Nate's Cough

Nate has been coughing for the last week or two, but it's been really mild. Maybe a few times a day. In the last few days it has gotten much, much worse. It is affecting his naps (boo!) and at night sometimes he breaks into coughing fights so bad that he gasps for air. It's super scary. Yesterday I took him in to the doctor. He thought it was an odd case, because there's no sign of infection or anything else that would make him cough like this. His ears are all cleared up and the two things do not seem to be related. He thought it might be allergies (he might be more prone to allergies and asthma because of his eczema). So he gave us a two-week trial supply of Singulair. My hope is that the cough goes away and stays away even when the medicine is done. I hope it's just a cold that will eventually be gone, and not allergies or something he'll have to deal with much longer.

30 Weeks

I'm now 30 weeks along. Can you believe that after this week, it will be single digits? How is this pregnancy going so fast?

So far it's been a good third trimester, although ask me again in 5 weeks; it is really only the beginning of this last leg. I have had an increase in heartburn. With Nate I think I could count the amount of times I had heartburn on one hand. Granted, it was HORRIBLE when I got it (like I thought I was having a heart attack the first time kind of bad) but still, not that often. I haven't had it recently, but a couple of weeks ago it was flaring up every few days. Tums and I became good friends. I also feel myself getting a bit more tired by midday. Now, I'm not sure if that's because I'm getting farther into the pregnancy, if it's the weather, or if it's because Michael's been gone at school for almost 2 weeks. Maybe it's all of them. I even took a couple naps when Nate did last week. I just could not make it through the day.

Maddie (yes, her name is now official--Madelyn Frances) is quite the active little girl. I don't remember Nate being quite this active. In fact, I even had a non-stress test done because he didn't move a whole lot. But she always seems to be on the go. So maybe she will be my calm child since Nate is always in overdrive. And her movements are getting much stronger too. Sometimes she'll pop the shirt right off my belly.

The other big thing (besides my belly, haha) that has changed recently is my balance. We have a baby gate in the front room that separates the entry way from the room so that Nate can't go up the stairs. I was putting my scrapbooking tote away on Saturday, and as I crossed over the gate I lost my balance and crashed. Luckily I didn't fall to the floor. The closet door was open and so the tote hit that and I fell against that. The gate also helped catch my fall because I broke the wood and the splintered piece caught my shirt (a piece of my leg too, but nothing a little band aid couldn't take care of). It was scary more than anything, and I was very lucky I didn't crash belly first on the ground. So now I am very careful when crossing over the gate, holding onto the wall and not carrying anything over.

Playing Outside

The weather on Monday was beautiful. The weather reports called for rain the rest of the week, so we made the most of the day, taking walks and playing outside almost all day. It is now Thursday and will still haven't gotten rain. So we are making the most of our time outside (after all that rain and being stuck inside for weeks, this is wonderful) playing in the morning and afternoon.

Our time outside usually consists of swinging, sliding, running around, chasing Sammy, playing in the sandbox, riding his bike, and throwing balls. Yesterday, because not only has it not rained all week but the temperature keeps rising as well, I bought him a sprinkler toy to play with. He loved it!

Pink Eye

Poor little Nate has pink eye and an ear infection. It started on Monday when he woke up with green goop in his eyes. I had to wipe his eyes all day, but no other symptoms. I always get nervous when it comes to eyes because of his eye infection at 6 months, so when it was still continuing into the evening, I decided that if it was still there in the morning, I would take him in. When he woke up on Tuesday he was all clear, and it stayed that way until the afternoon. Then both eyes became goopy again. So this morning I decided to take him no matter what he looked like. One eye was sealed shut so it was a very easy decision. The doctor said that pink eye and ear infections are connected, so it's common to see them pop up together. He is on augmentin since he had an ear infection less than 60 days ago and he can't be on amoxicllin again (first thing I learned) and also eye drops for the pink eye. When I filled the prescription I found out that the eye drops were a new medicine and so there is no generic form, costing me $50 (gotta love those drug company and doctor relationships). So I had to call the doctor to request a new prescription so I could get generic (second thing I learned was to check this before leaving). The nurse told me that had a coupon there for $25 off. Of course they do. I declined as a generic would still be cheaper. Nate was getting fussy by this time and so we just filled the augmentin and left. We'll have to go back into town to get the eye drops after his nap, but that's okay. I think we'll pick up a little toddler pool while we're in town since it's SO HOT out, but that's another post. :)

Oh, and the third thing I learned? Nate weighed in at almost 32 pounds. I think that's a 3 pound weight gain in the last two months. And here I thought it was the pregnancy making him feel heavier. Nope, he's just a hoss.

