21 months...

I haven't done an update on Leland since 18 months, so I thought it was about time. But this will be in bullet format, rather than a letter.

Eating:

• The kid likes just about everything, with the exception of broccoli (unless I mix it in something) and ground beef (burgers, sloppy joes, etc.)
• He is willing to try pretty much everything we give him.
• If he doesn't love something, he will usually still eat it. Or if he doesn't want to, he will eat it if he can dip it in something. For example, he didn't love the enchiladas I made the other night, but I gave him a tiny bit of sour cream and he ate it all.
• We don't ever "make" him eat anything. He just eats it.
• He loves using silverware and is really good with it actually. He wants to use our bigger forks and spoons all the time now.
• Favorite foods: spaghetti, grilled cheese with tomato soup, waffles with peanut butter or syrup, sweet potatoes, any fruit, yogurt.
• We have just started transitioning him to cow's milk from coconut milk. Dave asked me if I would ever be okay with him drinking cow's milk, and I said only if it's organic. He agreed to let me buy organic, so we're starting the change.

Sleeping:

• Still goes to bed at 7:00pm. Wakes anytime between 6:30 and 7:30am.
• Usually wakes up once a night for his pacifier, but that's happening less and less.
• Gave up his morning nap about two weeks ago. Now naps from about 12:30-3:00.
• Loves bed time.
• Just moved to his new room today. He was excited at first and then seemed a little anxious about it. He napped great once he fell asleep. Our usual bed time routine is very easy: bottle, snuggle for a minute and then he goes right to sleep in his crib. Tonight was a little harder; I had to rub his back for a few minutes, but he fell asleep on his own. Hopefully he sleeps well.

Size:

• About 25 lbs.
• Not sure about height. Maybe 33-34"?
• Still wearing size 5 diapers
• Wearing 18-24 month or just 24 month clothes.
• Size 7 shoe

Likes:

• Chuggington
• Trains and tractors
• Talking - lots of new words!
• Playing outside
• Baths
• Dancing and singing
• Blocks
• Trying to play with gross stuff
• Books! It took a while, but he is obsessed with books now. I LOVE THIS!

Dislikes:

• Coming inside from playing
• Diaper changes
• Brushing his teeth (about half the time he's fine with it, but when he's not, he's SO not)
• Getting cleaned up after eating
• Being told no- especially when it's about playing with gross stuff
• Mom making dinner

Just Fun Stuff:

• I can't believe he's going to be a big brother in a few short weeks! 
• Loves to look at pictures of me and Dave. He'll say "Mama, Dada" over and over. My favorite.
• Got swimmer's itch the last week of summer. It was awful! He still has some marks on his legs - I'm hoping they don't scar. :(
• SUCH a climber! This kid never stops and can climb anything!
• Still loves his blankie.
• The last week or two of summer was rough for us. Leland was super crabby most of the time. Once school started, he has been his happy little self again. I think it's a combination of getting a little tired of me and that he was teething and had swimmer's itch. I'm so glad he's happy again.
• He gives kisses all the time. I adore this. Nothing better than a kiss from your baby, especially when he says "muah" each time.

Leland is at such a fun age right now. He is learning and discovering so many new things and is just a joy to be around. I look forward to continuing to watch him grow and change, and seeing him in action as a big brother.

35 weeks...

How far along: 35 weeks

Total Weight Gain: 23 lbs. {same as last week}

Size of Baby: coconut

Maternity Clothes?: Uh huh.

Sleep: Between 9pm and 1am, I wake up several times to pee and/or get comfortable. After 1:00, I sleep so hard.

Food Cravings: cereal, ice cream, lemonade. Cereal I can have a little bit of for a snack, but the others I can’t. Boo.

Food Aversions: Still just tired of meat. And eggs. I eat them because I need the protein, but I really, sincerely dislike them.

Gender: Boy, oh boy!

