Busy Saturday

Jon and I went to our second (and last) childbirth class today. It was pretty informative and we got to tour the delivery and post-partum rooms. I’m glad we went to the classes, but I am also glad they are over…spending most of your Saturday in a class is not so much fun.

Other than class the only other thing we did today was go out to dinner with some friends. It was nice because Hiro got to go over and play with his BFF, Woodrow while we went to dinner. Aren’t these guys cute?

 

They have been friends since they were both around 4 months old (this is a picture of the first time they met). Instant best friends.

Tomorrow I am hoping to get some cleaning done and then I have to go to my BCBA study group. After that my afternoon is going to be spent relaxing. :)

-Lauren-

An Alternative Vaccine Schedule

I thought I would spend some time talking about why Jon and I have decided to use an alternative vaccine schedule for Aedan.

First off I should start by saying that I am not anti-vaccines.  The whole subject of vaccines is a touchy one and I think ultimately it is up to parents to research the issue and make a decision for their baby.

I will admit that I was turned onto the whole vaccine issue while working as a therapist for the company I worked for when I first came to Austin. Let me be clear and say that I do not think that vaccines cause all, or any for that matter, cases of autism. I think it is pretty clear that while there is a genetic predisposition to the disorder, there must be some environmental trigger. However no one knows what that trigger is. Since autism is such a wide spectrum disorder it may not even be the same trigger for each case.

Okay, back to vaccines. Since I have been hearing about vaccines and their safety for a few years now, I knew that when it came time to make the decision for my baby I would be doing lots of research on the issue. Recently I read this book and would recommend it to anyone expecting a baby. It is straight forward and logical. The author does not take sides, but simply presents the facts. He looks into each vaccine and lets you know what research has been done on it, what is in it, and why some people choose to get and others choose not to.

Why have we chosen to do an alternative schedule? Because I do not think there has been enough research done on the cumulative effects on giving so many vaccines at such a young age. We are going to use a schedule that eliminates some (but not very many) vaccines, delays some, and separates some others.

So that is my two sense on why we are doing an alternative vaccine schedule. Again, I want to stress that it is something each parent has to choose for themselves. I would highly recommend The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears (see the link above). It is an easy read and very informative. The book also gives some tips to increase vaccine safety, such as not giving vaccines when a child is sick or taking antibiotics. And just to reiterate I am not anti-vaccines and Aedan will be getting vaccinated just on a slightly different schedule.

-Lauren-

P.S. I can’t believe it is already Friday! This week has flown by!! Only 50 more days until my due date! :)

Lately…

I can’t get enough of these…

Sonic cherry limeades during happy hour are the best!!

On another note, I interviewed a pediatrician this morning. Jon and I are looking for one that will be flexible and allow us to do an alternative vaccine schedule with Aedan. I have a list of 4 that have all been recommended because they are willing to be flexible. I had a few other basic questions to ask as well. The one I met with today, seemed really nice and the office is pretty convenient to our house. For those of you with kids, what is something you asked or wish you had asked when picking a pediatrician? 

Today was my first day without an afternoon session (my last day with one of my clients was on Friday). It was nice to have extra time this afternoon, even though I spend the day going through resumes for potential new therapist and working on my BCBA study guide.

-Lauren-

Class and Pictures

This morning Jon and I got up bright and early to go to our first childbirth class. It was pretty informative but some of the videos were pretty boring, especially the last one on breathing…I think Jon and I both may have dozed off during that one…opps.

When we got home we took Hiro out to play at the park. I decided to play around with my camera to take some pictures for my class. Here are a few that I like. These are all unedited (I’m working on getting the colors right when I take the picture instead of trying to edit it).

I need to make my shutter speed faster on this one since Hiro is a little blurry.

Jon took a few pictures too…this is my 32 week picture. :)

-Lauren-

32 Week Appointment

I had my 32 week appointment this morning. Everything is looking good. I am up 23 lbs…yikes, and measuring 33 weeks. Other than my cold last week and the lingering cough, I am feeling pretty good. This week has been busy and by the end of the day I am definitely feeling it. Next week should be a little slower so I am looking forward to some time to rest.

