Month Two

This has been a big month for our little girl. She has grown and matured in so many ways that it's hard to find a place to start. Piper is much more alert now and spends more time awake than she did this time last month. She has a semi-schedule of being awake after each feeding for around 30-45 minutes and will play and laugh and smile during this time.
















While she would smile in her sleep last month, this month she will do it when she sees one of us. She is very smiley after each feeding and never fails to give us one of her big, open-mouthed smiles that tells us that she is happy to see us. She always has one for her big brother and is promptly rewarded by him smothering her with hugs or kisses.

When Piper is awake, she loves to play and talk. This month has given way to the discovery of her voice. Caleb and I spend our days having "conversations" with Piper and it really sounds like she is trying to talk back to us. She still loves to stretch and flail somewhat, but is gaining some control of her hands and loves to play on her mat. You will often catch her batting at things just to see what would happen.
Piper is very much like her brother in that she does not like to be confined unless someone is holding her to get her to sleep. She has not let me swaddle her for sometime now but loves her footy pajamas and will not sleep without them.
















I think I posted last month about Piper not liking her swing, but the past few weeks has seen a complete turn around on this. There have been nights when she has slept for most of the night in her swing because we just couldn't get her to sleep anywhere else. Piper LOVES sleeping on her stomach and I just cannot let her do that at night when I can't supervise her the whole time. It's one thing for her to do that when I'm sitting right next to her, but it's quite another for her to sleep on her tummy all night. Mama's got to sleep at some point.
While we're on the subject, sleep is at a premium here still. Piper has, on occasion, made a 5 hour stretch at night between feedings, but most of the time we're still feeding her every 3 to 4 hours. Needless to say, we're all pretty wiped here in the land of Mathis. Please be kind if you see us out in public and we act stranger than normal.





















Piper was none to thrilled with her first bath, but over the past month she has developed quite the love for the water. I think she would stay in the bath for hours if I let her. There hasn't been a time when she has been in the bath or getting her massage afterward when she hasn't had smiles for me!





















We also broke out the Bumbo seat this month (ok, really just today!). Piper has been able to hold her head up since her birth, but she really has great control of it now. She is starting to gain control of her upper body as well, so I thought I would try her in this seat and she loved it! I think she just really enjoyed seeing the world in a new light.
Piper is just the sweetest little girl that we could ever have hoped for and we have had a great 2 months with her!

You Made Me Do It.

An open letter to all who admire me in public:
Dear Everyone,
When you approach us at the mall, grocery store, church, doctor's office, etc, please know that I really love the attention. It is so much fun to flirt and smile at a face that doesn't belong to those crazys who live with me. However, I have just one request of you. Please, please look at me and all the things that are around me. If you will notice I am almost always dressed in pink. I NEVER leave home without a bow, and usually quite a large one, on my little head. My car seat is pink and brown and my name is most certainly a girl name. Oh, and while we are on the subject, have you ever known a boy with my name? It is a GIRL'S name!
Anyway, back to the subject at hand. My mama has been quite upset lately by all the times you have called me a boy, despite all the evidence to the contrary. The other day she bought me this:


















Hopefully, this will help with all the confusion!
Love and kisses always,
Piper

Please Watch Where You Are Going, Thank You Very Much.

My oldest brother, Mitchell, who has been a police officer for 25+ years, many of them a motorcycle cop, was hit by a man who was not paying attention yesterday. While he was on duty. Riding his motorcycle. He's ok, just really banged up. Evidently, this guy was not paying attention and tried to turn left while Mitchell was going straight. So, as I said before, just look where you are going. I'm sure that man will.
















my 2 brothers and sister from left to right: Michelle and myself (sitting), Mitchell and Damon (standing)

What Are They Teaching Our Kids?

"Having a heart beat is very important if you want to stay healthy."
As seen on Max and Ruby (Caleb's favorite cartoon). My reply, "ya think?"

Just Some Random Pictures and Equally Random Commentary

I suppose I could blame my lack of posting lately on the very busy 3 year old and 6 week old I spend my days and nights with, but really it's just been that I don't really have anything super interesting to write about. I mean come on, who wants to hear abou all the pull-up/diaper changing, time out placing, pumping, feeding, burping, etc that I do all day long? I guess the most exciting thing to happen around here is my appointment as creative actvities director for our MOPS (mothers or preschoolers) group.
A week and a half ago.
When all the others got the job in May.
With a budget I have to stick to.
And nothing was planned.
Did I mention the meeting I have Wedneday night where I have to present the whole years worth of activities/crafts?
Do you think I've been busy?
Oh yeah, and I go back to work in 8 days where I have to educate our future healthcare professionals. So, in honor of my lack of something to talk about, here are the pictures I took over the last few days.


















Piper LOVES her tummy. I usually let her nap this way if I can sit by her and keep an eye on her. This is totally new for us because Caleb couldn't stay in this position for more than 30 seconds withou being in tons of pain from his severe reflux.






















A daily occurance for Piper. She loves going out and doing things, but if you put her in her carseat and don't start moving right away she starts squawking. I guess she thinks we'll forget her.

















Piper and myself with Dr. Robins, my fabulous ob/gyn.

















I'm not the only one who is tired around here. He literally was asking for a sucker as he climbed in the chair and laid down like this. He slept this way for over an hour and then I had to unfold him.

No Poop Equals No Go

On Friday I posted that we were going to start thickening Piper's feeds with Simply Thick to help counteract possible reflux. We started with the first feed after we arrived home from the doctor on Friday afternoon and continued through Saturday morning. Sometime around 9am I realized that Piper had not pooped since Friday, around noon. This is distressing for a 6 week old who is being breast fed and is used to doing her business before and after each feed. We stopped the Simply Thick Saturday morning and waited to see what happened. It took until later Sunday afternoon before things were moving again. Needless to say, we had a very unhappy baby this past weekend and a very tired Mommy and Daddy (especially Daddy since he has weekend duty!). We're going to wait on the meds right now as Piper doesn't seem to be in any real distress and I'll mention this whole thing at her 2 month appointment.

Photo Shoot

Piper had a photo shoot this morning with a good friend of mine whose has just started her own photography business. Go on over to Melissa's website at http://www.capturedwhispers.com/ and check out some of her other work!