Symptoms: Some heartburn. Starting to feel pretty tired during the day; today I had to sit to teach part of a lesson because I just couldn’t stand anymore. My kids didn’t care. Oh yeah, and my boobs are leaking. Never had that with Leland. It took a week after he was born for my milk to really come in, so this is new.

Milestones: 35 weeks down, 35 days until my due date.

Movement: The movement is so different now than just a few weeks ago. Rather than jabs and kicks all over, I feel his little tushy pushing up and out. It’s pretty much the coolest feeling ever. I only had this for a short time with Leland, so I’m looking forward to more.

Best moment this week: OB appointment. I didn’t get to meet with my doctor like I was supposed to {she was delivering another doctor from the office’s preemie baby}, but it was a great appointment. Baby is head down, but not super low. I am measuring at 34 weeks and the midwife I met with said my sugar levels are great. Yay!

Looking forward to: Ultrasound on Friday! This GD thing does have some benefits.

Extra Notes: Hospital bag is packed. Leland’s new room is so close to being ready for him. Car seat is installed. Baby gear is out and ready. By the looks of things, we’re ready for our sweet boy to join us. But he can wait a few more weeks.

Maternity Photos...

One of the things I L.O.V.E. about my friend/photographer, Alisha, is the quick turn around for getting pics back. We just had our maternity shoot on Saturday, and my photo CD appeared in my mailbox TODAY!

I was so excited about our photo session. I have always wanted to get pictures by railroad tracks. The lines are just...well...cool. And with Leland's love of trains, I thought this might be the perfect time. So for our session, I suggested we find some tracks nearby. Alisha suggested behind our public library. I knew there were train tracks there {because the depot is right next door}, but I had never been back there before. To my surprise, there was a pretty flower garden, and a wooden train to play on! So fun!

I knew Leland wouldn't exactly cooperate. He doesn't sit still, like, ever. And especially when we're outside, he is on the go nonstop. I warned Alisha that it might be tough to get some pics of all of us, but she wasn't worried in the least. Leland had her running all over the place, and really made her work. I felt so bad for her having to run around so much. Did I mention she is 6 months pregnant herself? Yeah. But she was able to get some great shots!

I won't share all of them, because there are A LOT. But I will share some of my favorites {which is still a lot of photos}.

By the wooden train...

Giving me kisses

I love that he's looking up at Dave here.

I think we need to come back again to just play!

On the train tracks...

I was so hoping for a shot of Leland driving his train on my belly, but he wouldn't stop moving. 

Oh well.

In the garden...

Does this photo remind you of anything? 

{We had a photo of our feet with little booties when I was pregnant with Leland and one of our feet for Leland's one year-ish fall photos}

Did I mention that Alisha bribed Leland with Smarties? Pretty sure one is in his mouth in this pic. Ha ha.

Oh, that face. He cracks me up.

Framed for Baby's room, no?

I love this one. Dave and me, with Leland running away. Ha ha. Story of his toddlerhood.

We aren't lovey in front of other people. Dave kept making me laugh.

Gotta love the elephant theme!

I'm so happy with how these turned out! I was honestly surprised that she got any of the three {or four, I suppose} of us together. You really can't tell by the pictures how uncooperative my kid was. And I adore the train tracks photos. Exactly what I was hoping for.

34 weeks...

How far along: 34 weeks

Total Weight Gain: 23 lbs.

Size of Baby: butternut squash

Maternity Clothes?: Nothing else will do.

Sleep: Not quite as great as last week. I wake up a lot to pee, and I roll around a lot.

Food Cravings: Besides baked goods, I’m really enjoying yogurt and peanut butter.

Food Aversions: Nothing really. Just tired of meat.

Gender: Sweet boy

Symptoms: Lower back pain. And starting to feel like he’s dropping a bit. I just feel his weight lower. Other people have told me a lot over the last few weeks that he has dropped, but I’m just noticing it now.

