My Kid is So Smart!

Sure, that's what every parent says, but I'm serious, my kid is really smart. In reality, we are always comparing our children to others around them. Daycare has some advantages in this field as there are always kids below and above his age level that I can compare him to. For instance, he was a late walker - kinda. I felt that he should have been walking by 12 months but my boy had other plans. You see in order for him to move up from the baby room to the toddler room he had to be able to walk. You can imagine my surprise when they moved up a girl who not only wasn't walking but was two weeks YOUNGER than Elliot. Sure, she crawled sooner and she was much beefier than my kid, but she wasn't walking either. So, fast forward to a couple weeks ago when Elliot was spending all of his time in the toddler room, even though he wasn't walking yet. But apparently, watching the other kids walk was enough for him because my kid is walking and little girl in his class still isn't! That's only one of his many brilliance's - he's a fast learner. He's gone from taking two to three steps at a time, to walking from the kitchen to the living room (at least 30 steps) to practically running tonight!

Brilliance number 2 of about a gazillion - my kid talks like you wouldn't believe! He's always been vocal, loved to make noises. About 4 months ago he started saying something that resembled "tickle tickle". That has progressed to words, mini sentences, and even repeated recognition of items instead of just repeating. Take this weekend for instance - he points to the dog and says clearly "puppy". He picks up a ball and not only says "ball" but "my ball". He knows mama and dada. Brilliantly, the kid says "caca" when he's pooped (the Spanish word for poop). He says "baby" in reference to himself, especially when he's upset about something. When he's excited or proud, he can be heard saying, "I did it". He talks constantly!! I just wish most of the time he made sense. My kid is so cool.

Did I mention he's brilliant?? Apparently they've been working on body parts in daycare. This has been a focus for Sam and I as well. I really hope that I can get the following on video, but as of now, you'll just have to take my word for it. When asked where his "belly" is, he takes one or both hands and pats his belly. When asked where his "nose" is, he promptly sticks a finger up his nose - not the most hygienic but he knows where his nose is. When asked where his "head" is, he smacks himself on the head repeatedly. The other day when asked where his "foot" was, he did two things. First, he took off his sock and second, he put said foot in his mouth. After meals when we go to clean him up, we ask for his hands, and he will give us one but not always the other.

So feel free to compare all of my kid's brilliance to yours - hands down, mine will always win. (No bias here!)

We have a Walker

Last Saturday Elliot surprised us by getting from a sitting position to a standing position, followed by taking a couple of steps before falling into the arms of myself and/or Sam. Each day he has progressed to taking a few more steps. Now, for me, the walking is really exciting. It means that we have more opportunities to play outside and he doesn't always have to be carried, won't necessarily be just sitting around in the dirt and can really begin to experience more of what the world has to offer.

Sam, on the other hand, is scared to death that he has started walking. Sam sees more falls in Elliot's future, a child that is much harder to wrangle and keep still as well as the fact that this is something that he can't unlearn. I have tried my best not to focus on the falls - he's a little boy, they're bound to fall. Besides, scars build character.

What I wasn't prepared for was the confidence that comes along with walking. This confidence has translated into climbing. Climbing on us, climbing on the couch, climbing on his walking toys, climbing over the step-stool. Last night, Sam caught him climbing his dragon walker, standing on the walker's head (about 2 feet at least from the ground) and attempting to climb INTO his pack n play. His teachers at school reported catching him climb to the top of his chair and stand on a tray used for food. Oy, this little boy is gonna give me a heart attack!

So, as much as I look forward to the positives of Elliot walking, I can definitely see Sam's side of things. I plan to try not to be a hovering mom, letting him fall so that he can learn. Unfortunately, I foresee stitches in our future...

Seeing if I can stick to blogging!

A lot has changed since the last post of this blog. My pregnancy went as well as could have been expected. I had gestational diabetes which I managed beautifully and our amazing Elliot Simon Levine was born on Monday, November 22, 2010 at 11:22 am, weighing in at 8 lbs, 4 oz and 21 inches long. Not too bad for our 38 w 1 d baby boy. Elliot had a few complications after birth as he was unable to get rid of the fluid in his lungs. I was unable to see him for about 5-7 hours. My amazing husband stayed by his side in the nursery and my mom stayed by mine as I began to recover from my planned c-section. I had a planned c-section because we were told that Elliot would be well over 10 pounds given that his head was measuring about the size of a 43 week old fetus. His head never descended and as it turns out, this was the best decision for us. My pubic bone seemed to have fused on top of itself, which would have never allowed me to have a natural birth.

I did so great in recovery and was walking less than 12 hours later. So after only two nights in the hospital they sent us home. We came home the day before Thanksgiving, which was such a relief. I really didn't want us to spend our first Thanksgiving as a family in a hospital room.

The day after Thanksgiving, we had an appointment with the pediatrician to make sure that Elliot was doing well. Unfortunately, we were told that he had jaundice and that he was losing weight. They gave me two days to try to feed him more, which entailed waking him every two hours and putting him in the sun for a bit every day. Two days later, he was getting better, but not fast enough. My heart broke when I was told to supplement with formula at least 1-2 ounces every day until we saw the doctor at the two week appointment.

It's funny, weight gain has always been an issue for Elliot - apparently he didn't get that from me. I'm a fantastic weight gainer! Try as I might, my milk supply was low. I ate tons of oatmeal, took lots of Fenugreek and my supply was "ok". I'll tell you, breastfeeding my son may have been the most stressful thing that I have ever done in my life and although at times I felt like a failure and that I wanted to quit, I successfully nursed him for 13 months!!

So, we've hit many many milestones over the last almost two years since I started this blog. We have an amazing family of three now and are even beginning to talk about baby #2 (not this year!!). Elliot is the light of my life and I couldn't imagine life without him. My goal is to try to utilize this little slice of cyberspace to keep an ongoing journal of my thoughts regarding my growing child. I'm sure I'll also include a number of pictures/videos/milestones that my son is achieving.

Looking forward to continuing to share Levine Family News!!

Little Levine

Week 8, 9, 10, & 11

Man, I'm not good at keeping up with this at all. I'll try to remember all of the changes that I have gone through over the last several weeks so that I can keep them here for posterity sake. I've continued with the weekly Progesterone checks. I was a bit worried as my levels went down each week almost down to the baseline but the doc didn't seem concerned. I had a theory though. I figured that the levels were going down the later that I had my blood work drawn. So I went first thing in the morning and voila! my levels went super high again. It was fantastic. My levels still aren't high enough for me to stop the supplements but it's making sure that my baby stays strong and healthy until the placenta takes over.

I've been having horrendous morning sickness. Mostly I've spent my days being nauseous but have definitely had lots of vomiting interspersed. I finally started using my prescription of Zofran and it's been a life saver. I can actually get through my days without wanting to sleep all day long. My energy has been zapped completely. I have a sinking spell every afternoon and have to take a nap. It's exhausting.

The cravings have been crazy too. They are really strong but only last a couple of days. Nothing too strange but definitely strong! Some examples:

Cereal - morning, noon and night
Macaroni & Cheese
Pizza
Fried chicken - even this morphed from chicken strips to chicken sandwiches to popcorn chicken
Sonic tater tots with cheese
Junior Mints
Gummy Cola Bottles
Grilled cheese sandwiches
Spaghettios
High fat & salty foods
And now I'm back to cereal

I've had tons of aversions - mainly to meat, which usually I love. And I've had lots of cravings for carbs - lots of carbs. My doc is hopeful that once I start feeling better I'll be able to eat a little bit healthier.