This weekend Jon and I are going to a childbirth class. It’s all day this Saturday and then all day next Saturday…should be interesting. I am excited about getting a tour at the hospital.

-Lauren-

Does the studying ever end?

My last class was December 1st and I have been a graduate since December 18th, which means it took me exactly one month to break out my books, start up Microsoft word and start typing a study guide. Why am I diving back into my books and typing up a study guide just a month after I finished grad school? Well, let me tell you…

I have to sit for the BCBA exam. Its a 4 hour, 300 question test that I need to pass in order to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. The test is only offered twice a year and I was hoping to be able to take it before Aedan comes, but it won’t be offered until April. I’m not sure I will be up for taking the test in April, but if I wait I can’t take the test until September.

I’m not going to worry about when I am going to take the exam, the important thing for me to focus on is that I am going to take it, and soon.

Lucky for me there is a group of girls, that I graduated with, who are also preparing for the exam. We have divided up the task list and scheduled a group study session every other Sunday from now until April. Having the task list divided up means that each of us is only responsible for about 25 tasks vs. over 100 tasks. Our plan is to work our way through the list and by the end everyone will have a study guide that covers the entire list.

Now I just need to make sure I get all my tasks completed before Aedan comes. :)  Then, maybe then, I can put my books away and say that my studying days are over…

-Lauren-

31 Weeks

How far along? 31 weeks!! 
Total weight gain/loss: Up 22.5 lbs total, yikes!  
Maternity clothes: All the time, and I am so ready to wear my old clothes again! 
Stretch marks: Not yet and hopefully it will stay that way.  I do have a dark line starting to show from my belly button down.
Sleep: I think sleep pregnant wise is pretty good, however having a horrible cold for the last week has made sleeping miserable.
Best moment this week: This week was rough since Jon and I were both pretty sick. We did go out today and buy a mattress and since the bedding came in on Wednesday I was able to make up the crib today!
Movement: Yes!
Food cravings: Still nothing specific.  
Gender: Boy
Labor signs: None
Belly button in or out: Still in, but in the morning it is just about flat.
What I miss: My old clothes.
What I am looking forward to: My showers coming up in February! 
Weekly wisdom: It sucks to be sick and pregnant.
Milestone: The rocking chair should be coming in this week, which means all the big stuff for the nursery will be here. Next it will just be buying stuff to hang on the walls and decorate. :)

-Lauren-

Sick

Ugh, Jon and I are both sick with a cold. I started to feel bad on Tuesday and Jon started to feel bad yesterday. This could be one of the worst weeks for me to be sick. I had to cancel my day yesterday which was supposed to consist of an assessment of a new client and an interview with a new potential therapist.

This morning I was hoping to feel better, but no such luck. Now I am running a low grade fever and have thrown up twice (gross). I had to reschedule 6 interviews that I was supposed to do today. Ugh. My last day with one of my clients is next Friday and we still don’t have a replacement therapist picked out.

Other than just taking it easy, Jon and I went to our first baby class last night. It was just a breastfeeding class and it went pretty well. I had called earlier in the day and let them know that I was sick and wanted to reschedule for the February class, but the nurse said she would prefer I come to the class last night…go figure. Jon and I just sat in the back and tried to avoid anyone. The last thing I would want was for another pregnant girl to get sick because of me.

I guess I am going to be spending this rainy day in bed reading or on the couch watching a movie.

-Lauren-

This weekend we…

• Picked out a color to paint Aedan’s room (Raffia Cream).

• Picked out a color to paint the study (Pebble Stone).
• Ordered bedding set (got it tax free with free shipping from here).

• Put together Aedan’s dresser (we put the crib together a few weeks ago).
• Painted Aedan’s room (this was mostly Jon, but I helped tape and clean up).
• Cleaned the house, did laundry and grocery shopping (this was mostly me).
• Researched and ordered a rocking chair and ottoman for the nursery (having it shipped to the store so no shipping cost).