Pulmonologist Appointment

Today, I took both kiddos to the pulmonologist, Caleb for his 4-6 month check up and Piper to be seen to squash my mommy anxieties. With all the trouble we have had with Caleb, I wanted to make sure that she is indeed as healthy as we have been told she is. So I took her right to the source, the specialist.
Based on what I told our pulmonologist, it is pretty apparent that Piper is refluxing somewhat. Not a surprise, really. However, our doctor is not one to jump right to meds if there is another way to fix or treat the problem without them. So, we are going to start thickening Piper's feeds. If you remember, we had to do this for Caleb until he was 2 for his aspiration issues, so we're pros at how to use the stuff and will be starting the thickening agent with the next feed. Hopefully, this will help with the issue and we won't have to start on the medication quite yet.
Piper was also weighed and had her length measured at this appointment and is coming in at 11lbs 6oz and 22 inches.
Caleb is well, according to the doctor, and we go back in December to see the doctor again.

I Admit It...

Ok, so I'm going to go ahead and admit it, we have a strong willed child on our hands. The child I speak of, since I have to differentiate now, is Caleb. I have tried to attribute his horrible attitude and terrible ability to follow directions to age, gender, lack of nap, hunger, thirst, nervousness, etc. I guess I just haven't wanted to admit that he's one of "those kids". You know that ones I'm talking about. The kids who won't obey anyone, no punishment affects, and could care less about how their actions affect others. So, I admit it, I have one. I have a strong willed child. Can someone help?

PS Please take into account that this post is a long time coming and is just me getting it out after he has terrorized me all day and ended it by throwing a full glass of ice water onto his sleeping sister, in a crowded restaurant. Then he laughed. help.

Month One

Piper is officially one month old now. This past month has been filled with lots of fun and exciting things for Piper. She has been able to hold her head up on her own since birth, but is now getting pretty good control of both it and her upper trunk. She has smiled at me a few times and is pretty happy most of the time, as long as she's not hungry. Piper has also laid claim to her Daddy and is the most serious of all the Daddy's girls that I have seen. She is also very enamoured by her brother, who never loses and occasion to kiss, hug or tell her he loves her.

Health-wise, Piper is just as normal as can be. She is eating every 3 hours and sleeping well at night. She has more awake time during the day and is quite happy to either have tummy time or just watch Caleb and I do what we do during the day. Piper also loves to go and do things with the rest of us and has been out and about since the day after she and I left the hospital.

We think that Piper might have an umbilical hernia and she is starting to show signs of a little reflux, but we've been down that road before and are confident that we can deal with it. We have seen the ENT as well and her tongue, while it looks a little tight, she isn't tongue tied and doesn't need to have anything done about it yet.

We are very blessed to have Piper in our lives and family and are having the best time with her!

7 Years

Today is Jes and my anniversary. We've been married 7 years, so in honor of this day, here are 7 things you may or may not know about us.

1: Jes and I met on a bus going to Mississippi for a mission trip with our college group from Macedonia Baptist Church in Longview, Texas. Someone took his seat on the bus and he ended up sitting across the aisle from me and that's all she wrote. We were together from that time on.

2: Jes had never seen a real armadillo until he met me. We were hanging out at the lake one evening and he saw it walking around and about came out of his skin until I saw what it was. Needless to say, there was much laughter on my part that an armadillo scared him!

3: After our wedding, we had made our exit and were on our way to the hotel (which was quite a long way from the church because we wanted to stay in a hotel near the airport since we had a really early flight) and I FREAKED OUT over not having the marriage license. For some reason I was convinced that we needed it to get into our hotel when we got to our honeymoon destination and I hadn't even seen it that day at all. Part of this came from the fact that we got it on June 29th, we got married on July 28th and back then marriage licenses had to be signed by one month after the day they were issued or they expired. Hence the freaking out. Just imagine a very skinny me running down a hill, covered in metalic confetti (from our car decorations) yelling at the top of my lungs for my mom. Our guests weren't even all gone yet. Sigh...

4: We went to Puerto Vallarta for our honeymoon and would go back in a heartbeat! It was the best vacation we have ever been on and we've been planning our return since we got back. The trip, however, was almost a no go though. The morning we were the leave, we arrived at the airport bright and early (!) and went to the airline's counter to check in. Come to find out, they had moved our flight up 2 hours earlier and had not told us as they should, so we had missed it. We had purchased one of those all inclusive deals and had no back up to get to Mexico. We stood at that counter in tears mentally calculating where the little bit of money we had would get us so we could at least have some sort of a honeymoon. The airline people were able to get us on another flight (that took off from the opposite side of the airport, DFW people, in just minutes). It was like the movies, we took off running and made it just in time and got to Mexico earlier than we had planned with the other flight due to elimination of layovers!

5: We lived in Tyler our first year of marriage because I was still in graduate school. The next year, we moved to Dallas and then on to McKinney. We have lived in McKinney for 4 years now and have a little house on the west side of town that we love. When we were looking for houses, we didn't even consider anything bigger than what we have so that we would have to interact with each other as a family. My biggest fear is to have a large house and not know what my kids are doing upstairs or to not have interactions daily with the whole family.

6: Jes and I are so opposite in our interests, but somehow we have managed to each learn to (maybe) somewhat enjoy those other interests. Jes loves basketball, motorcycles and all things mechanical. I have learned to either tolerate (the endless motorcycle races on TV this time of year) or actually learn things to enjoy (mechanical stuff) some of these things. Jes has done the same. It also helps that he grew up with 2 younger sisters and was drug to places like the mall constantly. He's a great shopping partner too and is one of the only people I will go shopping with anymore.

7: We love being parents, even on those days when we are exhausted or they are running us ragged. It has been particularly interesting watching the interaction between Jes and Caleb. There is a certain connection that dads have with their sons that is totally different from the mom/son connection. There are moments when I am certain that Jes and Caleb will just kill each other due to the battle of wills that is constantly going on in our house, but those moments when they are playing together or just hanging out watching TV peacefully will melt a mommy's heart.

