Love + Friendship = Marriage

What a rough few days over here at the Stone house. 2 nights ago I woke up (around 1am) and was sick until about 8am. I called my doctor (OBGYN) at 3:30am and told her what was going on with me. She told me to try ginger ale, chicken broth, crackers, and so on. So, my wonderful husband went out to find me those items. The doctor also said that if I can't keep anything down, then I need to admit myself into Labor and Delivery.

Grant came home and I started to sip a little on the chicken broth, and ginger ale. I was more comfortable on the couch, so Grant sat right next to me and bought a movie for us to watch together. I managed to close my eyes for an hour. I then woke up and got sick! Being sick is horrible, but when your 7 months pregnant... it's even worse!

I decided to call back the doctor. The doctor said to go to the hospital. I left Jake at home with Grant and I drove in. I got there and went right up into my room. Monitors went on the baby immediately, and he was doing just fine. He is so strong in fact that he was kicking the monitor right off him. The nurse had to come in several times to adjust it. She thought it was from me moving... not my little guy. Then they drew my blood, and put my IV in. I was so dehydrated they could barely find a vein. As they were putting my IV in I threw up again. Only I almost threw up on the nurse. Another nurse ran in and brought a bed pan for me. There went my Gatorade. :/

After the IV was in and they gave me medicine to stop throwing up, things got better. The lights went off and I was able to lay there and relax. After a few hours I was able to leave.

The culprit. A virus. From what? Could be from traveling... ONCE AGAIN! Remember when Jake had a virus in Oklahoma, and had to go to the hospital? Well, apparently we all have sensitive stomachs! :)

Last night my sweet husband got sick. I feel so bad. Poor guy. After all his care and love for me. My husband is amazing. Holding back my hair, rubbing my back, holding me, going to the store in the middle of the night, sleeping on the couch next to me because it's the only place this pregnant lady feels comfortable. He's awesome. I'm one lucky girl! Not only is he a hard working  man, he's a family man. He is my best friend. Always making sure Jake, baby #2, and I are happy.

Well here's to a healthy New Year! At least we are getting these illnesses done before our new little guy arrives. My camera arrived yesterday, so I will upload those pics and blog tonight!

The "C" word.

Cancer. It's a very scary illness. I recently had one friend pass away from brain cancer and another friend who is currently battling lymphoma. She is looking good and I'm so very proud of her! You never want to see anyone struggle from this disease. It's a bastard. I hate it.

Recently, I found myself praying for my own health. From a form of cancer most likely I would have given myself. Skin cancer.

Before I scare my readers or family... I don't have skin cancer. I am lucky. I went to my yearly check up with my regular MD and while we were doing blood work, I had him take a look at some moles. He looked up at me and said, "I don't like these. You need to make an appointment as soon as you can and have them removed." WOW. The next day I was at a dermatologist. I went in with 2 to be looked at and 4 were removed. The testing process went on about a week and then I called in. They said that 3 looked normal, but one had been sent out for another opinion. WHAT?! I started freaking out. Another few days passed and I called again. They had the results. The results came back abnormal. They said it was fairly common. The only thing I could say was, "IS IT CANCER?" Answer was no. But, something like this could quickly turn into cancer if it's not taken care of. I AM LUCKY. I was in time.

I went into the office this last Monday to have the skin surgery to remove more cells around the abnormal mole. As I was sitting there I started noticing more moles... REALLY?!!? I showed the doctor when he came in. Guess what? They need to be removed too. I found about 3 more. I'm having those removed and testing in 2 weeks when they remove the stitches. I also pray that those are normal. I'm currently going to the dermatologist every 4 months for skin checks.

Living in Southern California my whole life your constantly in the sun. And if you aren't in the sun your in the tanning salon trying to get that tan. When I started tanning in the tanning salon it was before all the information was released about cancer. There was information out there, but not like in the last 5 years. I baked myself for years. From 1998 till about 2007. Not kidding. I always was that tan, blonde, Southern California girl. However, I'm blonde, blue eyed, and most importantly I have fair skin. I wish I knew then what I know now. It's scary. Even though I haven't been in a tanning salon in years, and I haven't had a sunburn in years, this is from years of damage from my youth.