So we went back to the doctor on May 20th. There was some dispute as to how far along I was so we had to do another ultrasound. I had no problem with this because I love being able to see the baby. This ultrasound was amazing. The baby actually looked like a baby. We were able to videotape the ultrasound and the baby waved both arms and kicked both legs. It was fantastic! It made this so much more real. We go in on May 24th for our NT scan which measures the back of the neck to check our risk for downs syndrome or trisomy 18.

For your viewing pleasure - our latest ultrasound.

Week 6 & 7!

Lots has gone on in my uterus over the last two weeks. That sounds so funny but it's true. The first big news was my first progesterone draw. Keep in mind that initially my progesterone was 14 and my doc wants it to be at least 30 before she feels good about it. So after one week of suppositories (TMI - gross!) my level went up to 21.5! I'm so excited about this. It means that this is getting more and more real by the day. Week 6 definitely brought new and exciting pregnancy symptoms. The morning sickness has arrived with a vengeance. I spend my entire day being nauseous. Not too much vomiting but definitely lots of nausea. Food aversions have also arrived. Nothing sounds good anymore. I'm living on cereal and crackers. Unfortunately, my weight is taking a hit thanks to all of the carbs. Looking forward to when I feel a little better and can eat better.

Now onto week 7! Sam and I had our first OB appointment yesterday. I have been so nervous awaiting this day. What if I went through all of the appointment - the exam, the prenatal education, etc. - and then we get to the ultrasound and there's nothing there. I have had so much anxiety. I still take my temperature every morning to make sure that my basal body temperature remains elevated. I say a little prayer every time I go to the bathroom to make sure there's no bleeding. Every little cramp scares the bejeezus out of me!

The prenatal education appointment with our nurse went great. We were given a ton of information, which was a little overwhelming. Then we met with the doc for a full exam. She said that Progesterone level looked great and she's hopeful that it will continue to increase. She said that once it gets to 30 I can decrease the Progesterone to every other day. I got a pap smear (with Sam in the room), which was quick and painless. Then came the best part of the appointment - what we've been waiting for.

As soon as she put the wand in (dildo cam anyone?) she said, "there it is". I was so afraid that maybe it was an ectopic pregnancy or that the baby wasn't in my uterus. But there was our little sweet pea, smack in the middle of my uterus with the most beautiful flickering heart I've ever seen. I cried a little and was so thankful that Sam was video taping the ultrasound because I wanted to remember every part of it. The doc said we were measuring at 7weeks, 1 day, which is 1 day ahead of schedule putting my due date at December 8, 2010. She cleared me to have a ton of blood work and wants me to return for another ultrasound in 4 weeks.

So until our next ultrasound, feast your eyes on our sweet pea (aka, the grain of rice in the middle). Until next week!

5 Weeks!!

I had more blood work yesterday. Had to have my Hcg level checked again to make sure that our peanut is growing as it's supposed to. Also had my progesterone checked to make sure that my hormones are in tact. Heard from the nurse today that my Hcg level is awesome - well over 2,000, which means that our little peanut is right on track. However, my progesterone was borderline low. To sustain a healthy pregnancy, progesterone must be 15 and mine was 14. So I was prescribed progesterone suppositories to help elevate my levels and make sure that this kiddo sticks around. I'll have to go in once weekly to have my progesterone checked until I'm in the 2nd trimester.

Sam and I took pictures in the bluebonnets today to celebrate good blood work and 5 weeks!!! We have plans to use the pictures to alert people of our new addition. Once we figure out the right wording, I'll post it here for posterity.

As for symptoms, I'm still having some nausea. I think once the progesterone kicks in the vomiting may begin on a more regular basis. I'm exhausted by 3pm every day and need a nap. I'm having weirdo dreams at night. Last night it was like Sam and I were in a real-life video game collecting puppies that were falling out of the cars in front of us. Explain that one! My boobs are still really really sore (TMI right?). Lots of heartburn and burping - and determined that I can no longer eat cucumbers & hard boiled eggs. Both did not agree with me well today.

Next stop - 6 weeks!!