He Loves Her

Sunday morning Jes had to go into work for a little while, so I was left to get Caleb and Piper up and ready and out the door to get to church. We were doing great on time (that tends to happen when you're up at 6am feeding the baby and the 3 year old decides it's time to get up and you cannot wrestle him, the baby and the pump all at the same time) and were almost ready to get out the door. The last thing to do was for me to dry my hair, so I put Piper in her sleep positioner in the middle of our bed and Caleb was watching a cartoon in the living room. I assumed that all would be ok for the 3 minutes that I planned on spending on my hair. You know what they say about those who assume. I finished my quick blow dry and came around the corner and looked first to the middle of the bed to see how P was and she was gone! A quick scan of the bed revealed Caleb standing on the edge and Piper near him. Caleb had picked Piper up and moved her out of her sleep positioner to the place on the bed that she was. Let me just say it scared me to death and now he is not allowed to be anywhere near where he can move her without us around.
And now, pictures...

















Piper has been able to hold her head up since birth, something that I was quite shocked to discover when they handed her to me for the first time. Here she is in action.

















You can really see the lack of hair in this picture. Compared to her brother at this age, she's practically bald. Thank goodness they make headbands!
















I love her expression in this picture. This is her favorite position, being held by either Jes or I. She is such a lovey baby and would be held all day and night long if it were possible, or up to her.

















This last picture is Piper in her swing. Let me just say that she hates this thing. Caleb had an intense love affair with his swing and used it so much that he actually wore out the motor, but this little girl of ours would rather be held than get anywhere near this contraption. I have started instituting swing time everyday so that she might grow to like it somewhat.

The weight check today went well too. She is now 9 pounds 8.5 ounces. Couldn't tell by looking at her though.

Piper's 2 Week Appointment

Yesterday was Piper's 2 week appointment with our pediatrician. Here are the stats:
Weight: 8lbs 12oz (62%tile)
Height: 21.5in (87%tile)
Head: 14.5in (69% tile)
Betsy, our pediatric nurse practitioner, said that all looks good and that she is very "proportional", whatever that means. The only down side is that she is not quite back up to her birth weight. If you remember, her birth weight is 8lbs 12.5oz and she was only 8lbs 12oz, so we have to go back next week for a weight check. Betsy was going to let us go and not worry about the extra half an ounce (Piper did gain 7 ounces in a week after all), but the doctor wants us to come back.
The other thing on the agenda at the doctor's office yesterday was P's second PKU test. She was ok with the warming agent on her foot, but the moment the medical assistants came in to prick her foot and get the blood, she let loose. She screamed and hollered like none other and it took all 3 of us to keep her on the table. Piper is quite the screamer (Imagine a 10 year old girl screaming at the top of her lungs and you get an idea of what it sounds like. I'm not exaggerating...) and is pretty strong for a 2 week old that the staff in the doctor's office all told me that she's going to give us a run for our money. Yeah, I kind of knew that...

My Appointment

I went for my 2 week post op appointment today with my ob/gyn. Today I was released to drive, thank goodness, and had my steri strips removed. Hallelujah! When I am pregnant, I develop some sort of extreme sensitivity to adhesive. Therefore, any type of tape or band aid just sends me over the edge, itching and hurting all at the same time. I've been walking around for over a week like this, trying not to claw too much at my incision. Fun times!
The best part of my appointment was the weigh in. Strange to say because this has been the most dreaded part of every appointment, especially lately. So here's the verdict. In 2 weeks, I have lost 30 pounds! My doctor actually said it was impressive. I was pretty happy too, but I still have some work to do. Fun.

Our First Week

This past week has been quite a whirlwind. Even though we were discharged from the hospital on Friday, we had to go back on Saturday to have Piper's bilirubin level checked to see where her jaundice was. Her level came back at 10.9, which is slightly higher than when we were discharged, but since she was a whole day older she was still low risk for problems. More good news was that her weight was up to 8lbs 3oz, which was up from 8lbs even on Friday. She went as low at 7lbs 15oz, so we were glad to have her back up in the 8 pound range. We made a stop at the grocery store too, which ended up being a little too much activity for me, so when we returned home, I collapsed on the couch for a bit.
After church on Sunday, my mom, dad and grandmother came out to our house so that my grandmother could meet Piper. As visits go, it was a good one. My dad and grandmother headed back to Garland and my mom stayed at our house. We were very lucky to have her with us all this week.
On Monday, Piper had her first pediatrician appointment where we found that her weight was up even more to 8lbs 5oz and her bilirubin came back at 4.3! We were so excited to see her on the upward swing. After lunch and another run to WalMart, my mom and I returned home where I collapsed again. For the past few days I had been having some upper GI pain that I could only attribute to the pain meds I had been taking. I stopped everything on Monday and the issue has since resolved, thank goodness!
Tuesday and Wednesday, my mom and I were able to entertain ourselves with a few errands and lunch out. Not to mention all the feeds and pumping that goes on throughout the day.
Thursday, my mom and I took Caleb to a portrait studio to get his 3 year pictures made. Yes, I know it is July and his birthday is in March, but I didn't get his 2 year pictures done until this time last year, so I figured that they would be even. We were able to sneak Piper into a few pictures as well and we got a few really great pictures of the two of them.
My mom left to go home last night, so we've been on our own all day and things seem to be going well. I'm not quite as nervous and stressed out with Piper like I was with Caleb when he was a baby, so that helps things go a little more smooth during the day. However, I am really looking forward to the fact that this is the weekend and Jes will be home to help with the night feeds so I might get a little more rest at night.

She's Here!

Sorry for the lack of updates/pictures. I thought that I would have our computer at the hospital with me, but when it came to whether I wanted to keep it or not on Monday, I couldn't have cared less if I had it or not. So, home it went. Here are the pictures I promised. I have some from the actual surgery too, but I didn't want to gross you out and, as Jes put it, we don't want to be showing her "girl parts" to all of the web.


















Here's Piper Dorene Mathis. She was born at 12:46pm, weighed 8lbs 12.5oz and was20.5in long. She screamed and hollered like nothing else, that was great to hear, and would then prmptly hold her breath for what seemed like an eternity, not so great. She transitioned out of the holding of her breath thing and is breathing just fine now.

















My first time seeing Piper. The nurse put her right in my face, and being the old woman I am, I had to scoot my head back to actually see her. Sigh, I guess it's time for glasses!

















Our first picture of the 3 of us. I know look drunk, but no, I wasn't so lucky. I was shaking so bad at this point from the anesthesia and my teeth were chattering so much that this was the best smile I could form. Notice who Jes is looking at here. That hasn't changed. He is so in love, its so cute to watch. He even teared up one day when visiting because we had to send P back to the nursery for more time under the lights for her jaundice. So sweet!
















Caleb meeting Piper for the firt time with Mommaw. He wasn't too sure what to think then, but now he is just fascinated.

















Piper just hanging around. She looks so much like I did as a baby. Scary...



















Just chillin with Mama.

















Jes feeding Piper for the first time. It took a few days to get my milk to come in, but as soon as it did (and boy did it. They said I set some kind of record for most milk. Moo anyone?), I pumped to relieve the pressure and so Jes could feed her too.


















P hanging out in the bassinet. That hand is always out and by her face, even in all the sonogram pictures!

















Loving her paci already!

This was one of the pictures taken by the hospital photographer. We found out that she loves her tummy, so we were able to get a series of pictures like this. She just looks so content here.

Here's Caleb holding Piper for the first time. He had be asking to hold her for a few days, but this was the first that we were able to let him. He is so infatuated by his little sister and will check on her every few minutes and rub her head. He also loves to help do anything that involves taking care of her, especially feeding her. Lots of times that Jes is feeding her, Caleb will ask to help so Jes will let him "help" him hold the bottle. He has at times shown a little jealousy over all the attention she is getting, but we are being very careful to give him just as much.





















Caleb in his big brother shirt. He loves this shirt and will tell you that he's the best big brother ever and we have to agree!





















Waiting to go home. That blanket, by the way, was made by my cousin, Ashley. I posted a few weeks back about her business where she makes products like this. Everything that she has made for me is totally amazing and beautiful! Just perfect for our little angel.
















Going to the car. We were so excited to get out of the hospital, especially since we had to stay an extra day as Piper needed some time under the lights to help her get rid of her jaundice. We left the hospital on Friday around noon and headed for home. It was such a relief to pull into the garage and walk into the house!
By the way, please excuse any misspellings or space issues in this post. I'm too tired to proof right now and I did a majority of the typing one-handed while pumping.

Today is the Day!!!

I can hardly wait. I'm still not nervous yet, just ready for all the signs and symptoms of late pregnancy to go away. The hardest part is that I am having to abstain from food (not a problem, really) and drink until after the procedure is done. If you know me at all, you know that I am rarely seen without sometype of fluid with me, be it water or Gatorade or something. I am sitting here watching the news and I guess I never noticed all the commercials for drinks before. I'm actually kind of looking forward to that IV, just to get some fluids!
Thanks to all of you who are praying for us. Please keep the Dixon family, specifically their youngest son Hudson, in your prayers today too. He is having surgery this morning (or may have already at this hour) that could potentially be a hard recovery. He's 3 and blonde and precious and our family has fallen in love with his smile and amazing outlook on life.
Stay tuned and we'll post some pictures when we can get some time to get to the computer. It's coming with us to the hospital, but you guys that have had kids know that even though it might be right next to you, it doesn't guarantee that you'll even be able to look at it!

Conversations With Caleb

This was the conversation I heard this morning between Jes and Caleb while we were walking across the parking lot into church:

Caleb: We go to church!
Jes: Caleb, you have to hold my hand when we are in the parking lot.
Caleb: Why?
Jes: There are cars that will run you over.
Caleb: No Daddy, cars don't run, they drive!

It was all I could do to stop laughing after that exchange! Sometimes Caleb surprises me at how mature and grown up he is.

38 Week Visit

I got my marching orders today. The verdict is that Piper will be born around noon on Monday, therefore I will need to be at Labor and Delivery to check in at 10am. I can't eat or drink after midnight on Sunday. Not really a big deal except when you take into account that I get up at least once a night to take something for the terrible heartburn that has overtaken my life, even at 3am! I'll just have to load up on the Tums before I go to bed, sleep upright, and suffer through. Yipee.
We are still hoping that this process will start on its own so we don't have to wait until Monday, but for some reason I think she's just hanging on in there. At least it feels like it at times. We'll see what the weekend brings.
I go back to the hospital tomorrow to sign away my life (literally and figuratively) and to appease the vampires. If I learn anything new I'll update.

Caleb's Newest Trick

I have been noticing lately that when Caleb has a piece of paper or something else that has letters or numbers on it, he will trace them with his fingers. This has led me to start printing workpages off the internet (from some of my favorite homeschool sites) where he can trace the letters.
A few days ago, Jes and I were at the grocery store doing our monthly major shopping and Caleb was getting restless. I happen to have a spiral notebook and a pen with me, so I gave it to him so he could draw. He kept asking me to draw letters for him and then he would trace them with the pen. Eventually, he stopped asking me to do anything, took the pen and started writing the letters himself. Granted, what he was writing didn't look totally like what I had been writing, but he was getting the basic shapes down and was doing really well.
We will keep working with him on this and maybe he'll be able to read (he started this a long time ago) AND write before the end of summer!

37 Week Visit

I tried to post this yesterday but Blogger decided to eat it right up.

Anywho, yesterday was my 37 week visit to my dear ol' ob. Not a whole lot to report here, just a heartbeat check (found in record time) and discussion of the next visit. My 38 week visit will be my last before Piper comes. Gulp. I'm not nervous about the surgery, at least not yet. That will probably come the day of. However, I am nervous about the idea of having a 3 year old and a newborn all by myself and how I'm going to respond to the lack of sleep. I'm older this time around and while I am a little more conditioned to not sleeping, I still have attitude issues when I'm overly tired (note: I am 9.5 months pregnant, so I'm always tired right now!)

