Update on Ryan

Like I said in the previous post, not too much has been going on lately. Ryan finally got over the flu & bronchitis, only for him to start having another snotty nose and start coughing again last week. Before it got out of hand, I took him in the pedi but they just said it had to run it's course. I was kind of peeved and told the pedi (not his regular pedi), that I really thought he needed an antibiotic to nip it in the bud before the whole house caught it, esp. me since my doc ended up putting me on one last time. All she did was offer alternatives...over the counter crap stuff. So off to Target we went to get some saline and Musinex. Ryan is the type that gets the opposite reaction in medication than most. Benedryl makes him hyper and so does Musinex (i've only given it to him one other time but I thought I would try it again). I could only stand to give him the a couple doses of the Musinex due to his hyperness but it's now Tuesday and so far...his cough has subsided and the saline is working pretty well in getting the gunk out of his nose.

My parents took Ryan and I to a train show this past weekend. Ryan had such a wonderful time and so did my dad. They had aisles and aisles of model trains and accessories and they had several large scale train displays set up. Ryan got to push lots of buttons and his Papa showed him all the train displays. They halso ad a couple Thomas the Train booths so we let him pick out a new train.

I think Ryan has already "Sprung ahead" for daylight savings time. He is waking up at 5:30 am again. In 3 weeks, this should mean that it will really be 6:30 am. Let's see if that actually plays out. Although, he really needs to be up at 6 am on the days he goes to daycare so we might be struggling on those days.

We never did buy the Goodnights underwear. He just had that one week or so of not waking up every night and going pee in his bed but ever since then, he either sleeps through without going or he will wake up and ask to go potty. (I should probably knock on wood)

The next couple weeks, we'll probably be trying to get his room reorganized. Right now, the future nursery is a playroom. We'll have to put some of the things in Ryan's room. He likes to watch dvd's on the tv in the playroom so I'm still debating if I want that in his room. The Leapfrog computer also hooks up to the tv but those are the only 2 things he can use the tv for...as it's not hooked up to cable (and it's an old non-digital tv). I just don't want him turning it on when he's expected to go to sleep. Although, I guess that's where discipline comes into play.

31 weeks

Yikes..it's been a while since I posted last! Luckily for me (since I use this blog as sort of a record of Ryan's life), not much has been going on but regular day to day life.

I'm now 31 weeks along and SweetPea is making her presence known even moreso now. Being this far along is new territory for me although some of the symptoms I have are not new. Two weeks ago my legs started swelling and when I went to my doctor appointment the scale showed I had gained 5 lbs in 2 weeks! Needless to say I was upset. I pretty much knew the weight gain was because of the swelling but it still didn't make me feel good to see that number on the scale. I saw the Physician's Assistant, whom I really really like and both her and the doctor said not to worry myself with the number on the scale. At this point, I just need to keep drinking my water, put up my feet as much as I can (haha, that's a hard one with a 3 1/2 yr old) and watch my sodium intake. When I was pregnant with Ryan, my legs started swellling at 22 weeks and never went back to normal until I delivered, but it was because I got dehydrated at an outdoor fair. At least this time, I know it's just another sign of my progress and that I'm 31 weeks. Another symptom that I have now is sciatic nerve pain. I also had this with Ryan which started at 24 weeks. It got so bad that I would have to hobble to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Right now, it's not that bad. But, it does stop me in my tracks all the sudden. All in all, I'll take whatever symptoms this pregnancy wants to give, because it means I'm still pregnant!

I'm getting fetal non-stress tests twice a week now. This started last Thursday because my ultrasound showed SweetPea was growing a little small, by 2 weeks. A fetal non-stress test is where the baby is hooked up to a monitor and the heart rate is monitored to make sure there are no destats or high accelerations. It also would show if I was having any contractions, which I might not feel. The 2 times I have gone, she has been perfect. The nurses say that she is "beautiful". She likes for me to sit back in the recliner and just relax because she starts kicking and moving like a jitter bug. My gut feeling is that she's just on the smaller side so I'm actually not too worried (about the only thing I'm not worried about). I have an appointment next week so hopefully we will schedule a c-section date.

Ryan & his bike

Today was a pretty great day weather wise...at least for February in Virginia. It was 70 degrees but pretty windy, however by the time we got home from work the wind had died down some so it was time to get Ryan outdoors. Thanks to another preemie mom (Kim), I found out about this great bike last year but we were unable to get it for him for his birthday. So, my parents bought Ryan his Strider Balance Bike for Christmas. Sometimes are winters are pretty mild but this year has been pretty cold so Ryan has only been able to cruise around our small townhouse on it. He was in heaven when we were able to go outside. He already seems pretty good at riding it so I can't wait until the weather stays nice and he can ride it a lot more outside. For those of you who don't know, the Strider Balance Bike has no pedals. It's all about letting the kids ride using their balance and is excellent for core strength. Once they get the hang of it, they can put their feet up on the foot rests & go as fast as they want. Here's a video of Ryan's first time outside with the bike: