Last week was kinda fast and a lil crazy. Had the normal Monday & Tuesday off. Then I went to class in Indy on Wednesday (always a tiring day with that drive). Thursday morning I am on my way to Muncie and Andy calls to tell me Austin has a fever of 102.2!! :( So, I turn around, call my preceptor to cancel clinical, my mom to cancel babysitting, and his pedi office to get an appt. Got him in early that morning with another doc..his was not in the office. He has a double ear infection and mild tonsilitis. First time ever having a ear infection! Poor guy!! He was acting fine on Wednesday. The pedi said he must have high pain tolerance. Austin is on antibiotics for 10 days.

Spent all of Thursday at home just trying to keep him comfortable. He was feverish all day and into Friday morning. Andy stayed home with him til my mom was able to take over so I didn't have to miss another clinical day. Fever was gone mid morning on Friday. Thankfully, it hasn't returned!!

This weekend went fast...don't they always?! Austin and I did a little shopping today ...he is a great shopping partner. :) Can't stay out for as long...this pregnant momma is getting tired fast lately.

This week is a lil different...have clinicals tomorrow, Weds & Thurs. I'll be in the perinatal center tomorrow observing the high risk OB so that will be interesting.

My mom is having surgery on Thursday. Prayers for a fast, easy recovery please. :)

So ready for Spring!

We got our state & federal tax returns today ...so we spent a tiny bit since today was a vacation day for Andy...and then Andy spent a good chunk of time on the budget spreadsheet deciding how much to save and how much to allot for upcoming expenses. Happy that he likes to do the budget...it can be a nightmare at times!

As of right now it looks like we will just buy the dresser first for the nursery and hold off on the crib for a few more months since the new baby will be in our room for at least 6 months. Disappointing at first to think about but if things change then we will get it sooner. He/she won't be needing it right away anyways. I would rather have the money to get clothes/blankets/etc right away versus spending it on the crib right now. We've pretty much picked out the furniture...unless Andy changes his mind again. :) I think we might also have the bedding picked out for both genders...I've changed my mind a bunch on the girl bedding so we'll see!

New stuff on Austin/belated 14mts stuff:
~he can walk backwards now :)
~eats a ton more people food...amazed at what he can do with his 6 little teeth!
~he sways back and forth while dancing now
~says mama, dada, baby, baba, dog, book, why, no, hi & bye
~had his 3rd haircut!! grows so fast!!

Still wanting prayers on baby # 2...I'm starting to have anxiety about the whole measuring ahead thing and he/she doesn't seem to be moving as much as Austin did....or maybe I'm just so busy I don't feel the light/soft jabs as much!

Thanks for reading!!

OB appt today. Baby's heart rate was in the 140's which is good. :) But...I am measuring 3 weeks ahead. Dr. L said my due date is not wrong since I had 2 early ultrasounds which are very accurate in determining due date. So...baby is either breech or I have too much amniotic fluid. We will find out at our ultrasound on March 12th. He didn't want to move it up because in either case we won't do anything right away. If I do have high amniotic fluid levels...then we will probably get monitored by the high risk OB. High fluid levels can mean a lot of things....or it could be nothing. Not going to let myself get stressed out right now. Let's just hope baby is breech and that's all it is.

Being a NICU nurse studying to be a NNP can have its cons at times! I know exactly what could be wrong with this baby but we will just pray!

Another fast week. Austin has been sick most of the week...started on Tuesday and he is still a bit congested this morning. I stayed home with him Weds and Andy stayed home Thurs. He was ok to go to my parents yesterday so I think he is on the mend.

He started saying "book" earlier this week too. :) He leaves the "k" off the end but we know he means book because he will hold one out to us and then say it. I think he has grown taller too...he took his open snack cup off the couch last night after I thought I had placed it back far enough and then he pulled a towel off the washer that was hanging just a little over the edge. Crazy! :)

Clinicals are going great! There are a few differences between this unit and Riley so it's nice to see a different perspective and reasonings on how things are done. Still praying they will be able to hire me when I graduate...they want to...but of course hospital budgeting plays into the decision more than their opinion! It would be awesome to work here in Fort Wayne but the chances of that are slim since there's nothing available right now.

Next OB appt is on Monday....can't wait to schedule our ultrasound so we can find out what we are having and make sure everything is ok with the baby. 4 weeks or so til we will know....hate his long wait time!

Oh also...if you could please just leave a short comment if you've read this post...I don't think many are reading anymore so it's hard to motivate myself to even update the blog.

Happy February! :) This week went crazy fast ... and wore me out. I am so behind on where I had myself "scheduled" to be in my certification workbook to help study for boards. I think I'll just have to redo the list of what I want to do each week to get back on track.  Need to start working on my first presentation that is due at the end of next month.

I just have been getting distracted at looking at baby stuff online during what little free time I've had lately!! I made a registry at Target & Babies R Us of stuff that I like for both genders so I can keep track of what we need/want to buy this time around. We've decided on room themes for both a girl and a boy. Just gotta wait 5 more weeks to find out!

Austin is so, so sweet! :) He now raises his arms up when he wants you to pick him up! :) Or, he will tug at your pant leg.

