure out.

So...in short..Lutheran Health Network sucks ass! Sorry for my language but I've tried (nicely) to try to get into both Dupont and Lutheran. Management should WANT students to come and LEARN! The compliance officer did say "I commend you for advancing your education."....ummmm ok ...so why deny me a chance to come learn in your facility? Alll I said was "Thank you."

Remind me why I'm in school again?! My stress level is insanely high right now since I am having a huge nervous anxiety attack about the start of clinicals on Monday. After that I hope things will simmer down. I know clinicals will be challenging...its the nature of nurse/nurse practitioner school. JUST SO FREAKING NERVOUS! I feel inadequate compared to my other 3 classmates that have more NICU experience than I do. Just have to type all these feelings out. I know that most reading this are prolly like "get over yourself wacko." ...you try having the responsibility of small babies looming over your head!!

We had a great labor day weekend! :) We took a family trip to the zoo which was fun! :) Andy used vaction time to make the long weekend even longer so that was very nice. :)

Then on Sunday Austin & I joined my parents and some other family members on a trip to my brother & sister in laws house! Austin got to meet a baby pig and get his hair cut for the first time by his Aunt Cassie!! :)

Back to Indy for class tomorrow. Then clinicals start on Monday at Riley Hospital. Getting nervous about being in that NICU!

Happy September blog readers! Soooo ready for fall...this summer has been crazy hot!

Just over a month and Starbucks will have their Pumpkin Spice lattes available! :) Hope I can get one at some point in October...they are yummy. Yes...I look forward to silly things!

My first lecture class of the semester went well. :) We got out early too...can't get used to that though..she said that'll likely be the only time we get out early. Oh well..at least we don't have to go every Wednesday. Being there from 9am-4pm will be an adjustment though...it's hard to sit that long! But we get an hour lunch so thats nice and its not just our professor jabbering away all day...there is a different speaker most weeks on different topics related to neonates! I have a feeling the 4 of us (yes, only 4 NNP students in this last graduating class for IUPUI) will become quite close.

Also found out that clinicals will likely be 10 hour days (7a-5p) instead of 8 hour days. Not totally sure if that'll be the case but the NNP's usually do 10 hour days (4 days a week) at Riley so I don't know what they do with students since we won't take their full case load. If that's the case I will be sad. :( That would be 2 extra hours away from Austin and would put me arriving home after 7 and he goes to bed at 8:30ishpm. Just gotta tell myself its 2 days a week of craziness. One of my classmates thinks its crazy that I am not spending every Monday night in Indy once clinicals start since the drive is kinda long and we have to be there so early. Oh well...we'll see how I do.

Enjoying every minute with Austin! He is soo sweet and so very active now! Not crawling quite yet but he is able to move backwards and roll everywhere. He also gets up on all fours...but doesn't crawl forward yet. :)

September is going to be very, very busy for us so I might not blog as much. Just a warning. :) Theres 2 extra Indy days in Sept for things our professor needs up to go to in addition to class & clinicals...and we have a cookout, a bridal shower, and a baby shower thrown into the mix!

Two bummer things for ya today:

1) Andy did not get the loan officer position. :( They went with someone with loan experience who lives in Huntington.

2) We did not meet the approval requirements to refinance the house. Actually found out about this Thursday/Friday.

...and we are no closer to getting the sitter arrangements figured out. It was kind of put on hold while we were waiting to see about Andys job. (His half day every other week would have went away). We are thinking of seeing if Kelly has any interest in taking some of the Wednesdays so that Mom can take most of the Mondays and the rest of the Wednesdays. It'll all work out in the end. Not sure how you full time working mommies do it! I am not looking forward to working full time after I graduate. Never thought I would have this much anxiety with others (besides Andy & Mom) watching him!