Milestones: I am officially the most pregnant I have ever been {without being in labor}. My water broke with Leland at 33 weeks and 6 days, so today is definitely a milestone!

Also, no more progesterone shots! Yay!!!

Movement: He’s moving a little less often, but when he moves, he REALLY moves.

Best moment this week: Maternity pictures. Alisha did an amazing job, and has already edited all of our photos! She is awesome.

Looking forward to: OB appointment this week. I finally get to see my doctor again. And I just always look forward to appointments.

Extra Notes: Baby’s clothes are washed and put away. “Going home” outfit has been chosen. Starting to get hospital bag packed {and making a list of last-minute items I will need to grab}. We’re possibly getting closer to a name. It’s all becoming real. So excited to meet this little man!

This and That...

School has started. Which, in case you haven't noticed, means slow times on the blog. Leland and I no longer have daily adventures and life is somewhat uneventful. Since I don't have much to write about, this post is kind of a hodge podge of life lately.

We are getting maternity pictures taken today. I am so excited to see them. My friend, Alisha, does a great job and I know I will love them. I have had a hard time figuring out outfits for us though because we were trying not to buy anything new. But we decided to get something for Dave last minute though because the things we have just weren't working together. We found a couple of options, so now I'm extra excited for our pictures!

I am almost 34 weeks! I am so anxious to see if I'll make it past that point. Not nervous, because, at this point, I feel like Baby will be fine {even it means a NICU stay}. I'm just curious how long this boy will bake. Maybe he'll surprise us and even make it to 40 weeks. I'm just hoping he doesn't come on Halloween, because I'm really looking forward to taking Leland trick-or-treating.

As of two days ago, Dave is laid off from MAC for probably a couple of months. They had a job lined up, but it fell through, and so there isn't any work for them right now. Thankfully, Dave has a few friends that he can work for in the meantime, so we don't have to worry about missing his paycheck. The yucky part is that Dave had some vacation time that he was going to use when the baby arrived, but he has to use that now. So any time he takes off for the baby will be unpaid. Kind of a bummer, but we had that same issue when Leland was born {Dave had used all of his vacation because it was the end of the year, and then Leland arrived on December 28th}. We'll figure it out.

I am so excited for upcoming events this fall, like taking Leland to the pumpkin patch! We are going to try a different pumpkin patch this year, because the one we used to go to moved and we don't love their new location. So we're going to one a little farther away, but my sister says it's awesome.

And Halloween! I can't wait to take Leland trick-or-treating! Last year was cold and rainy, and he was still pretty little, so we only visited about five houses. This year, I think he'll have fun going from house to house, at least a few times. Considering his obsession love for tractors, I think he's going to be a farmer this year. I was debating between that and a train conductor, but I think a farmer would be best because I can dress him in flannel to keep him warm. I sort of set the bar a little high for myself last year when we went as Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey. It makes me want every costume to have some special meaning {we went as those characters because people call Dave and I Shrek and Fiona}. I really want his costume to be about him, not just what I like, and since trains and tractors are his thing, that's what we're leaning toward.

Leland's new dresser has arrived. Dave has put it together and it's in Leland's new room. Now we just have to move the rest of Leland's things to that room.

Baby clothes are washed and ready. We're ahead of the game this time around! Which means he'll be, like, a month late. :)

33 weeks...

How far along: 33 weeks

Since 33 weeks was the last weekly photo I took when I was pregnant with Leland {my water broke at 33 weeks, 6 days}, I thought it would be fun to do a side by side comparison.

Wow! I look so much bigger with Leland! Not only my belly, but all over. My legs, my face. Obviously, it's a different outfit and different pose, so it's hard to really tell, but I look I'm carrying lower now than I did with Leland. But, I did start out this pregnancy about 10 pounds less than I started my pregnancy with Leland, so I think this whole pregnancy I have looked a little thinner.

Total Weight Gain: 22 lbs. So, apparently, I'm back up two pounds out of the three I lost.