Mother's Day

It is my second Mother's Day. Michael is gone again this year so it will just be Nate and I together today. Which is okay. He is the reason I am a mother after all! So while it would be nice to have Michael home to pamper me on this day, just getting to spend the day with my son is awesome.

I went to a friend's house on Friday for her birthday and then I had a bridal shower to go to on Saturday morning. So Nate spent the night at Jaime's house. I was probably more sad to leave him than he was me, and when she called me moments after I left and all I could hear were deep belly giggles in the background, I knew this to be true.

Spending the night and next morning in the house without Michael or Nate is something that I have never done. It was too quiet and lonely and I missed my baby boy so much. It is so funny how mommies need a break from their children, but once they get one all they can do is think about and miss their children!

Nate is sleeping in (way in-it's almost 10am!) because the last couple of days exhausted him. So it has given me a chance to have some more alone Mommy time before he gets up. While I didn't have breakfast in bed, I did make myself some orange danish (my favorite) and had to seriously keep myself from eating the entire roll. It has been a nice, quiet morning but I am looking forward to seeing Nate's little smile when he wakes up.

I am so happy to be a mother. It is the best job in the whole world. I can't believe this is what I get to do in life. God has truly blessed me.

Nate's New Phase

And boy, it's a good one! He likes to scream and cry over just about anything and everything. He gets frustrated easily and screams and cries. He has started throwing things when he is mad, flopping on the ground, and hitting me (just me though, usually). I know this all about testing his limits and some of it is frustration with communication and not being able to do the things he wants, but wow, it is exhausting. We have some good moments, like when he's napping, just kidding. It's not really all the time, but in the last week it has become the majority of the time.

We have tried different techniques, but starting yesterday I decided to just ignore him. I don't react and I will leave the situation. I won't give him back his toy/item that he has thrown. This seems to be working. It's a process though. He still cries but eventually realizes that I'm not giving in. Sometimes this realization takes longer than other times, but my hope is that eventually he will get it. And separating myself from him seems to be a good punishment. He hates when I leave him, even if it's just to the other side of the room. He knows that I'm upset and not there to hold him or comfort him.

I just hate that we have to go through this stage. He is such a funny and sweet little boy. I just want him to be happy and play and enjoy life. But I understand it and I know we will get through it and even if I don't get my giggly boy all day long, I know that I will get it small fragments throughout the day. That is enough for me, for now.

Extreme Couponing

I don't know if you've seen the show on TLC called "Extreme Couponing" or not, but basically it's about these people that are very serious about their coupons. They get a large amount of coupons, watch for sales, and buy their groceries and household items for nearly nothing. They stockpile and buy mass quantities of things in order to claim they saved $x on this shopping trip. I don't know exactly how they save so much, but watching the show has inspired me to become a better shopper.

Now, I don't want to be crazy like them. They buy in such large quantities that they have items that will last them past death. I think that is crazy and wasteful. I just want to get the items we normally need but I want to pay less for them. So, I got serious today. I collected all my ads and clipped all my coupons from the Sunday paper and also printed some from the web. I don't have time to shop at all the different stores, so luckily our Walmart ad matches and I can get all the sale prices at one place.

This process took me much longer than I had expected, but I think once I get used to it, it will go much quicker and much more smoothly. After I was done making my list and setting aside the coupons I was going to use, I set off for Walmart. It took me a little longer to shop today since I was checking the prices on things. I don't want to buy things if they are on sale if I can still get the generic cheaper or if a different size is still a better deal. I am also going to start recording the prices of items we buy frequently so that I know when I see an ad price if it is a good deal or not. Hopefully this will save some time in the store in the future.

The check-out process takes much longer too. Thankfully I had a couple of men behind me that were fine with me taking a bit longer than normal and also commented on how much I saved with the price changes and coupons. This is where it gets exciting...I saved $11.38 with my coupons and $35.82 by ad matching for a grand total of $47.20! I couldn't believe it when I did the math when I got home. I feel triumphant!

I don't think I will ever become an extreme couponer, but I would like to think that I am becoming a smart shopper and saving the family some money!