(this is a picture of the chair without the slipcover, we also got a beige slipcover for the chair and ottoman)

I feel like we have been pretty productive and the nursery is really starting to come together. I’ll post pictures once the bedding comes in and I get it all set up. :)

-Lauren-

Something to make your feet a little warmer

Last week I decided to break out the sewing machine I bought over the summer…you know the one I have used soooo much since buying it in August. Opps. I’m going to to blame it on having horrible morning all day sickness for about 15 weeks and then being busy with school. 

I decided to make some rice filled toe warmers for Jon and I. I got the instructions here. She breaks everything down and has great pictures so it made it pretty easy.

Here is my final product

I thought the fabric was cute and it matches our bedroom and living room so it looks cute wherever I leave it. I just heat it up for a couple of minutes in the microwave and it is great a warming cold toes or relieving sore backs (which is happening more and more often with me).

My photography class was great on Thursday night. I learned a lot in just one night, I can’t wait to see what I learn as the class goes on. He gives us assignments each week, which is perfect because it will force me to practice and hopefully that will help the information sink in.

I was playing around with my camera this morning and since Aedan is not here yet, this little big guy will have to suffer through being my subject for awhile. :)

 

As you can see he is thrilled.

We are going to lunch with Jon’s family today and then hopefully picked out a color to paint the nursery! I’m going to get Jon to take a 30 week belly picture today…I can’t believe I am already that far along! We have got to get busy!

-Lauren-

Busy Week

This first week of the new year has been super busy! I am in the process of transitioning to a co-supervisor vs a therapist. I am coming off one of my cases on Jan 22. I wish I could keep working with this little guy, but he can get pretty aggressive and has some major tantrums at times. My belly is getting to big for me to handle him productively, which means we need a new therapist.

I am helping the program supervisor out by going through resumes and setting up interviews for new therapist. I went through 35 resumes last night, and picked out 14 that I thought had potential. This morning I narrowed it down to 10 and gave them a call. I got a hold of 9 and scheduled interviews tomorrow and next week. I have a good feeling about a few of girls I am interviewing so hopefully one will work out. :)

Tomorrow morning I have an appointment with my doctor. Hopefully my iron levels have come back up to normal and hopefully I haven’t put on too much weight through the holidays. Tomorrow I will try to post a 29/30 week post. Wow, I can’t believe I’m that far along!

Tomorrow night I start a digital photography class. I am so excited! I have been wanting to take a class ever since Jon bought me an SLR camera for my 25th birthday. Unfortunately the classes never worked out with my work/school schedule. This class is offered at a perfect time, I’m out of school and not working too much. The class meets once a week for 6 weeks so it should end at a good time before Aedan comes. I am going to try to post a few tips that I learn every week so that I can look back at them later.

-Lauren-

New Year’s Eve and the Weekend

We had a pretty low key New Year’s Eve and weekend.

For New Year’s Eve we headed down to Auditorium Shores to check out First Night Austin. We went for the first time last year and thought we should check it out again. It was super cold and windy, but we still had fun snacking on kettle corn and exploring the different booths and sights. We came home around 9 and started a movie. I, of course, fell asleep so we ended up going to bed around 11:30. I downloaded Who Wants to be a Millionaire app on my iphone and we have been playing just about every night since Thanksgiving. We ended up playing until 12 and then went to sleep.

Friday was beautiful so we went walking out at the Greenbelt and Hiro had a blast! Other than that we spend the day relaxing around the house.

On Saturday we ran some errands and updated our registries at Baby’s R Us and Buy Buy Baby. When I set up the registries I went with a good friend, so I wanted Jon to have a chance to add anything he wanted.

Today we took Hiro to play, did some grocery shopping and got some laundry done. All and all we had a pretty relaxing few days.

I’m sad the holidays are over and tomorrow it’s back to work, but I enjoyed my break.

-Lauren-