Size of Baby: durian fruit {whatever the heck that is}

Maternity Clothes?: Yep. And even some maternity shirts seem short. What the heck?!

Sleep: SO GOOD! Leland seems to be past his bad dream phase and is back to loving his sleep, so my sleep is much better. Getting up at 5:30 is no fun, but I usually feel rested enough when I wake up.

Food Cravings: Sugar. Boo.

Food Aversions: Nothing really.

Gender: Little Mister

Symptoms: Lower back pain.

Milestones: Another week down. J

Movement: Lots and lots of movement. I love it.

Best moment this week: Probably hearing Dr. Bump tell me to go ahead and enjoy a sweet treat if I want. Not a lot, but once in a while won’t hurt. And hearing baby’s heartbeat…that’s always the best.

Looking forward to: Making it through this week and beyond. And my ultrasound! Pretty excited that I get an extra one. Oh yeah, and we’re doing maternity photos this weekend! All kinds of fun stuff going on!

Extra Notes: I was at Kohl’s the other day, looking for fall clothes for Leland, and I could not help looking at all the itty bitty baby clothes. I didn’t buy anything, but I plan on going back to get a couple of things. We still have lots of Leland’s clothes, so we won’t need much, but I think I will need some sort of pumpkin/Halloween onesie.

Also on the subject of Halloween, Old Navy has a cute elephant costume that I would love to use for our new baby {elephants is the theme}, but I’m sure he’ll be too small. I’m trying to figure out what to do for a Halloween costume for Leland. He doesn’t have any characters or animals that he really loves yet, so I’m trying to think of something that is “him.” Last year, he went as Donkey from Shrek {because some friends of ours call Dave and me Shrek and Fiona}. I thought since he loves trains and tractors, he could maybe go as a train conductor or a farmer, but I’m not sure.

OB appt...

I had my 32 week OB appointment yesterday. I'm in the "meet the other doctors in the practice" phase of pregnancy, so I met with Dr. Bump, who was actually the one who delivered Leland. I wasn't thrilled with him after my experience before, but he redeemed himself yesterday by easing a few of my fears. And, in his defense, probably no one would have thrilled me when I was in labor, hormonal, and terrified to be having my baby six weeks early.

So anyway, my big concern was weight loss. Over the last two weeks, I have lost three pounds, according to my scale at home, and I worried that my gestational diabetes might be causing it {because I'm eating less}. Dr. Bump said that my weight gain/loss is fine, and he's not concerned. He said that a three pound fluctuation over two weeks isn't a big deal, and my overall weight gain looks good. Now, my scale at home says I've gained about 20 lbs, but the office scale only says 18 lbs. Either way, he said I'm fine. Just make sure I feel satisfied after eating; if I've eaten my meal and I'm still hungry, eat some protein.

He looked at my glucose chart {I have to bring my chart to each visit so they can check how I'm doing with my sugar}. He said my glucose levels are awesome, and the few that are over he's not worried about. He said to just keep doing what I'm doing because it's working, and that if I am at a special event where there is dessert, to go ahead and have some. My next sugar level will be high, but as long as I don't eat a TON of dessert and I have plenty of protein, I should be fine. I'm pretty excited about this. So...what constitutes a "special" occasion? In my mind, Friday is a special occasion all on its own. Ha ha. I haven't indulged in any sweets except for one half of a Hershey bar. But I may have to once or twice since he said it's okay.

Then we heard Baby's heartbeat, which was around 120-130, and he measured me. I am measuring at 31 weeks.

With gestational diabetes, there is often a concern of the baby growing too much and causing a difficult delivery, so common practice is to schedule a growth check ultrasound. Dr. Bump said he and my doctor are not concerned about my baby's size, but scheduled an ultrasound anyway, because...why not? If I have to have GD, I might as well enjoy the perk of an extra peek at my baby. I can only go on Friday afternoons, because of school, so it is scheduled for September 27th.

I go back in two weeks for my next appointment and finally get to see my regular doctor again.

So it was a great OB visit, and I am happy to say that Dr. Bump is back on my good side.

Now, where to get a good brownie. ;)

Classroom 2013-14...

I always get excited about setting up my classroom. Basically, once school is out for the summer, I start planning my classroom for the following year. I buy new bulletin board borders and plan where I want things to be. I just like to spice things up a little bit so that it's not exactly the same from year to year.

So this summer, just like every other summer, I had a plan in my head. I made pom poms to hang from the ceiling. I bought new fabric and borders for bulletin boards. I bought some fun new classroom supplies, like playground balls, jump ropes, math manipulatives, etc.

I set up my room pretty quickly, actually, and I was very pleased with it. And then I was told I was getting cubbies. I had requested cubbies earlier in the summer, but was told we didn't have any. Well, the school ended up needing more lockers for junior high, so I got the cubbies I wanted, which meant moving things around to make room for them, and changing the plan I had in my head. This is totally fine - I'm so thankful to have cubbies! They are so much easier than dealing with lockers.

I feel like I need to explain this situation before sharing pictures of my room, because I don't exactly love my room setup. It's okay, but since I had a short amount of time to do it after getting cubbies, it doesn't feel very put together. Overall, I'm happy with it though.

So...all that said, here are some pictures.

View from the door

View from the door/cubbies

Math calendar wall

Word wall, with no words on it yet

Some bulletin boards. The left is Choice Theory stuff {five basic needs, caring habits, etc}, and reading/writing posters {proofreading marks, punctuation, parts of speech}. I have added another bulletin board of Spanish "question" words since this picture was taken.

View from my desk. I have added more to the wall since this picture was taken. But basically, this is the wall that feels less put-together.

Another view from my desk that shows my cubbies! I'm not sure why I have two different kinds of cubbies, but whatever. I'm just happy to have them!

There you have it! Mrs. Nowak's classroom for the 2013-2014 school year.

My Life with GD...

...Isn't completely terrible.

I'm not gonna lie. When I first found out I had Gestational Diabetes, I threw myself a big ol' pity party. I am a sweets girl through and through. When I'm not pregnant, I eat a lot of sweets. With this pregnancy, it is all I have craved {I was sort of sure this one was a girl, because with Leland I craved salad and baked potato}. To say goodbye to brownies, doughnuts, ice cream, cookies, etc., was cause for some serious pouting from me.

Besides the sweets, I was also worried about what in the world I was going to eat. Because GD is about limting carbs, not necessarily sweet stuff. So...bread, pasta, and all that other stuff I love was going to be gone {I thought}. I wasn't sure what I would eat.

Thankfully, after meeting with the dietitian, I had a better understanding of what GD is and what I can eat.

With GD, it's not that I can't have carbs, it's that I have to limit them. I have to count them, and am only allowed a certain amount for each meal/snack. I also have to make sure I have protein at the same time, because protein balances your carbs.

I am allowed 30-45g of carbs for breakfast, 15-30 for snacks {mid-morning, afternoon, and evening}, and 45-60 for lunch and dinner. Depending on what I eat, those carbs can go a long way. Like, a sandwich wrap with turkey, cheese, lettuce and tomato totally fills me up, but doesn't even meet my minimum carb amount for lunch, while a peanut butter and jelly sandwich maxes out my carbs for the meal and doesn't leave me feeling very full.

I have been able to manage my blood sugar pretty easily over the last two weeks. I have had maybe four or five high glucose levels. And with each of them, I was either experimenting with what I can eat {mashed potatoes get me no matter how little I serve myself} or I didn't eat enough protein with that meal {one morning, I ate plain oatmeal and a nectarine, but I forgot to have protein, so my sugar was high}.