I usually hate to wish the time away...but I am really ready for summer. I just want to graduate, get a job and have baby #2. There are so many things hanging on the line..all dependent on where I get a job. I just want the whole process to be over with.

Trying to just enjoy this time with Austin while he's still so little...and the only baby to occupy my time. :)

My goal is to have a job lined up before I graduate...preferably a part time or weekends position...but we'll see what gets offered to me!

This week flew by. Crazy. Now I am just tired!! Clinicals went well. I had 5-6 neonates under my direct care and was successful on a PICC line insertion. :) Yay me! Now I need to work on my certification workbook (helps with studying for boards). I am doing a system a week until its done....I've stayed on track so far but we'll see. I want to pass boards the first time around and I am hoping I can take them before I deliver baby # 2 (have to graduate and submit my diploma to the state before I can register to do that)...long shot but maybe just maybe.
Austin has been consistently saying 2 new words this week...maybe 3. He now says "baby" (he had said that off and on but now says it everyday) and "no"! He started saying "no" on Wednesday but I still haven't heard him say it...Andy, Kelly & my parents have so I guess we'll count it haha! Andy also swears he said "why" a few times on Wednesday. I haven't heard it yet. This is why I hate being away from him 3 days a week!!! Grr!

Enjoyed waking up to snow on the ground this morning. :) This winter has been so mild. Wonder if that means Spring will arrive sooner rather than later?

First week of class & clinicals went well. :) We have 2 presentations that we have to do for class this semester...good thing theres only 4 of us in this speciality because I don't like talking in front of a group! Clinicals at Ball Memorial started out way better than I expected. I even got to go to a c-section and high risk delivery the first day! They are hiring at the moment so maybe I will be able to get a job there in May. :)

Austin did great for the 3 days in a row that he had to be with someone else! So glad he had fun with his Aunt Kelly & cousin Camden on Weds & Thurs and then he, of course, had a great time with my parents on Friday. My dad was technically "in charge" of watching him while my mom worked from home since she doesn't have any more vaca days til Feb 23rd. Thankfully my dad still has some days to use so he will be watching Austin on Fridays til Mom can. :) 

Austin LOVES to be read to lately. He brings book after book to Andy or I. Sometimes it's the same book a few times in a row....so we have several memorized now. Haha!!

This pregnancy seems to be going kinda slow...hopefully it'll speed up now that I have class work to fill up any free time that I may have! My belly also doesn't seem to be as big as it was with Austin...worrisome at times but I've been measuring on time so we'll see.

Happy 13 months to Austin!! :) He is so sweet and growing up fast. Knows the word bathtime and starts walking towards the bathroom when we say it! Really working on him being gentle with Lacy right now....she is acting like a old lady when he gets near...

OB appt for baby #2 went well. No weight gain....actually lost a pound. Belly is measuring fine and the baby's heartrate was 150. :) Next appt is Feb 13th and the big ultrasound will be in mid-March at my 22wk appt. Hate that he likes to wait til then. Hard to be patient when many get to find out sooner. Oh well...he has good reasons. Austin behaved really well during my appt. :)

First class of the semester is this Wednesday in Indy then clinicals at Ball Memorial in Muncie on Thursday & Friday. Wish me luck! I'm starting to get nervous.

Austin had his second eye doctors appt today. (first one was at 6.5mts) The doc said his eyes still look fine and that his hemangioma doesn't appear to be affecting his vision at all. We go because his eyes appear to turn in off and on. Doctor said that Austin has wider epicanthal folds (skin between the nose and the inner eye) than some other babies so it kind of makes it hard to determine. He tried to get his eyes to turn in again at the office like last time but they didn't. He did several different tricks/tests on his eyes and Austin passed them all. :) We go back at the end of June to recheck and for him to get his eyes dilated. If all is well, then we won't go back til he is 4 or 5.

Got the babysitter situation all settled for when class & clinicals start next week. I think/hope it'll all work out just fine. Mom's days roll over Feb 23rd then the schedule will change again...which is fine! :)

Austin put himself to sleep for his afternoon nap yesterday!! :) He has done this before (a couple times) as a young infant but now we are attempting to get him to go to sleep on his own before the new baby comes. Plus it's just time. :) He didn't cry, just talked to himself and watched his fish soother crib thing (flaking on the word for it!) and fell asleep. It took about 25 minutes....I was about to just go in there and try rocking him again but then he got quiet. We will still rock to sleep for bedtime and will still rock before naps for a short time so that we don't take away all of the routine. Babies like routines. :)

Less than 2 weeks til class/clinicals start. Not really looking forward to it right now. Struggling to find a sitter for Austin since mom's vacation days don't roll over til mid-Feb & she has very limited time left til then. Andy's sister can only do half days since shes Northrops asst gymnastics coach and the season doesn't end til March. I just want to stay home! I'm sure we'll get it figured out...we have a couple of options but we are just so picky with who watches him. So thankful that my mom has been able to do so much already!

It does sound like my clinicals at Ball Memorial are going to go well. :) I'll have opportunities to go to the NICU follow up clinic and be able to spend some time in the normal newborn nursery in addition to being in the NICU of course.

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.