I urge you all to go and have your skin looked at yearly!

It's no joke. Let me drop some facts:

1. Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States.
2. 1 in 5 million develop skin cancer in their lifetime.
3. 1 person dies of Melanoma every hour.
4. Indoor ultraviolet (UV) tanners are 74% more likely to develop melanoma than those who have never tanned indoors.

There are so many more facts, but I thought I'd choose those. You can look more up on the websites below I posted for reference.

Skin cancer is caught early is treatable. Check your skin. Do you have more moles? Are they getting darker? Changing shape?

Skin Cancer ABCD:
A- Asymmetry: One half is different than the other half.
B- Boarder Irregularity: Edges are uneven.
C- Color: Color is uneven.
D- Diameter: Diameter is greater than 6mm.

Sources:
I looked up the information on the following websites:
The Skin Cancer Foundation
CDC
Melanoma Foundation

Hope this blog post was informational, and not a downer.
Love and Cheers,

Sleep training by Brooke Stone part VI

Where do I begin? Rough weekend over here at The Stone house. I decided NOT to blog over the weekend about it to stay positive. We need to keep Jake on schedule and in his crib. But, he is failing to get with OUR program. I can honestly say this child is the most strong willed of any baby I've seen. He is so stubborn and strong in general. This is amazing, however, it also means that when he doesn't want to do something he stays strong willed and stubborn as well. ha! 

So, let's just talk about last night. Grant and I decided perhaps 7pm is too early. So, we are extending to 7:30-8pm. We started the routine and by 7:50pm he was asleep in Grant's arms. Grant went to put him down and BAM he's awake screaming. The song and dance continued for a few hours. No lie. A few hours. About 9:30pm he was asleep. Only to wake an hour later. Song and dance started again. Problem with the song and dance is that he's now expecting it. So, we resorted to the "cry it out". 

We noticed that it got very quite at times in his room. We'd look through the video monitor and we would see the following: 

(Warning: the pictures are taken from my blackberry of the video monitor. They aren't very clear.)

This picture is from Saturday night.

This picture is from Sunday night.

Poor little guy sleeps sitting up. He refuses to lay down. At one point around 10ish I went in fed him and he fell asleep. I put him down and he slept until 11:00pm. Finally we did the "Cry it out" till he fell asleep at midnight. Grant said I passed out around 11:30pm saying I didn't know what to do anymore. I was clearly so tired I was talking nonsense. So, he stayed up until Jake fell asleep. He finally laid down on his belly, butt up. 

He was asleep until 5:30am! YAY! So, that was a long stretch. He never changed position because he was clearly worn out! At that point I brought him in our room and fed him. I slept until 8am with him next to me. 

It's heartbreaking. I hate it. I just want him to sleep good, and for us to sleep good. Is this too much to ask? ha ha. 

Blog more later.

Cheers,

Road trip/Flight #4 (Part two)

Part 2 of our Idaho trip will be a little shorter. After Jake's 2 trips to the urgent care he started to feel better. I ended up in the urgent care after. I started taking medicine, and then I came down with the flu. SERIOUSLY. Anyhow, I wasn't really up to taking pictures feeling as sick as I was. 

Before I got the flu I did have a lot of fun days! Over the weekend my dad, grandma, brother, Jake, and I went on a few drives around Boise. It was pretty cold and rainy so it was fun to pick up coffee's and cruise around the town. We stopped for lunches, and ate at some good restaurants! Ever heard of Diners, Drive In's and Dives from the Food Network? Well, they've been to Boise more than once! We went all over. Boise is such a great city. Have you ever been? If not, I recommend it!

