Greg, Amelia & Gwyneth

Seriously delicious dessert

2012-01-30T19:57:00.003-06:00

Thai food is one of my favorites. A few years ago Greg and I were enjoying some authentic Thai cuisine in an itty bitty restaurant in the North Park area of San Diego when I felt the need for dessert. We went with a wild suggestion from the waiter and ordered the "Mango Sticky Rice"...o...m...g.

Who would have thought rice could be so heavenly? I like mangoes as much as anyone else, but I never would have thought to order a "rice" dish for dessert.

Anyway, over the weekend I was browsing Pinterest on my phone, like the crazy obsessed person I have become, and lo and behold a recipe for Mango Sticky Rice. To my pure delight it was a super simple recipe, 4 ingredients, 20 mintues, Thank you Pinterest!!!

To keep with my Asian theme I made this chicken and shrimp dumpling soup for dinner. It was a restaurant quality recipe for sure if not better! Both recipes are here.

Yogurt Cakes and Play Dates

2012-01-20T10:18:00.006-06:00

Last Saturday Gwyn and I got together with all our mommy and baby friends for our monthly play date. We always look forward to this event. The babies change so much every month and they are all starting to interact with each other so much more now. This event is held breakfast potluck style and I decided to try out my new Strawberry Yogurt Cake recipe. I am happy to report it was a big hit!

The recipe was a little labor intensive (by my standards). Things like creaming butter and sugar, sifting flour, and zesting lemons are somewhat time consuming and did't sit well with my antsy little munchkin who is having serious separation anxiety these days! I also made a blueberry version during the week for Greg who didn't get to enjoy the strawberry cake before it got whisked away to the play group.

In my opinion, the strawberry cake was better and I'm pretty sure it had something to do with the recipe calling for butter instead of oil which was used in the blueberry cake. I ended up having to bake both cakes significantly longer (an additional 10-15 minutes) than what was suggested in the original recipes. These probably won't be go to recipes for me but I will keep them around on my pinboard for special events.

In other news Gywn started crawling this week! Woohoo! So proud of my little lady! She began with a few shakey "steps" on Saturday and has quickly built up her speed. She will now chase after me if I attempt to leave the room even for a quick bathroom break! Along with the crawling has come pulling up and standing. So after waiting until the very last minute, we finally baby proofed the house...how about that for procrastination! If any of my mommy friends have helpful tips for dealing with separation anxiety I would love to hear them.

Lazy cook finds success

2012-01-13T13:53:00.009-06:00

I love easy recipes. Pinterest has been a great tool for finding new recipes but some of my finds have been better than others. The pasta below is last night's dinner and will be going on my new "Success" board see it here .

I experiment with Pinterest recipes at least once a week and have decided to share my success stories with useful commentary here in blog land. Maybe a fellow busy mom will appreciate my recipe CliffsNotes and avoid having to make 5 different versions of Pinterest's "best chicken enchiladas".

I will not be creating a "Failure" board, who likes to dwell on a recipe gone wrong. Failed recipes will mysteriously disappear from my "Eat" board...nuff said.

Pesto pasta with chicken sausage and roasted brussel sprouts

The gist:

This meal is easy. Which means I can make it in 20 minutes or less, the ingredients are readily available (no crazy scavenger hunt at the grocery store) and kept to a minimum (less than 10 ingredients). It is also delicious and incorporates brussel sprouts (one of my favorite veggies).

I substituted trottole, a lovely curly pasta, for the orecchiette that was recommended in the original recipe. This recipe could easily feed 4 people, I had left overs that reheated beautifully for lunch. I will be making this again.

If you are not on Pinterest (you should be) and can not see my "Success" board, you can still find the original recipe here.

Last week I made this...

...in a crockpot. It was divine, and insanely simple. I will never go back to Olive Garden for soup ever again.

Not so little anymore

2012-01-12T13:04:00.004-06:00

Something about Gwyn's new top teeth make her seem so much older all of the sudden. My baby is looking more and more like a kid and I'm not sure how I feel about that! Today we had Gwyn's 9 months appointment with the pediatrician. She has grown longer and leaner. I am so thankful to have a happy healthy little girl that is growing right on track but a part of me wishes she would stay little forever.

How did this happen so quickly? The holidays are over and soon I'll be planning her 1st birthday, it just doesn't seem possible.

At nine months Gwyn is enjoying food. She loves to feed herself. She is still the happiest smiley-ist baby I've ever met. She loves the camera and doesn't hesitate to flash her big smile whenever I pull it out. She is on the move but not in the conventional "crawling" sort of way. Gwyn uses lots of maneuvers to get around the house...scooting, rocking, lunging/face planting and rolling to her destination of choice. Around 8 months she mastered maneuvering herself into a sitting position and loves to hang out on the floor with a good pile of toys or lunge after her zhuzhu pet (battery operated hamster).

At 6.5 months she sprouted her 2 bottom central teeth and just this week the 2 top centrals have cut through. I'm telling you there is something about those top teeth that make her look so much older and wiser! Her hair is coming in slow and steady and is still a sandy blonde color with a touch of red. We are now completely certain that those baby blue eyes are here to stay.

Gwyn is a very talkative little girl and loves to babble "mama" and "dada" all day long. She is also extremely ticklish and has a hearty yet girly laugh that is very contagious. We just can not get enough of this sweet girl. I can honestly say I cherish every moment and love being a mother more than any other job in the world!

Three Christmases

2012-01-03T20:58:00.009-06:00

One of the best parts of being a parents is getting to enjoy the holidays via your kid! Christmas was such a joy this year. Watching Gwyn play with wrapping paper and boxes (and the occasional toy) was more fun than I ever could have imagined!

Out little family celebrated Christmas in Naperville, Mesa, and Tucson this year. This 2 week extravaganza included so many fun events: a 1st birthday for our new nephew Cole, a trip to the Tucson Zoo, a reunion lunch at Rosa's with my favorite girlfriends, a new Polheber Family portrait, a spa day at the Camelback Inn, a picnic at the Farm at South Mountain, a surprise invite to be a bridesmaid in my oldest friend Colleen's wedding <3, and probably one too many burritos from Filibertos/Nicos/LosBetos...yes, we made all 3 stops...I know, but the Midwest has no idea how to make a burrito.

Gwyn thoroughly enjoyed playing with all her new cousins! She has lots of new playmates on both sides of the family (ages 8mo, 10mo, 10mo, 12 mo) and watching all the kiddos interact was pure entertainment. I literally took hundreds of pictures with my new fancy camera (thank you hubby) that now need sorting. So many precious moments captured!

We were thrilled to share Gwyn's first Christmas with all our family and friends. Gwyn received so many lovely gifts that we filled our extra suitcase and still ended up shipping 2 large boxes with FedEx! Holy cow!

We are so fortunate to have such generous and loving friends and family. Thank you all for making this first Christmas so special!

Another Saturday Breakfast

2011-12-06T13:27:00.003-06:00

This was so easy and super delicious that I had to share. Of course, I found this recipe on Pinterest, the are called Bacon, Egg, and Toast Cups. It is a Martha Stewart recipe that you can find here. Let me tell you these are ridiculously simple to make.

Originally, I thought I'd use this recipe for guests because you can make a large quantity (just prepare a few muffin tins) and serve a warm traditional breakfast to everyone at the same time. No worrying about cold eggs, toast, or bacon. It is all ready at once and comes in a nice little package. But Greg enjoyed these so much that I might just have to make them for the two of us every now and again.

Enjoy!

Oh my heavenly pancakes

2011-11-15T13:38:00.004-06:00

I was never a big fan of breakfast...until I got pregnant. Weird right? Most women can't keep their breakfast down and I just couldn't get enough. During my pregnancy I developed a strange addiction to pancakes that decided to stick with me.

I. love. pancakes.

Since pinterest has taken over my life...and my kitchen. I knew this recipe would be number one priority for my Saturday morning. Lemon Poppy Seed pancakes with macerated strawberries, yes please. This recipe doesn't disappoint!

Lets have a close up, shall we...yum.

And my two favorite people to spend Saturday morning with.

I am a lucky lady!

The Nap Saga Continues

2011-11-04T14:50:00.004-05:00

We are making progress. Gwyneth is much more inclined to go down for nap after a couple weeks of using the Ferber method. We have our little nap routine and aim for the same nap times (roughly) in the morning and afternoon.

Our pre-nap screaming is down to a minimum. Most days Gwyn makes some fussy noises as I put her into the crib but then she goes right to sleep! Genius!

Well almost...we have a new hurdle. Gwyn has become a cat napper. She sleeps for 5, 15, maybe 30 minutes and then her little eyes fly open and she is ready to get up!

Ferber says that you are supposed to leave the child in the crib for a full hour. Maybe I should follow the rules and let her hang out in the crib if she wakes up? This will undoubtedly lead to more crying...sigh...any thoughts for me??

Naps

2011-10-21T14:02:00.002-05:00

Oh how we struggle with naps everyday. Sometimes I feel like getting Gwyn down for a nap is my one and only job. It is certainly first priority on our agenda each day because a tired baby is not a happy baby.

Gwyn's "tired signs" are perfectly clear. She is a yawner. If Mama happens to miss a yawn, she will not hesitate to remind me that she is losing steam fast by rubbing her eyes furiously. I try to pay close attention to her signals to get her down in a timely fashion but it doesn't seem to make a bit of difference.

Gwyn wakes at approximately 7:30am each morning. If her wake time is off I still aim for the morning nap 1-1.5 hours after she gets up (because she is already exhausted by then). This usually puts our morning nap at 9am. I have tried to play with this time...a little earlier...a little later...nada. She does not want to go to sleep. She will cry and cry and cry. I usually continue my attempt for 1 hour. Then I bring her back down stairs where she jumps deliriously in her Jumperoo (smiling and yawning between bounces) or she fights with all her might to keep her head up while playing on her play mat (if her head rests on the floor for more than 5 seconds she promptly lifts it right back up with restored determination and vigor!) I am usually exhausted just watching her.

So I hold out hope for an afternoon nap. Usually I start attempting this one at noon. Basically, to avoid sounding redundant, this is a repeat of the morning.

Then, to my great dismay, she usually falls asleep in the middle of a meal (while nursing) around 1:30-2. When this happens I attempt to separate myself from her...not easy, and put her down to sleep. This is successful maybe 50% of the time. Today is one of those lucky days, but who am I kidding, this is not working!

Tomorrow we are going to try Ferber for naps. I used Ferber for bedtime and Gwyn goes straight to sleep every night within minutes after eating. I will report back in one week...cross your fingers, say a prayer, do a dance...we need all the help we can get!

Flying Solo

2011-10-04T14:54:00.004-05:00

This week my traveling husband (Greg never travels) is spending a week in Dubai. Greg has been working on a large oil and gas project in the middle east for the last 3 years. Fortunately, he has been able to complete 99% of the project from the comfort of his office here in Illinois. His company has made several attempts at sending him to the job site however, things like pregnancy complications and the birth of our daughter have worked to keep him close to home. So finally the time came for him to make the 14 hour flight around the world to see (in person) all the hard work he has contributed.

I can not tell you how much perspective I have gained being a single parent for the last several days. Of course no one would doubt the job of raising a child alone would be an incredible challenge. And please let me add that Gwyn is an amazing baby. She is happy nearly all the time and a relatively easy going kid. But come six o'clock, when her daddy comes through the door, Gwyn is the happiest baby on the block (and mama gets a much needed breather or sometimes just a bathroom break).

On top of allowing me a break, Greg is always pitching in around the house. Whether it is feeding the pups, taking out the trash, or just checking all the locks on the doors before bed...he is always helping me, and listening, and talking, and making me laugh.

He is my partner in crime, the love of my life, and the best father to our daughter that I could ever ask for. Saying that I miss him is a complete understatement. Thank goodness he'll be home in a couple of days :)

Apples and Doughnuts

2011-09-15T11:42:00.007-05:00

I have been counting down the days until apple picking season. I love this time of year in Chicago. The air is cool and crisp but the days are still sunny and warm. Last weekend we visited an apple orchard and were able to pick Courtland and Gala apples. I made baby food with the sweet Gala apples and I plan on making my first attempt at apple pie with the Courtlands this weekend. Gwyn brought her buddy Julianna and we all had a great time.

The apples were good but the highlight of the trip was actually the apple cider doughnuts that are made fresh at the orchard shop. These doughnuts are legendary and I have to admit they might have been my underlying motivation for the apple picking excursion.

The doughnuts are apple spice flavored and covered in cinnamon and sugar. They are warm, soft, and fall apart while you eat them. They remind me of an apple spice flavored churro only much softer and even more delicious. Needless to say, we will be ordering a dozen when we return for pumpkin picking next month.

YUM!

My little fish

2011-08-29T15:43:00.002-05:00

Gwyneth LOVES her bath time.

This girl has no fear of the water.

She loves to splash and splash.

This is my favorite time of the day.

Change is...

2011-08-07T11:32:00.008-05:00

...good, I hope!

Going back to work, ugh. When deciding to go back to work it was never a question of if I would go back, but when would be the best time. In order to stay current as a nurse practitioner, I knew taking more than 6 months off would make my return very difficult. The saying, "if you don't use it you lose it" definitely applies to my profession.

When I landed myself in the hospital a month before Gwyn was born, I had to involuntarily resign from my position at the Community Health Clinic. Sadly, they just don't grant medical leave to people who go MIA more than 3 months. This was unfortunate because I really enjoyed my job and working with an under served population. But clearly, Gwyn's safe arrival was the number one priority.

Not having a job to return to, I've had the luxury of being home with Gwyn for longer than the standard 12 weeks (which is not enough maternity leave for anyone in my opinion!!). I've also had the opportunity to search for a new job with a part time/baby friendly schedule. Lucky for me, I might have found exactly that!

New Job:

part time-check

2.5 miles from my house-amazing

4 hour shift-unreal

urgent care-hmmm...

For the last 2 years I've been working in primary care. Urgent care is a far cry from stuffy noses and cholesterol checks. My family practice background will be helpful but I'm going to have to sharpen up some skills that I haven't used in a while. For example, suturing, not something I've done since I was an intern. There just hasn't been a need for it. I'll be learning a lot of new skills too. It is all a bit intimidating, but overall I think it will help me add more tools to my tool box and that is never a bad thing!

I'll be starting the new job in September. We've found a lovely woman who has been running a small home daycare here in Naperville for the last 12 years. She will be watching Gwyn for 4 hours in the afternoon. I know this is going to be a really big change but I'm thrilled to still have my mornings free for play groups and library activities. I'm sure Gwyn will adapt just fine, hopefully I will too!

A night on the town!

2011-07-29T14:13:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to my Honey....6 days ago! Whoops! Where did the time go??? That's alright, I know Greg will forgive me. This year for Greg's Birthday I planned a special surprise, a date! That's right our first date since Gwyn was born. Actually our first date since I was admitted to the hospital so technically we haven't had a night out in approximately 5 long months!

I was worried about leaving Gwyn with a sitter, but my awesome girlfriend Meghan volunteered to watch our sweet girl and I knew she would be in good hands. I decided to take Greg out to dinner and a movie. We have these great theaters in and around Chicago that serve dinner in the movie theater, perfect for busy parents in a time crunch. So I got us tickets to see Friends with Benefits...hil-arious! A little ronchie to be honest, but fabulously entertaining.

As the movie previews started I found myself more worried about my dear friend Meghan than I was about Gwyneth. I suddenly realized that our daughter is not the easiest to put down for bed and I started to wonder if poor Meghan was in for an evening of screaming. The movie had not even begun and I was already texting the sitter...so cliche. Twenty minutes passed and no word from Meghan. Now I really started to get worried. Greg told me to relax so I put my phone away but continued to check it every minute without being overtly obvious.

Finally news from Meghan. Gwyneth finished her bottle and was fast asleep....woohoo! I could finally relax. It was such an enjoyable night. I know it wasn't my birthday but I may have had more fun than Greg :)

More Grandparents!

2011-07-22T13:52:00.010-05:00

The last of the grandparents, including the GREAT grandparents, came to visit Gwyneth a couple weeks ago. We attended an outdoor concert in our central park, ate lots of delicious food, and spent a majority of the time staring at our little sweetie...who is getting quite big :)

Gwyn is a whopping 13 lbs now. She loves her play gym, bumbo seat, and staring at the fan. She has also become very talkative lately. When her daddy comes home from work she laughs and coos and smiles at him. Daddy is already wrapped around her little finger! She is one happy baby and we are very lucky parents!

3 months!

2011-07-08T14:22:00.004-05:00

Time is flying by and we are having more fun everyday!

Gwyneth hanging out with the boys at play group.

Gwyn and her buddy Juliana :)

Happy 3 months to my sweet baby girl!

Gwyn Sits!!

2011-07-04T11:12:00.003-05:00

Happy 4th of July!

Busy Busy

2011-07-01T14:49:00.006-05:00

Our sweet baby is 2, almost 3 months old! Gwyneth is such a happy baby. She is giving us lots of smiles these days and gaining more and more control of her head/neck. She is still up approximately every 3 hours at night but when she wakes up she promptly "gets down to business" (eating) and is happy to go back to sleep. During the day we are still struggling with routine. She does better when we get out of the house, so I've been planning more activities during the day.

I rejoined the gym...hooray!!! The YMCA has a very nice center for kids/babies and they have been looking after Gwyn for roughly 30 minutes while I do a little cardio. Handing over my baby, even for a half an hour, has been incredibly difficult. I go to the Y in the mornings and Gwyn naps through the whole event but it is still really hard for me. I figure it is good preparation for the day I go back to work and have to leave her for hours at a time, pretty sure that will be torture.

We joined a Mom and Baby group. Our hospital puts on a great group one day a week for new moms and babies 0-6 months and it has been an awesome resource. I wasn't really sure what to expect but the group is huge 25+ moms. They do a short educational talk (different topic each week) and then let all the babies socialize. We've met a lot of nice people so far!

Lastly, our library does a Baby Play Date every other week. They sing songs, read short books, and finish up by allowing parents and babies to socialize. Gwyn loves the music! She is also starting to become very fascinated with other babies, it is really cute to watch them all interact.

On the days when there isn't an activity scheduled we like to take a leisure walk in the baby bjorn...puts Gwyn to sleep every time!

The blog has been a bit neglected but as you can see, we've been busy! Now for some 2 month pictures.

Look familiar? These are the bonnet and booties I made in the hospital...they are just now fitting!

Gwyneth loves her bath time.

So in love with this little girl!!!

Belated Anniversary

2011-06-07T13:59:00.005-05:00

Our 2nd wedding anniversary was on May 23rd. I feel terrible not to have properly documented this anniversary but life with an infant is a little chaotic. I was describing our anniversary "celebration" to someone and was encouraged to write down our experience because they thought it would be a funny memory to reflect on.

Sorry in advance that there are not any pictures...I'm sure you will understand. I woke up on the morning of our anniversary not feeling quite right. I didn't get a lot of sleep because Gwyneth had been up every hour wanting to eat. Already, I was off to a cranky start. Greg had spent the night in the guest room trying to get some sleep because he had a big meeting that day. He woke up all fresh and rested. I was admittedly a little resentful of his long uninterrupted snooze fest but gave him my best "Happy Anniversary!"

As the day progressed I began to feel worse. I knew I was sleep deprived but this was something more. Greg called that afternoon to announce he would be bringing home a fancy dinner. I was relieved that there would be no cooking in my kitchen that evening!

I heard Greg walk in the door just as I had finally put all my symptoms together. Gwyneth was starting to fuss, it was almost 7 o'clock and time for her nightly meltdown. I fed Gwyn and then headed down stairs to greet Greg, he had a lovely dinner set up in the dining room with flowers.

I felt terrible. "I have to go to the doctor," I told him. I knew why I felt so bad...I had a terrible UTI. I handed over the fussy baby and ran for my car keys. I spent the evening in after hours care and poor Greg ate the fancy dinner alone bouncing Gwyn with one arm.

The following night we had a proper celebration and watched our wedding video. Life is certainly different with a baby, but I wouldn't change a thing :)

Grandpa & Gwyn

2011-05-24T13:29:00.004-05:00

This past week Greg was in Houston for a training course put on by his company. The idea of taking care of Gwyn 24/7 without Greg seemed like a daunting task for me. We knew there would be lots of family members excited to meet Gwyn so I asked for a volunteer to come stay with us while Greg was away.

Gwyneth is the first grandchild for my parents. My father has been anticipating the arrival of his grand daughter since we announced we were expecting (maybe even before!!). Needless to say, he and his wife happily volunteered to keep us company.

On day one of their visit, my dad could not contain his excitement and ran out to purchase this giant bear for Gwyn. I had a large brown bear when I was growing up and I loved it. I'm sure Gwyn will love her bear too when she is a little bigger. In the meantime, I'm not sure where we are supposed to keep Mr. Bear!!

This is one happy Grandpa!

Thank you Dad and Goli for giving me an extra hand this past week!

5 weeks and Full Term

2011-05-13T15:17:00.006-05:00

Our baby is getting so big! She is weighing just over 7lbs, average newborn size, just in time for her original due date which was yesterday!! She is still "tiny" for a 5 week old baby but with every visit to the pediatrician she moves up a percentile or two so we will get there eventually.

I had a lovely first Mother's Day. It was the first beautiful "spring" day that we've had here in Chicago so Greg made breakfast and we ate out on the deck. All our flowers and trees were in full bloom and it was perfect. Greg surprised me with a gift card for a massage and even took the liberty of booking me an appointment that afternoon! It was just what I needed.

Thank you for the helpful hints and suggestions for Gwyn's fussiness...I am willing to try anything! We did start medication for gas, I tried the Mylicon drops alone for several days and they do seem to help some. But, Gwyn is still very fussy when she eats.

Next, I went for a lactation consult to evaluate my milk supply and determine if I should be using a different technique (such as the block nursing). Lactation did not feel that Gwyn was being overloaded with too much milk but the consultant did witness this little lady having a full blown fit during our appointment. We are nursing one side at a time just to make sure Gwyn is getting sufficient hindmilk and were told to make an appointment with the pediatrician because the fussiness could be due to reflux.

The pediatrician agreed that alot of Gwyn's symptoms were reminiscent of reflux so we started baby Zantac a few days ago. We use the Zantac three times a day and the Mylicon drops in between. It can take a couple weeks for the Zantac to start helping so we will keep this up and cross our fingers!

To update on our sleep siutation...it's about the same. Because of the reflux Gwyn is sleeping upright in her swing or bouncy seat. She has been sleeping in our room since we brought her home. Last night I moved Gwyn's swing into her bedroom (this was hard for me), but I slept a lot better as a result. She makes so much noise at night in between feedings and this is the only way I can get any sleep, even if it is just a quick nap. Since her room is directly across the hall, I can easily hear her when she is truly awake and ready to eat again. I think we will stick to this arrangement for now and hopefully with the addition of the reflux medication we will all be getting more sleep in the near future!

Feel free to keep the fabulous advice coming!

What sleep?

2011-05-04T14:03:00.003-05:00

My most favorite piece of advice..."sleep when she is sleeping."

Ha! This is very practical and logical advice, don't get me wrong. But it just does not apply to our daughter. I'm not really sure how she functions with so little sleep because I am barely able to remember how to complete activities of daily living.

Gwyn eats every 1.5 hours...this is not a joke. We are nursing and sometimes it can take 30-45 minutes to eat, so this activity occupies most of our time. However, our efforts are paying off. Gywn is growing out of her clothes! I could barely believe my eyes this morning when I pulled out a newborn sized outfit and could not manage to get her long little legs to fit in the footies! We have an official weight check with the pediatrician tomorrow and I can't wait to see how much growing she has done.

I know you have done the math, and there should still be 45 minutes to an hour for napping right?? We are dealing with this pesky little thing called colic. I'm not sure if Gwyn is working out her digestive plumbing or if this is just typical newborn fussiness but the poor little babe just can't seem to get comfortable. She fusses between nearly every feeding and sometimes even when she is eating. Our pediatrician gave us the heads up that this will probably get worse and peak around 6 weeks. We have no choice but to wait it out and give her all the comfort we can until things start to get better.

It's hard to believe our little girl will be 4 weeks old on Friday. The last month has been total chaos but I'm savoring this time because I know it will continue to pass quickly. My favorite moments during the first month have to be watching all of Gwyn's funny facial expressions, Greg experiencing projectile poop during a diaper change, and lastly all of Gwyn's noises.

My goodness, the noises that come out of this baby are hysterical! When she is really hungry she starts doing this little laugh. Then the laugh gets faster and more intense, a little like a crazy person! That's when you know the clock is ticking and you better get moving because you don't have a lot of time. On the rare occasion that she doesn't get her milk fast enough, the laugh turns into a full on scream but I'm getting better at avoiding this type of melt down. We are learning how to interpret more of her "language" every day and love watching her grow.

So many firsts

2011-04-23T18:47:00.006-05:00

We are home. Finally, our entire family under one roof for the first time in nearly 6 weeks. Getting back to this everyday life is simply wonderful. I can't believe this is our life and we feel so incredibly fortunate to be here.

First outfit. Gwyn outgrew her one and only preemie outfit by the time we got home. We are officially in newborn clothes.