Things will be a little different this time around (hopefully) than they were with Caleb. Since Caleb was in the NICU even after I had left the hospital, my mom and Jes had taken as much time off as they could to shuttle me back and forth between home and the hospital. That meant that the day we got home and one other day, for Caleb's pediatrician visit, were the only days that I had someone here to help me. This time around, Jes is taking off the whole week I'm in the hospital and my mom will be here the whole week after that. Yea!

Next visit, I will fill out paperwork and get the particulars on the surgery, when I have to be there, etc. The very next day, Friday, I have to go back to the hospital to fill out more paperwork and give lots of blood. I will have to have more blood work done the day of because of the neurocardiogenic syncope syndrome, but I guess I just have to follow protocol.

Well, Caleb and I are off the Sam's and the later today I'm going to get a pedicure where they will hopefully find that pressure point to get things going. I'm going to be doing everything in my power to get this labor thing started, short of castor oil. Who would one do that to themselves anyway? I guess I'm just not quite desperate enough for that one! Well, not yet at least!

Have You Seen My Dog Lately?

I realized that I hadn't shared a picture of Jaq with his haircut, which is about 2 months old now. I think that we may have finally reached the point where he is calming down, however I can't tell if that's because he's older or because of the 217 degree temps that we've had lately.

Here

There are lots of things going on around the Mathis homefront.

This past Saturday, my mom and dad made the trek out to our house here in McKinney, or Oklahoma as they call it, to help us get things ready for Piper. Jes and my dad hung a new ceiling fan, put another rod up in the closet for all her clothes, put together the crib, chased Caleb around (he had some sort of a 24 hour GI bug and couldn't go with us), and did numerous other things around here that only the guys can do. My mom and I did a bunch of cleaning and picking up (something I haven't been able to do well lately), made a Target run, hung up so many clothes, and all the things that we normally do.

Sunday, we decided to go to Garland to be with my dad and grandfather for Father's Day. We left in plenty of time to get to their church, however there were many events that prevented that from occurring. We walked in the door of the church 10 minutes before the service was over. We had to laugh to not cry... It was just one of those mornings. We had a yummy lunch at my parent's house afterward where the boys were all able to grab a couple hour nap while us girls sat around talking, drinking coffee and eating brownies.

We are still working on the potty training with Caleb. He's doing pretty well as long as there is not a bunch of commotion or things going on in the house. That means he had more accidents than normal this weekend. He is very good at pooping in the potty and has not had an accident in that area, but the peeing is what he seems to forget about sometimes.

Last night, Jes came home from work talking about a business that we could start. We are looking into it and are going to get it set up to start working. It's in the aviation business, of course, but I can do a majority of the work (after I learn the lingo, abbreviations, and such) from home on our computer. We're pretty excited about the idea, so hopefully it all works as we have planned! We have lots of work to do to get things started, but with Jes's connections in the DFW area, we have lots of tricks up our sleeves.

My Daddy

The man that I call my Daddy is not the man listed on my birth certificate.
He is not the man that I received any of my DNA from.
He is however, the man who has most influenced my life.
He is the man who, to this day, I am convinced can fix anything, given enough time.
He is also the man who has been with me through every major, and minor, life event.
He is the man who I called tell him that I had accepted Jesus late at night in Colorado at camp.
He is the man who has sat and beamed with pride when I graduated from high school, college and then graduate school.
He is the man who still brags about his daughter and says if only he had more like me
He is the man who I sought approval from when I met Jes, convinced he would be my future husband, after only a week of knowing him.
He is the man that Jes drove 2 hours, on bald tires, in a torrential downpour, to see to ask his permission to marry me.
He is the man who walked me down the aisle and sat biting his fingernails while I was in surgery giving birth to Caleb.
He was also the man who held my hand while seeing Caleb in the NICU.
He is the man that my son calls Poppaw and idolizes and will do ANYTHING for.
He is not the donator of DNA to my make up and he wasn't there the day I was born, but he is my Daddy and I love him.

I Can't Imagine

For some time now, I have been reading the blog of Tricia and Nathan Lawreson (CF Husband in the list on the left). Just a couple of days ago, Nathan mentioned Haley Palmer, a little girl who has been fighting cystic fibrosis and waiting for her new lungs for transplant. She died yesterday. I believe she was 12, a soccer player and a 4.0 student in school. I just can't imagine. The link to her Caring Bridge Journal is below. Check it out and be encouraged by this strong and bright little girl who lived her short life so well.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/haleypalmer

36 Week Visit

Yesterday, I went to see the doctor for my 36 week visit. We didn't really have a lot to talk about, as I just saw him last week. He did, however, find Piper's heartbeat in record time, the first try! Usually he has to hunt around because she is just so active.

We talked a little more about what I need to be looking for as far as contractions and at what point I need to get to the hospital. I told him that I have been having contractions, but that they were not regular. He said that was pretty normal for a second timer, just to keep an eye on them.

When I was pregnant with Caleb, I had some pretty regular contractions in the early morning hours of the day he was born. I didn't, however, recognized that that was what was going on. This time around, when a contraction happens, I have to stop what I'm doing and can't talk. Ouch. Try that when you are driving...

After my appointment I drug myself (it was nearly 2pm at this point) up to A Mother's Gift which is the store in the hospital that sells all sorts of nursing gear, among other things. I was fitted for and purchased a couple of nursing bras, all the while trying to wrangle Caleb and keep him from peeking at the lady in the next dressing room who was doing the same as I.

The store is right next to the nursery and we just happened to see a new baby in the window. Caleb was pretty interested until he spotted a tv that was playing cartoons nearby. We are trying to expose him to babies all over the place as much as possible so that he gets the idea that babies sometimes cry and are sometimes happy. Who knows if our master plan is working. I guess we'll see soon enough!

All Clear

Yesterday, I took Caleb back to the ENT for his post-surgery check up. The doctor looked him over, gave him the exam and said that everything looked great.
The doctor had given us a new medication (nose spray) to give him in addition to his other meds to try to reduce the swelling in his nasal passageways due to swelling. We have just now been able to start this medication, even though we got the prescription the day of his surgery, because he has just started to tolerate the other nose spray he gets too.
Anyway, the long and short of it is that the ENT felt like he might still snore and have issues at night due to the swelling, but he hasn't and his allergies seem to be under control more now than ever. Could be the medication or the fact that we haven't been out much. Either way, we're not complaining!