We got back home after over 2 weeks in Boise. I feel like a broken record, but, I hate leaving my family. It's so hard to be far. I HATE IT. My family is so helpful and loving. I'm so lucky. I wish I could just drive over for dinner or for my family to watch Jake while Grant and I have a date night. It's nerve racking finding someone to watch your precious baby! I was happy to come home and see my husband! Grant was a busy little bee while I was gone! He is so darn thoughtful! He bought me a PreCore elliptical machine and a food processor! I have been complaining about not being about to get to the gym and that I wish I had one... and also that I wanted to make sure I was making all of Jake's food while we were home... presto! Now, I have both. :)

It's been a tough transition for Jake in the last 72 hours. Jake got home around 11am on Wednesday evening and didn't really remember our house. He didn't remember his room, and the things he once loved. I know it was late and he was really tired. Imagine waking up in Boise (after over 2 weeks), then getting on a plane, falling asleep, and then waking back up and brought into a new home. He didn't want me to put him down. He didn't even really want to go to Grant. I told Grant not to get upset. Jake fell asleep on me and laid next to me the entire night. Yesterday he woke up and things were much better. Today he was even better. Still doesn't like when I walk out of the room, and only wants me to hold him.  Any advice? I read that it takes a few days when you've been gone as long as us to get back into the swing of things. Poor thing. We're going to Oklahoma in a few weeks... will it start all over again?

Since I've been gone... Jake is crawling, and even grew! I can't leave him anywhere! How do you take a shower? Where do you put them? I have to take the crib mattress down, and put together the high chair Grant just bought yesterday. This little guy is mobile!

Well, enjoy the Boise pics. Jake turned 7 months today... I will post his 7 month pictures later today! 

pop pop with Jake.

On the freeway heading to downtown Boise.

Love the trees in the town area.

The Capital.

Jake with his pop pop. He had so much fun playing with him!

We were feeling better, so we all went to lunch!

Dylan saying good bye to Jake at the airport.

Cheers,

Road trip/Flight #4 (Part one)

IDEEEHO!

Figured this blog should be in 2 parts. I've been here so long that I have a ton of pictures and stories!

Let's start with part one of our Boise trip!

Grant parked and walked us in to LAX. He made sure we were all check in before he left us at the security check point. I didn't find out until later that I could have gotten Grant a pass so that he could have taken us all the way to the gate. It didn't matter this trip, but if we had more children that would have been super helpful! The other pics are of Jake on the plane. He did great. We fed on the way up and down. We played in between. He didn't sleep much on the plane. He flirted with all the women that walked by. No lie. I'm in trouble with this little flirt!

My grandma picked us up at the airport. We went to lunch and then we went home to hang out and wait for the rest of the family to get off work. I was so happy to be home!

My little brother Dylan is getting so big! He's going to be 8 on 4/3. 

My parents couldn't wait to hold him!

Jake was in awe of Dylan. He just lights up when Dyl walks in the room.

Jake's first haircut. Sitting on Grandma Spellman's lap.

I learned how to crochet while I have been here. Yes, people... me! I'm making a blanket for my bedroom now. It's a work in progress. The picture below was at the knitting shop. Knit one/Quilt two! ;) Jake was playing peek a boo with his auntie Kim!

A week into our trip Jake started suffering from allergies. The allergies turned into a secondary infection. We were in urgent care 2 nights in a row. Finally with antibiotics he's doing great! We ended up extending our trip another week because Jake wasn't feeling well. I didn't want him to fly all stuffed up. I was worried that his ears wouldn't pop, and that he would feel more miserable. I ended up getting sick as well. Pretty much the same thing happened to me. Allergies on hiatus... then secondary infection. I'm feeling better after antibiotics as well. We'll be home next Wednesday. I will be sad to leave my family... but, I miss my husband terribly!

It was been such a fun trip. Jake and I have had a lot of firsts together! First plane ride, first sickness, new foods, first haircut (in a salon where I got my hair done), and new appreciation for California weather.

Part two coming soon...
Cheers,