TTT: Season 2, Episode 29

I'll admit it: finding the time to thoughtfully write out three entries into my little online journal here has proved to be pretty difficult in the past few weeks. Yes, I do have random bits of free time, but it's just that--bits. Realistically I like to take close to an hour or so to really think about the week and write it all out. The chunks of time I have now are more like five minutes here, five minutes there. And usually they're filled with things like getting myself dressed, starting another load of laundry, reading through the mail for the day, etc. But I realize that all things are temporary and there will come a time where I'll be able to write at length again. Just have to remind myself to enjoy the season before it passes.

So instead of my usual lengthy paragraphs, I thought I'd just throw out a few tidbits--things I want to remember. Or maybe forget! Things that bring a smile to my face.

- Rudy is doing fantastic with the potty training. I really shouldn't even say 'training.' He's already trained. In fact, he's even waking up in the morning dry. He's pretty much the coolest kid ever for potty training himself. Took a major load off of my plate, that's for sure.

- Grant turned one month old on Sunday. Has it really been a month? It sure doesn't seem like it. But you can certainly tell by looking at him. He has already changed so much. In fact, I took him to get weighed at the lactation center at our hospital. He weighed nine pounds and four ounces! That's nearly two-and-a-half pounds since we left the hospital one month ago. Kiddo likes to eat! And he looks a lot like Kolbe.

- I finished round two of antibiotics on Sunday. So far the mastitis hasn't come back. Still isn't pain free, unfortunately, but we're working on it.

- A few days ago I was wrestling around on the floor with the big boys. I was all stretched out on the floor when Kolbe said, "Mama why is your belly flat?"
I replied, "Well, Kolbe, there's not a baby in there anymore. The only reason it was big was because Grant was in there. No more baby!"
And what I got in response was: "Well, there needs to be another baby in there. 'Cause I need to have a sister."
Sheesh. Give my poor body a break, kid!

- Hormonal imbalances post baby are not cool. I've just about had it with my share of tearing up while reading random kids books, breaking out in random sweats for no reason, and going from "happy mama" to if-you-don't-leave-my-presence-right-this-second-I'm-going-to-snap at the drop of a dime. For the most part, I'm my normal self, but watch out!

- Last Friday my mom and I decided to get brave and take all three boys down to Reliant Stadium (where the Texans play) to see the Barnum and Bailey's Circus. We weren't sure if it was going to be a great experience or a total flop. I'll sum it up by saying that the boys have asked to go to the circus every single day since last Friday. They loved it! And they were fabulous. After witnessing multiple children have total meltdowns, it left me with the feeling that hey, I've got some pretty good kids!

- Ready for some pictures of the past few weeks in the life of The Asmussens?

What's not to love about a sleeping baby?

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed...the boys love to climb up on the bed and watch me change and dress Grant after bath time.

Working on my cheeks and my double chin!

First taste ever of cotton candy at the circus! (Rudy would have nothing to do with it but Kolbe...Mr. Sweet Tooth...loved it!) You know it's not good for you when you wake up the next morning and the leftovers in the bag have shrunk down to a small hard ball of sugar.

Look, Mom! Three brothers holding hands!

Mr. One-Month-Old!