Now We Can Officially Take Her Home!

I have been so complacent about getting things done with this pregnancy. We have known all this time that I needed to get a car seat for Piper so that when she arrived, they would actually let us leave the hospital with her.

Our last care seat was an Evenflo that was recalled for the handle flipping out of place when it wasn't supposed to and babies were getting hurt because they would go flying out. This happened to Caleb a couple of times, but each time one of us was right there to catch his little head before it hit something hard. We thought we were just not operating the seat correctly, until they recalled them in September (yep, if you did the math that's about 2 and a half years after they were made!).

Anyway, I just ordered this:

Pretty cute, right? Not too pink, but totally girly. I ordered it off babycenter.com where they are having free shipping on all Graco items when you spend $49 or more. They have also marked a bunch of items at 15% off, so that can save you quite a little bundle, especially on large items like car seats and strollers! So for all you expectant mommies (Courtney) out there, you should check it out!

Some Pictures, Finally!

I got my camera back from my mom on Saturday and wanted to go ahead and post some pictures from the last week's events now before I forgot.

Last Saturday was my baby shower and these are the ladies that gave it for me. Left to right, it is Barbara, myself (like you couldn't tell... the belly kind of gives me away), Angie and Tammy. The shower was at Tammy's house in Melissa and was just lovely! We had a great time and lots of friends and family were able to attend!

One of the biggest surprises was my Aunt Robin was able to come to the shower. I haven't seen my Aunt Robin since I got married, so when she walked in the door, it took me a minute. She brought her daughter Ashley along and she had made this box full of amazing baby things. They included burp rags, bibs, receiving blankets, a heavy blanket and a pillow. She has her own website for all the things that she makes at http://www.littlebirdboutique.com/. The things she makes are beautiful and amazingly crafted! You should all go check it out!

A few of the girls from my class this past semester came to the shower as well. One of them got my bow collection started with this cute fuzzy bow. It is the most adorable thing I've ever seen and even has a little crown in the middle with Piper's name on it. You'll see this on my child for a long time to come!

We got so many amazing things that there was no way I could post all the pictures and comment on all of them. These are just a few of them where I don't look like I'm having some kind of fit. You know how shower pictures are, no matter how careful the picture taker is, there are always about 80% of the pictures where the person has strange looks on their face!

Saturday, my oldest brother, Mitchell, got married. I, of course, didn't get a single picture of the bride and groom (I was too busy trying to fan myself so as not to bring on heatstroke. Were ya'll outside Saturday? It was miserable!!!), but the wedding was lovely and the reception was fun as well.

The picture here is Caleb eating some of the yummy food from the reception. This is before he lost it.

This would be after he lost it. Yes, that is my son under the table. We left shortly after taking this picture, but before we got any cake. :( I had been looking forward to that all day, but Jes looked at me about this time and said, "Is the cake important enough to put up with this?" I decided no, and off we went. Now, I just have to find a wedding reception to crash so I can get some cake!

So, Jes has been furiously working on Piper's room and I wanted to add a picture of his progress. I have helped a little, but this is mostly his handiwork! This is just showing the colors and the chair rail. It isn't a close up picture because it's not a perfect as Jes would like and we still have to cover the nail holes, but I think it's great for a first try. I'll put up another picture when we get all the other stuff put in, but this is what we were up to yesterday!

Let Me Just Brag On Our Big Boy!

We just got back from the grocery store. I had put Caleb in a pull-up, just in case, and fully expected either him to tell me he had to go to the potty or for the pull-up to be wet. He never said he had to go to the bathroom, but ran straight for the potty as soon as we got home. He went potty and his pull-up was totally dry! Caleb is doing so well so far and we are so proud of him I just had to brag a little bit!

35 Week Visit

Today was my 35 week visit to Dr. Robins. Before I saw my doctor, I had a sonogram, per my request. After all the drama we had during Caleb's birth, I wanted to have them check out Piper to see how things were going. Everything looked great and she is around 7 pounds 6 ounces, give or take a little.

We were able to get some cute views of her face and she looks nothing like Caleb did in his pictures. We'll just have to see what she looks like on the outside. Our doctor did, however, make a comment about her chubby cheeks, so I guess she did get that from her brother!

The sonographer did lots of measurements on Piper and our doctor told me that with every measurement, we got a perfect score. This sonogram was one that I requested just to calm my nerves and I feel pretty good about everything now. I guess our biggest problem is that we have not had a kiddo that hasn't had health issues and lots of medications from day one, so we just don't know how to deal with a healthy baby. I guess we'll learn!

The bad news from my visit is that my blood pressure and weight (retained fluid again) were up again. Same song, second verse. I guess this means that I'm back on the couch/bed as much as possible.

This past weekend was quite busy with our baby shower on Saturday (my mom ran off with my camera, so I'll post pictures when I get it back Saturday) and we don't have much on the schedule, so hopefully I'll be able to rest more before my next appointment Thursday.

A Better Day

Well, yesterday was a disaster. By this time yesterday, we had been through at least 5 pair of underwear, I had cleaned up numerous "accidents" from the carpet, and I was at my wits end, calling Jes in tears. Our only reprieve was the time that I forced him to lay down and take a nap, in a Pull-Up.

Jes had to work late because his boss was out of town and he had to do both jobs, but by the time he got home, I was done and threatening to give up. Both Jes and my mom suggested that I give up on putting Caleb on the big potty (with a seat) and let him use the little one we have.

I have to say that I am not a total germaphobe, but the idea of carrying around someone's excrement, even my own child's, was not a place I was willing to go. However, the idea of my son being in diapers when this baby comes is not something I wanted to do either. I decided to give it a try.

So, this morning we got up, I went directly to our bathroom and grabbed the little potty and set it up in the living room (on a towel that is on a trash bag, by the way) and set Caleb on it. He sat there for about an hour watching Dora, just hanging out. I was sure that he hadn't done anything, but he jumped up after a little while and started pointing at the potty. I looked in and he had used it!

The long and short of it is that this morning we have not had a single accident, he has taken himself to the potty (even number 2), and is doing so much better than yesterday. It still grosses me out to carry his "product" from one room to another, and I had to call my mom to find out what to do when he pooped, but it's still better than cleaning the carpet every 10 minutes! Let's hope this holds out!

Please Pray for Our Carpets...

Tomorrow is the day. When we get up in the morning, Caleb will be in big boy underwear. I'm afraid of the mess and the whining that will ensue, but this is it. I would really like to have him close to or at least a majority of the way toward being potty trained before Piper gets here. We have literally been working on this since last summer and we are at our wits end. Everything has been tried in our house, except just putting him underwear. I'll try to update as I can about our progress, but I have a feeling that I'll be up to my elbows in, well, you know.

Funny...

Updates: Baby Piper (34 Weeks), Grandparents, and Caleb

Today I went back to the doctor for my 34 week visit. Caleb had to go with me and I was a little concerned about how he was going to act, but silly me, I forgot that my strange little boy LOVES going to the doctor. It doesn't matter that he wasn't being seen, he still kept asking when the doctor was coming. Anyway, I took deep cleansing breaths all morning, had a little decaf Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks and my blood pressure was down! I also lost a little weight (fluid) too, so the doctor was happy with everything. He said he can tell that I've been taking it easy the past 2 weeks and that I just need to continue doing what I have been doing. I go back next week. We are on the downhill slide and he is starting to give me the "if you go into labor or you water breaks call me and get right to the hospital" speech each time.

I talked with my mom this morning and it looks like my grandfather will be released from the hospital today. The theory is that a new medication that he recently started caused his sodium levels to drop, which caused all his symptoms. Needless to say, they are going to switch that medication to something else that will hopefully do the trick. My grandmother is going to released today to, or so we have heard. You know how those transfers from hospitals go sometimes... Anyway, my mom and dad were able to secure her a spot back in the nursing facility that she was in before all this mess started, thanks to the help and persistance of a couple of great doctors, a social worker and a chaplain.

Caleb is doing relatively well too. Yesterday he started complaining of his ears hurting, which we were told would happen around day 5 to 7. Yesterday was day 6, so right on schedule. He is quite moody from time to time and the only thing we can attribute that to is that he is in pain. As soon as he gets some pain medication (we're down to Motrin at this point instead of the narcotic) and it kicks in, he's usually pretty ok. The hardest part is night time. Caleb wakes up 2-4 times per night, not crying but whimpering. It's pretty pitiful, but we really don't know what to do. We try to give him medication when he needs it, but at night he really needs to be knocked out to get enough rest. There's really nothing that will do that. If this keeps up, we'll be calling the doctor to get some suggestions!

PB&J

Yesterday morning Caleb started asking me for a sandwich. I didn't want to give him the traditional lunchmeat/cheese combo due to the fact that it was 9:30 in the morning. So, I decided to give him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, his first. This might not seem like a big deal to most people, but with Caleb's asthma and allergies and everything else he has had issues with, his pulmonologist told us to put off the peanut butter until at least age 3. We have been so used to excluding all products with nuts in it that I think we could have put off the introduction of peanuts and all the peanut products for many more years, but a couple of weeks ago Caleb found a bag of peanut butter M&M's that were on the kitchen counter and ate some. We found out that afternoon that he is not allergic and have been slowly incorporating the food into his diet. He seems to really like it and loved the sandwich yesterday!

I Hope Your Last 6 Days Have Been Better Than Ours.

So here's how our last 6 days or so have shaped up.

Wednesday: Caleb's surgery. Not the best day due to all the stress and lack of sleep. Although Caleb did remarkably well, we were all quite concerned because of his asthma and all the risks that anesthesia and intubation pose with that particular condition.

Here's Caleb about 1 hour or so after surgery. He was still a little loopy, but looking pretty good.


Thursday: Exhaustion was what ruled the day on Thursday. When we were finally released from the hospital, Caleb and I drug ourselves to the store to pick up a few things and get his medications. We got home and literally collapsed. What ensued was a 6 hour nap for Caleb and a 4 hour nap for me.

















If you look closely here you can see the dark circles under Caleb's eyes. We had only had a few hours of sleep the whole 2 days we were in the hospital. This picture was taken shortly before we left with his new puppy that his Mommaw (my mom) gave him.

Friday: This was by far the worst day so far after Caleb's surgery. He had the most pain on Friday and I spent most of the day going back and forth between him and the kitchen to help to alleviate some of his symptoms between medication doses. As you can see, there was not a sign of bed rest for me those days. I'm sure I'll hear about it when I go back to the doctor Wednesday.


Friday was also the culmination of some family drama for us. My grandmother (the one who had the stroke back in September) has been in a skilled nursing facility since being released from the hospital in October. My grandfather decided about a month ago that he wanted to bring her home and take care of her himself. Friday was the day he picked for her to come home.


Saturday: I received a phone call Saturday morning that my grandmother (the one who came home the afternoon before) had been transported to the hospital after the home health nurse came to their home to check on her. Less than 24 hours home and the nurse took one look at her and said that it wasn't going to work. She was also nursing a terrible bladder infection and needed treatment.


Sunday: Jes went to church and Caleb and I stayed home (he couldn't go to the nursery quite yet). During the time that Jes was gone I got another phone call telling me that my grandfather had been admitted to the hospital. That's right, both of them, in the same hospital, at the same time. We headed out to Garland immediately, of course, to see both of them. When we left around 6pm, there was still no diagnosis as to what was exactly wrong with my grandfather. Needless to say, my mom and dad are pretty exhausted and have been running back and forth for days now.


Monday: The phone hasn't rung all day, thank goodness, and Jes is working on Piper's room as we speak. I'm hoping that my parents will get a little rest today and that the mess with my grandmother will get worked out. There has been some issue with getting her back into the nursing facility (again she wasn't gone for more than 24 hours), but hopefully that will be resolved today.

Look At What My Husband Bought Me

Evidently, our little Volkswagen was no longer reliable, in Jes's mind, so he bought me a new car! We got a really great deal, but I still got a little misty when they drove off in my Passat. I loved that car, but it was on its last leg (again according to Jes) and we did need more room. This is the Kia Sportage and it has more than enough room for our little family of soon to be 4. I especially love the cargo space in the back. There is enough room for our double stroller and still be able to put groceries or shopping bags in the back too.