The hardest thing for me is to remember to have carbs and protein. If I have just carbs, my sugar is high. If I have just protein, my sugar is low and I don't feel full. So I have to have both. Sometimes they don't exactly go together, like a graham cracker and cottage cheese, but it works, so whatever.

I have only allowed myself one sweet treat so far. I had half of a Hershey bar with some peanut butter. It didn't mess up my sugar at all, so I was excited. I have also discovered that honey roasted peanuts, while they taste sweet, aren't too carby, so that helps my sweet tooth a little. And a 1/2 cup of applesauce with cinnamon is pretty satisfying for a night-time snack as well {I eat a few cheese slices too so that I get my protein}. Apparently, one half cup of ice cream is within my carb allowance for snack and it has some protein, but I haven't taken that chance yet. Plus, I sort of feel like a half cup isn't really worth it. When it comes to dessert, my motto is "go big or go home." If I had a half cup, I know I would just want more.

Really, GD is all about balancing your carbs with your protein and watching portions. I can still have pasta, just not a huge plate of it. I can still have a sandwich from my favorite deli, but I just eat the bottom bun, not the top. I can still have fruit - I just have to measure it. I can even have my favorite cereal, and a full serving of it - I just have less milk in it. {Funny story though...Dave thought he was doing me a favor by eating the rest of my cereal because he thought I couldn't eat it. He doesn't even really like it, but he ate it so I wouldn't have to be tempted. Apparently, he hadn't noticed that I've been eating that for my night-time snack.}

Living without the sweets kind of sucks, but it's a lot easier when they're not around. If we don't have ice cream in the house, I'm not as tempted by it. It will be hard at school when students have birthday treats, but I only have 8 weeks left to avoid those.

After that, I will seriously have a sugar free-for-all for a little while. I'll be nursing so the calories won't matter so much. I already have my post-birth meal planned out. A sandwich from Chef's In with a chocolate milkshake for lunch. Maybe some fries too. And for sure a doughnut for breakfast. Anyone who comes to visit in the hospital is required to bring chocolate. Not really, but it would be nice.

32 weeks...

How far along: 32 weeks

A pants-less Leland decided to join me for a photo.

Total Weight Gain: According to my scale at home, I am only up 20 pounds. Last week, at the dietitian, I was up 24. I know that scales can vary, but mine a few weeks ago showed about a 23 lb. weight gain. I’m hoping this is just a mistake with my scale and that I’m not losing weight – that wouldn’t be good. I have an OB appt. on Friday, so I’ll have to ask my doctor about it then.

Size of Baby: squash

Maternity Clothes?: Yes. Definite necessity.

Sleep: It’s been okay lately. Leland still has some rough sleeping nights with bad dreams, so those nights it’s not great. And I am up probably every two hours to pee.

Food Cravings: Pretty sure I would kill for a brownie, milkshake, and/or doughnut.

Food Aversions: Not loving meat again, but I have to eat it so I get some protein.

Gender: BOY!

Symptoms: Back ache still.

Milestones: 8 months down, 8 weeks to go!

Movement: I feel like this kid is running out of room with the way he’s stretching in there. Also, yesterday, it felt like he was burrowing himself WAY down and it hurt.

Best moment this week: I had a great open house at school. I have such a great class this year!

Looking forward to: Honestly, getting through today. For some reason, I have a major fear that I am going to go into labor today.

Extra Notes: We still don’t have a name picked out. For some reason, I’m not as anxious about this as I was a month ago. I guess I feel like I have a few names on my list that I love, and I think Dave will choose one of those when the time comes. He just doesn’t want to commit to a name right now, which I get. So I won’t be ordering any personalized baby items quite yet. But we did finally order a new dresser so that we can move Leland into his new room soon, and get the baby’s things ready in the nursery. {We’re going to move Leland’s things into a new room, and he’ll use his crib still. The baby will be sleeping with us for a while, so he won’t need the crib yet, but his clothes and changing table and everything will be in the nursery. When the baby is ready for the crib, we will get Leland a big boy bed.}