Potty Training Update

Well, sadly this is just another update post about potty training.  I hope there is one soon about it all being over!  So here's where we are:

Ever since we began with the potty training, we've kept Owen in pull-ups.  I didn't want to go "backwards" by going back to diapers.  We tried to take him potty very frequently and were always constantly asking him if he needed to go.  Of course, he would always say no:)  He would still always go on command when we took him.  Of course, he wasn't always keen on stopping whatever he was doing and would sometimes throw a fit.  We started putting him in time out for this...which usually only lasted a few seconds and he would get up and walk to the bathroom.  Pooping is still the most frustrating issues of it all....because he knows when he has to go and usually hides somewhere and does it when we aren't paying attention, or does it when he is laying down for his nap.  Then he walks out, says he pooped and then goes in and lays down on his floor to be changed!  So, I KNOW he knows when he has to do that!  I questioned sometimes how well he could "hold" his pee...so I tried to cut him a little slack in the peeing department.  We offered him "treats" for both peeing and pooping....and he can tell you what he is supposed to do, but just never did it!  Very frustrating at times:)

The last week or so of summer school, he was only using one pull-up a day at my mom's house.  I was feeling pretty positive about that.  I had already decided to really push the potty training after summer school was over, so the fact that he was doing well inspired me.  Of course, it was still because my mom was taking him every so often...he wasn't telling her when he had to go.

I decided to make a chart for him to put up in the bathroom.  We had tried a plain old sticker chart, but it wasn't quite motivating enough for him.  I decided to give skittles, m & m's, and time on the iPad for peeing (which is what we were already basically doing).  I created a "special basket" for pooping which contained juice boxes, trains (inspiration from a friend!!), cars, and candy.  Finally when he had dry pants all day he got to put up a sticker to earn a ride on a city bus.  Of course all these things are huge motivators for him.  

Here is a picture of the chart.  Not the best since it was taken from my cell phone.

So, yesterday was day 1....and as you can tell in the picture, he earned a sticker at the end of the day!  He was totally dry, told me he had to pee a few times, and went poop a couple of times!  Tony and I praised him all over the place last night!  Today is day 2....and it started off well.  I think he pooped 2 times before 7:00AM!  Unfortunately, he pooped again before nap and I did not insist that he keep trying for more.  So, he chose candy and ate it....but then after laying down for a few minutes he came out and said that he had pooped:(  No sticker for today and I'm trying not to be too discouraged......here's to hoping tomorrow is better!

I will update again soon......I really hope he gets this soon!  or I may have to consider barricading him in the kitchen naked all day....

St. Louis Zoo

As promised, here are some pics from our trip to the St. Louis Zoo in early June.  Owen had a GREAT time.  He is so into animals right now, so it was really fun to take him to see everything.  His two favorite animals are elephants and giraffes.  We got to see the elephants, but unfortunately the giraffes weren't out....and if you asked him, he would definitely tell you about it!  He was mad!!:)  Anyways, we had a great time, and he was tuckered out by the end of the day.  In fact, we didn't even make it through the whole zoo before he conked out!  We were able to stop and have dinner with one of my college roomies and her family on our way home, which was fun and it allowed Owen to get out and play a little before the drive home as well:)  It was a win/win for everyone!

Riding the train....this was a huge favorite of the day!

  

Watching the rhinos with daddy.

He loved watching the hippos!  We stayed at this exhibit for a long time!

Watching the elephants.  This was another exhibit we stayed at for a while:)

Feeding the sting rays.  He let daddy do the feeding (and so did I!!), but he did  pet a few:)

Petting the guinea pigs in the Children's Zoo.

Riding the carousel with mommy:)

And, he's done!  This is how he saw the last part of the zoo:)

Long Time....No Post!

Wow...it has been awhile since I have been able to blog!  It has been a very busy summer so far, but mostly the no blogging is because I took 2 summer grad classes!  What was I thinking?!?!?!  Well, needless to say, I finally have a minute to post!  I finished one class up over the weekend and am only down to one with most of my last project almost complete, so I thought I would take a minute to post.

Things are going well.  I'm working 4 1/2 days a week with class two nights a week (although this is the last week of those classes).  My summer work will be finished up next week, leaving about 2 1/2 weeks before "real" work starts again......

Owen is growing like a weed and we are enjoying every minute of it.  We took a trip to the St. Louis Zoo at the beginning of June, so when I am home one afternoon I will try to post pics of it.  He LOVED it, so I want to make sure I give the trip post justice:)  We have another small trip planned as a family at the end of this month, so we are looking forward to that. 