Any Idea...

...what it's like to be trapped in a hospital room with a 3 year old boy, full of energy, feeling just fine, wanting to go home, bored out of his mind, after the doctor comes by and tells you that you can go home 2 hours earlier waiting for a nurse who can't get herself together enough to hand you your papers? I'm just saying...

Caleb

Caleb is out of surgery and is now watching Super Why and drinking apple juice. His surgery went well and they were able to remove all his tonsils and all his adenoids. He had a little trouble waking up with his oxygen level staying in the range they wanted it, but they were able to give him a little nebulized medication and get him over that hump.

Dr. McDuffie told us that his nasal passage ways are very small (something we have known since birth) and that he saw an area at the back of his passage ways that were quite swollen. He said this is common in people who have pretty severe allergies. If you've been around Caleb for any period of time, you know that this is an issue we have battled for the last 3 years with him. We are going to try to add another allergy med and see if that helps. If not, we progress on to allergy testing and shots. Either way, we are just glad that this surgery is over and that he did well. I have to say the 40 minutes he was away from us was the longest 40 minutes we have experienced in a long time!

Thanks for all of you for praying for us and for Caleb.

Wednesday Is the Day **Updated**

We are on the board for 7:10 tomorrow morning. That means we have to BE there at 5:45. AM. EEK!

Well, we scheduled Caleb's surgery. It will we Wednesday. I'm not sure of the time yet, but we preregistered this morning over the phone and I go sign all the papers on Tuesday after I drop the boys off at school. Caleb will have to stay over night, so it will be long day/night, but we know that he needs this surgery and will be so much better afterward but it still worries us a little.

Oh No

Today I went to see my Ob for my 32 week check. Like normal, I went potty in a cup and then had my blood pressure checked. It was a little high for me and the nurse said that she wanted to check my urine for protein right then. The girl that was training that day placed me in a room while the nurse did her tests and I waited to see the doctor. When he came in he commented on my higher pressure and said he was no happy with it and that we would have to check it again. Before we did the recheck, though, he measured me and went searching for Piper's heart beat. She was breech (head up), so it made it a little more difficult to find as he was looking for her to be head down. He found it, made me lie down, and wait for the nurse to come in and recheck my pressure. It was within normal range when she checked it which was a relief, but it showed that as long as I was lying down it was good. My doctor then said the words I'd been dreading, bed rest. He didn't put me on traditional bed rest, however he did tell me that I needed to clear my schedule, slow down and stay home on the couch/bed when I am home. I'm not completely confined to the house (that would be torture for me) but I have to choose to be home and on the couch more than not. Right before I left the office, Dr. Robins looked at me and said, "do you have any help at home with your son?" I said, "no", and he said, "you might think about finding some because if your pressure is higher next time, you might need it." My only thought was Oh No!

ENT Visit Today

Today, Caleb went to see a new ENT, Dr. McDuffie, in Frisco, just up the road from our house. This visit came because our nurse practitioner saw him last Monday and noticed that his tonsils were really big. Dr. McDuffie said that they are still quite large and based on the fact that he does have variable apnea and snores while sleeping, we will be having his tonsils and his adenoids out. I have known for quite a long time that Caleb needed this done, but we had to wait until he was of age and we found a good ENT. We don't know when we will have the surgery, but it will need to be soon as he will need to spend the night and someone will need to be with him while he is in the hospital. That someone will be me as I know that Jes would not be comfortable doing that by himself (he's very capable, by the way, but has always deferred to me when it comes to anything medical or health related). Anyway, the long and short of it is that we have to have this done before I have this baby, so hopefully before the end of the month.
This is not the first time by any means that Caleb has undergone anesthesia, however we are all a little nervous about him having this procedure. We know, however, that he needs this badly and will do very well!

My Mama

In honor of Mother's Day, I thought I would post on some of the things that you may (or may not) know about my Mama and me.
1. We look so much alike that people she has worked with for years have walked right up to me and started talking to me actually thinking I'm her.
2. She had me very young, therefore we have practically grown up together. I have gotten used to people assuming that we are sisters, however it used to really offend me.
3. My Mama used to have hair the color of a new penny but lost the color when she was pregnant with me. Now it is an auburn color, something I have always wished to have.
4. She absolutely hates sweet potatoes but she still makes them for me and my Daddy every holiday season. I have actually seen her gag while doing this, but she still does it!
5. You will never find an empty glass sitting around her house for more than a moment or two. I have actually put one down, turned around to get something to put in it, and turned back around and saw her putting it in the dishwasher. I have found myself doing this too, so I guess she has passed that one on!
6. When I was a senior in high school she gave up a job that made her quite a bit of money to take a job where she could be home more with my Daddy and I so that she wouldn't miss so much of our lives.
7. She will tell you that she's not a good grandmother, but Caleb thinks she's the best thing walking and actually prefers her over anyone else. He loves on her like nothing else. It's very sweet to see.
8. I think she's the best Mama a girl can have! Happy Mother's Day Mama! I love you!

A Longer Tribute

I had just returned from the funeral today for my cousin and saw this new tribute to him on the 5 o'clock news. I wanted to share and save the link for posterity.

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa080509_jh_soldier.e4dc9b45.html

Sad News

Earlier this week my mom emailed me to tell me that my cousin, Clay, was killed in Iraq. While we weren't close by any stretch of the imagination, he is still family and it was very sad and shocking news. My grandmother has always kept me up to date with what was going on with Clay and his family. Clay is the son on Deborah, the daughter of my grandmother's sister who was killed in a tragic and strange house fire 20 some odd years ago. Clay was married with a nearly 1 and a half year old daughter. I have included some links to a blog who pays tribute to the fallen soldiers and the link to the news story from channel 11 last night. The last link has pictures of Clay and the video that shows his precious daughter and wife.

http://goodsoldiers.blogspot.com/2008/05/fallen-heroes-clay-craig.html

http://cbs11tv.com/local/Clay.Craig.mesquite.2.713269.html

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa080501_jh_mesquitesoldier.bb80ea51.html