TTT: Season 2, Episode 28

1. Last week I was on the mend from a case of mastitis. In fact, I had just one day left of my ten day course of antibiotics and I was feeling just fine. That afternoon, though, I noticed a red, swollen area on my C-section incision. Hoping it was just an ingrown hair or something, I headed to my doctor on Friday morning for a check-up of the mastitis. She seemed to think that was better but wasn't too happy about the way the incision looked. In fact, she pressed on it with the blunt end of a sterile cotton swab and it sure enough...well, I won't go into the gory details. Let's just say, it provided her with plenty of substance to take a culture and send it off to their lab. She put me on another seven days of a different antibiotic, since obviously the one I was taking for the mastitis didn't manage to keep the incision from getting infected. I headed home and started taking those antibiotics on Friday night. By Sunday afternoon, guess what was back? The mastitis. Full on--fever, chills, aching, redness, misery. I immediately called my doctor and she was shocked that it would be able to come back with the new antibiotic I was on for the incision. After a little bit of investigating, we discovered that my pharmacy gave me the wrong prescription. Seriously! You hear horror stories about that happening to people, but I certainly didn't ever think it would happen to me. They had given me a very light dose of the antibiotic I had previously taken for the mastitis. Like a child's dosage. Thank God it wasn't some other medicine that could have caused me a lot of harm. So, we switched to a different pharmacy and she called in the strongest dose of Augmentin that you can take in pill form. Good thing, because her nurse called me back on Tuesday and told me that the culture they took from the incision was positive for a staph infection. Of course it was! I'm on day four of this new antibiotic and considering all of the not-so-fun side effects of taking antibiotics for more than two weeks, I'm ready to be done. And really, really, really praying that all of this will clear up. It's terribly frustrating but I keep trying to remind myself that these are common things that happen to women post pregnancy. And find a little solace in the fact that hey, maybe it's been really not cool here at the end, but hey, I've never had morning sickness, don't have a single stretch mark on my body, hardly even look or feel pregnant until the last few months, and lose any weight I gain in less than two weeks. I'll call it a major trade off! Though I'm not lying...it would be nice to add "never had mastitis" and "never got an infection" to that list too! Oh well, let's not get greedy.

2. On the parenting side of things, I have a major horn to toot for my middle child this week. We've known that Reagan was ready to potty train for a few months now. In fact, just before we left Lubbock, he was starting to get the hang of going #2 on the potty. When we moved down to The Woodlands, things took a major back seat to finding a new house, moving in, getting things set up, and of course, getting through the pregnancy. This week, however, I guess he decided that he was tired of waiting for mom and dad to help him train and just decided to do it on his own. For real. As in he's worn undies for the past three days and hasn't had a single accident. Over the weekend he started telling us when he needed to go to the bathroom, but Mark's dad was in town, we were out and about a whole bunch, and none of us were willing to let him go without a diaper just because he said he wanted undies. We've gone 100% undies during the day since Monday and like I said, he's done perfect! I guess when you figure it out in your mind, it just all makes sense. And actually, from my parents' stories, I potty trained in much of the same way. Just up and decided one day that I wasn't wearing undies anymore and that was that. It was also right at the end of my mom's pregnancy with my brother, Andy. Maybe there's something to that. Who knows? He sure has loved the whole "big brother" thing and maybe this is just an extension of feeling grown up. And growing up, he definitely is. Not a day goes by that I don't look over at him and think Where did my little baby Rudy go!?! I sure am proud of that little bruiser.

3. One of  the unique aspects of The Woodlands is that it's a community built within nature. Not a massive, bulldozed plot of land, cleared out to build a community. Really, everywhere you go, you're amongst the trees. For example, driving down one of the main drags, the only way you know that there's a gas station or McDonald's or oil change place is by the carved and painted wooden signs poking out from the trees, telling you to turn into the next entrance. And no visible  power lines. They're all buried underground. It really is a beautiful community, but when you keep that much of nature preserved, it's a guarantee that all the woodland-type creatures are going to be completely comfortable hanging around. Squirrels, deer, possums, rabbits...we see all of these things with regularity around here. But we certainly weren't expecting to see this fella' in our backyard!

I'm pretty sure I've never seen a live armadillo before. Sure, living in West Texas for so long, I saw plenty of dead ones on the side of the road, but never any just walking around, taking in the day. My parents had stopped by to check on me (this was Monday morning, right after the mastitis had kicked back in) and we were all sitting around the kitchen table. My dad spied this guy outside the kitchen window and we all snuck out onto the back deck to watch him snoop around. Very cool for the boys to see. And me too! It's a perfect ending to a "You know you live in Texas when..." statement!

TTT: Season 2, Episode 27 - a double shot!

1. Ah. Back to the old blog. Yes, it's true. The inevitable finally happened. I missed a full week of Three Thought Thursday last week! Hey, I had a feeling at the beginning of the year when I decided I wanted to continue on into 2011 that I might not be able to commit to every single week. And that was before I even knew that we'd be moving! So since there's been a lot going on, I thought I'd just double up this week and document all the recent happenings in our little world.

I was able to write two weeks ago because Mark's mom was here and I managed to crank out a blog post while she was taking the boys on a bike ride. But last week...well...not so much. A lot went on last week. Total craziness, in fact. You're probably thinking Total craziness happened to you!?! No way! Yes, I know that total craziness tends to follow me everywhere I go, but it also tends to follow people who have just had a baby and only happens during holiday weekends and on and on and on. I guess it was just a compilation of all of those things. So when Thursday rolled around, sadly I knew everything I wanted to write about and just didn't have the time or energy to even consider writing. Sleep took the priority every. single. time. Here's why...

2. Mark's mom left early on the morning of Saturday, July 2nd. Mark was on call that weekend and ended up getting called in for a surgery around lunch time. After lunch, the boys and I all decided to take a nap. I laid down on the couch with Grant cuddled up on my chest and when I woke an hour or so later, I was a hot, sweaty mess. At first I assumed it was due to the warm, snuggly baby. But thirty or so minutes later when I was still burning up, I finally checked the thermostat: eight-seven degrees. Did it really take me that long to realize it was way hotter than it should have been!?! We high-tailed it over to my parents' house after getting in touch with our home warranty company. When they called back and said they couldn't find any of their contractors that could come out on the holiday weekend, they allowed us to find our own repair man. He came out Sunday morning, only to discover that some sort of motor in the furnace was completely blown out and would have to be replaced. But, of course, the only supply company that sold the replacement motor was closed for 4th of July and wouldn't open till Tuesday, the 5th. So we spent the entire 4th of July weekend back at my parents' house staying cool and even enjoying a visit and burgers from our good friends Jared and Katie Bares. Finally, on Tuesday around lunch the air conditioner was finally fixed. I went back to my parents' to pack up all of stuff that had made its way over there so we could head back home. See what I mean? The A/C going out only happens on holiday weekends to ladies who have just given birth eight days earlier. Thank God we had some place cool to go!

3. But our stay at my parents' house didn't end there. When I arrived to pack up our stuff, Rudy was taking a nap and Kolbe decided he wanted to go with my mom to the airport to pick up my dad from the airport. (He was returning from the family reunion in Colorado that we missed...my mom came back early) I sat down in the family room to nurse Grant and afterwards came down with a bad case of the chills. Assuming it was just from sitting under the A/C vent, I went upstairs to start packing up and figured I'd warm up as I got working. Instead it just got worse. I ended up getting in bed and under the comforter to try to warm up. After thirty minutes or so I was still shaking out of control and decided to get in a warm bath. This helped, but I could tell that something was definitely wrong. After everyone returned home and I was back in bed, we discovered that I was running a fever of 103.2 and had really sharp pain in my collar bone/ armpit area which led us to believe that I had come down with mastitis. Really, to me, the effects of the fever were worse than the chest pain. The out of control shaking for several hours and horrible aching all over was just miserable! Luckily, we were able to get ahold of my mom's neighbor who is an obstetrician and she was able to get me started on antibiotics right away. (still on them too...ten days worth! Yikes!) So the next two days were spent there at my parents' too so that they could help out while I tried to recover. My mom says it's one of the worst cases of mastitis she's ever seen. I'm pretty sure it just covered a really large area and wasn't in one specific spot which did make it look really horrible. After experiencing that, I can completely understand why so many women give up nursing early on. I had such a smooth nursing experience with Reagan; after the initial few weeks of pain and discomfort, it was smooth sailing. I assumed it would be just the same with Grant, but it has proven to be very different and difficult at times. We're definitely still hanging in there and doing a lot better now, but like I said, I can totally see why women might throw in the towel while going through some of these trials. We aren't completely out of the woods yet, and I continue to pray that it doesn't come back or escalate to what my poor sister-in-law had to go through with an abscess. But really, I know that this is what is best for Grant, great for me, and will establish a wonderful bond between the two of us as he grows from a tiny infant into a little boy.

4. So other than a completely unlivable house and a torturous bacterial infection, I'd say things are going pretty smoothly. Prior to Grant's birth, I had people tell me that three kids was the hardest thing they had ever done and others say that three was a piece of cake. Right now, I'd probably have to go with a middle of the road type feeling. It's certainly not easy, but also not as hard as I thought it would be either. It helps a ton that both Kolbe and Rudy are somewhat self-sufficient. They love to play together and don't always need mom to be involved. They can eat meals without me supervising. Kolb knows how to dress him self and use the restroom on his own. Rudy is working on both of these things. So really, it's nowhere near the challenge of taking care of a newborn and a fifteen month old like when Rudy was born. I'd say the hardest part is just trying to explain everything to the boys when I can't do what they want to do right when they want to do it. Or I can't give them the full attention they're hoping for every time they want it. I've just been trying to do and much with them as possible while Grant sleeps and give them the quality time they need every chance I can. Sure, dinner plans have gone by the wayside almost every single night, but hey, we're getting through the day, getting to bed relatively on time, and everyone seems to be happy. We survived our first trip to Target just the three boys a me a few days ago. It went much better than I pictured it would be! And as for Grant, he continues to be just a magical little guy. He usually has a long wakeful time in the morning and one in the afternoon as well. Otherwise, he likes to sleep quite a bit and just tags along for the ride when we're out and about. He had his two week check at the pediatrician's office last week right in the middle of the whole mastitis ordeal and hadn't gained as much weight as the the doctor had hoped, but when I took him back on this Tuesday, he was up to seven pounds and twelve ounces...over his birth weight...so he's finally starting to take off. We can't decide exactly who he looks like just yet, but he definitely looks like Kolbe and Rudy's brother. Considering they each have their own look and don't really favor each other much at all, maybe Grant will just be working his own look too! Regardless, he sure is a cutie and I can't get enough of him.

5. Mark and I have some of the best parents in the whole world. Really, I think I could do an entire post about this topic, but it's been on my heart a lot this week and has been such an integral part of the past few weeks, that I'd be crazy not to include it. To say that my parents did a lot for us before Grant was born would be a gross understatement. Heck, we lived at their house for two whole months while Mark started his job and we tried to find a new house! And the number of times they've watched the boys for me while I've gone to various doctor's appointments or just struggled through the last months of pregnancy are too numerous to count. And helping us get the house set up! And feeding us when I was too exhausted to cook! Really, they've done far, far more than they've needed to and helped us out time and time again, even when we haven't asked. Thankfully, they were both here the day that Grant was born, but left the next morning for our big family reunion up in Colorado. Mark's mom arrived on that same day, and man, was she ever a big help! Really, I can't imagine going through my stay at the hospital or that first week back at home without her. One of the things I worried about the most...like all moms, I suppose...was how Kolbe and Reagan would adjust to me bringing Grant home. Having Miss Lora there was the perfect balance to creating a positive, smooth transition. When I was nursing the baby or too sore from my surgery to do something the boys wanted me to do, she would jump right in and take care of it. Shoot, she was even willing to take the boys out around the neighborhood on bike rides in the sweltering heat! I hardly will consider that even when I'm not pregnant! Really, she was a champ. We can't wait for her to come back! And Mark's dad is next. He is flying in to stay with us this weekend. We can't wait to see him and show off his newest grandson. After all, he and Grant do share the same birthday! So throughout these past few weeks, when I look at my baby, look at my husband, look at my kiddos and look at our family, all I can think of is how thankful I am that I have been so greatly blessed.  Who knows...maybe some day when Kolbe, Rudy, or Grant is bringing a new baby home, I'll look back at this and hope that I can be all for them that our parents have been for us.

6. Time for pictures!

I love this picture! Definite "framer". This is Kolbe and Rudy taking in the 4th of July parade up at Market Street (an outdoor shopping mall).

Two buddies--Kolbe LOVES his new brother. He always asks for me to put him in the little swing when he's awake so they can "hang out" together.

In love with this pic too. They were so excited to get to sit with their baby brother!

Mark and I follow the Tour de France every single July. It's been perfect timing this year since I have to spend so much time sitting down and nursing. Gives me something to watch! Mark took Kolbe up to a bike shop that is near our house so he could see all the bikes that are in the race and try on some of the helmets. What do you think? He just might be the next Lance Armstrong!

Ah, the I-spy quilt. Also comes in handy during nursing sessions! We've played many-a-game of I-spy over the past weeks. I can call out items from the couch and they can search and find them.

Another parade pic. These two are totally in the fire truck/ambulance/police car phase. They're obsessed! So of course their favorite thing in the parade was the long line of fire trucks.

Ahhhhh. Sleep. Wish I could get some too!