We've had 2 friends announce that they are expecting, so that has been exciting.  Both of them went through my maternity clothes and took a big chunk of them, one of them bought my breast pump, and both will be coming over and going through things when I have my garage sale next month.  Tony and I have totally embraced that we will only have Owen and are ready to move on into the next chapter in our lives.  Usually when we make a decision like that, it means we are ready to purge:)  I'm so glad that we are both purgers and not savers:)  Now...that doesn't mean I won't have a hard time when I go through all of his clothes and things....and I'm sure a few outfits will be saved:)  I know there will probably be times when I will wonder "what if" or wish we had another baby, but it won't do me any good to dwell on things that won't happen!

So onward to new and exciting things.....and I promise to blog more:)

Renal Scan & Kidney Update

Owen had his renal scan last Friday afternoon. After our experience with his first one, I went armed with many different toys and options to keep him entertained during the procedure. Gramma stopped by the morning of and dropped off some suckers and a Dumbo DVD (she remembered that they offered a DVD player the last time we went). When we arrived they put numbing cream on both of his arms in anticipation for the IV. He wasn't too keen on it, but we kept him busy for the half hour that we had to wait before we went back for the actual procedure. They had pediatric nurses come in and put in the IV....they were nice but not so quick with the procedure. He was pretty upset but we got Dumbo started and away we went with the procedure. He did amazingly well and Tony and I didn't have to hold him down like the last time...which made it even better! We were really thankful for Gramma bringing Dumbo....it was a lifesaver! We were able to see the test as it progressed on the screen. It was very apparent that the left kidney did not clear the dye but did respond after the Lasix was pushed. We weren't sure what that meant but were hoping that it wasn't bad:)

We saw the pediatric urologist today to hear what the test results meant. She said that it was good that the kidney responded to the Lasix because it meant that it still had its functionality, although he was still presenting with some of the other symptoms of having a blockage. She said that she really didn't want to put him through surgery since it was still working correctly at this time. She wants us to see her again in 6-months and see how things are since hopefully he will be full potty-trained by then. So, good news on the surgery front but I'm afraid it's still not off the table for the future. Again, only time will tell...

Final Cycle: Moving On

Well, now that I am "officially" done with all IVF treatments it is time to move on.  I had a few rough moments last week when I got my results, but overall I think I felt relief.  There will be no more "what ifs" when we are thinking about our future.  We can plan and talk about doing things without thinking about treatments or if I would be pregnant.  I'm ready to have a huge garage sale and pass on Owen's baby stuff to others....Tony said maybe I should wait a little bit in case I'm not as ready as I say I am.  Anyways, it would be later in the summer because I'm taking two grad classes this summer plus working our Summer School program...so we'll see how I feel at the end of the summer....I think I'll still be ready though.....  I have a friend who is pregnant, so I offered her my maternity clothes...I will be sad to see those go (Tony said he wouldn't mind those being gone!!) because I had really hoped to experience a pregnancy again, but it will be nice to pass them on to someone else who needs them.

I was talking with a friend (who also went through IVF and just recently found out that she will only be having one baby) and she said that she was doing fine until she saw someone post pictures of a 2nd baby on FB.  She said she had been fine and then all of a sudden it hit her.  I'm sure I will have my moments over time, but I don't want Owen to ever think that I am not happy with just having him.  He is someone that at one point I wasn't sure would ever come into my life and when he did I was SO happy.  He is our everything now and we can move forward with our family, which we are so ready to do!

And thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts about the negative....it was very nice to know I had so many people thinking about me.

Final Cycle: Results

Well, Owen will not be a big brother....results were negative.  Not sure what else to say, other than it sucks......

Final Cycle: Thoughts

Hope can be a good thing or a bad thing when it comes to IVF.  I've been through it enough times that I can see it from both perspectives.  It's good because one should never give up hope....we should always hope for what we want most in the world.  Hope is bad because if it doesn't work out....then you are putting yourself out there for disappointment.....I'm a little worried because I actually have a little hope that this cycle could have worked....we actually had 2 grade 2 embryos to put back in this time, which is better than our last cycle.  I'm worried that if it doesn't work out, I will have a harder time getting over it....one because I had hope that it may have worked and two because it is our last time no matter what.  I guess I just assumed that since we figured out the right combo once that it would automatically work again and Owen would get to be a big brother....but I was wrong with that assumption.  Now here I sit on the eve of my second beta (took my first one on Friday last week) with a little bit of hope and a lot of worry about the outcome.  I'll say it again though....I will be perfectly ok with just Owen...he is everything I/we ever could have hoped for originally.  I won't deny that it would be nice to have another baby and get to experience it all over again, but I will be ok if I don't.