First car seat ride. On Tuesday afternoon, we were happily surprised when one of the neonatologists called from the hospital and announced he was ready to discharge Gwyn if we were ready to take her home. This was 2 days ahead of the tentative "schedule"...I was at the hospital 15 minutes later. We were ready.

First visit to the pediatrician. On Thursday, we had a weight check with Dr. Gus. I was nervous...silly me. This little piggy gained 5 ounces in 2 short days. The average weight gain for an infant is anywhere from 0.5-1 ounce per day. We know we have some catching up to do in the size department but Gwyn is clearly up for the challenge.

First stroller ride. Dr. Gus recommended stroller rides once or twice each day to help Gwyn distinguish her days and nights. This little lady loves to sleep all day and play all night long. Even though the sun was out and shinning during our walk, this did not deter Miss Gwyn from her mid day snooze.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Meeting our Miracle

2011-04-17T19:22:00.003-05:00

On April 7th one of my many physicians decided to have a pow wow to discuss my condition. After 3 days of progressive contractions she was concerned. She argued that the acceptable parameters of what was "safe" in my situation kept being extended. She wanted to review the benefits and the risks of allowing me to stay pregnant until our scheduled c-section date. I already knew what the decision would be, but they sent in Dr. P to deliver the news.

The decision was to move up the delivery date so we could safely deliver our baby in a planned controlled environment instead of running the risk of having an emergency situation.

I have never seen Greg more excited in my entire life. It was adorable. This guy could barely stand still, he could not wait to meet our daughter. I was equally thrilled but much more anxious about delivering a baby 5 weeks early.

It all happened very fast. The nurse woke me up at 7 am the next morning and said we would be going into surgery at 7:30. Not a lot of time to gather my thoughts...maybe this was a good thing. I quickly got up and washed my face, took a final picture of my belly, and sat quietly savoring the feeling of little feet dancing in my belly.

The OR was cold, just what I remembered from nursing school. I knew what was coming but it is all very different when you are the patient. The pinch of the spinal was tolerable but what followed the spinal, I could have never predicted. They laid me back on the table and started with the poke test.

"Do you feel this..." Yes.

"Where?" On the right.

"Is it sharp or dull?" Sharp.

Five minutes later and the same set of questions. The anesthesiologist started tilting the table in all directions trying to get the medication to distribute evenly. After twenty minutes, he announced he wanted to use general anesthesia and put me to sleep. I protested. I had been waiting a very long time to meet my daughter so I asked for 5 more minutes. Finally, I passed the poke test.

I did not feel the incision but I was shocked at what I did feel as a large man, known as the surgical assistant, put all his weight on top of me in an effort to delivery my baby. I was being crushed. I had no idea how to judge if what I was feeling was normal but the anesthesiologist could tell I was in distress. Finally, I heard my baby cry. I will always remember it being a very sweet sound. Nothing like the typical cry I had imagined. It was so beautiful.

That is the last thing I remember. The anesthesiologist made the decision to give me medication and put me to sleep. I was told that they brought the baby over to me but I do not remember seeing her. I was told in the recovery room that my spinal "did not take well" and that this can happen to some people. I was given a patient controlled analgesia (PCA) pump that allowed me to receive pain medication every 10 minutes if I needed it. I needed it.

It was tough to keep my eyes open with all the medication on board but I remember telling the nurse in the recovery room that I was ready to see my baby several times. She told me the standard time in the recovery room was 2 hours. After 45 minutes she finally agreed to release me so I could visit my daughter in the NICU.

Gwyn was so perfect. She was tiny but absolutely perfect. I immediately saw my husband in her sweet face and later found a few of my features too. She was safe and she was healthy and that was all I needed to know.

Just a little update...Gwyn is still at the hospital in a step down nursery for babies who are stable but working on feeding or growing. We are still working on the eating part. Because of her young age, Gwyn gets super exhausted with feedings. But she is becoming more awake and alert everyday. She has been taking full bottles by herself for the last 24 hours! We will not be given any time frame for when she will come home but we hope it is very very soon. Please carry us in your thoughts :)

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Love

2011-04-14T11:21:00.001-05:00

Gwyneth Olivia Polheber

Arrived April 8th 2011 at 8:27am

5lbs 8oz 18.5 inches long

We are so in love with this little girl!

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t-r-o-u-b-l-e

2011-04-05T12:21:00.001-05:00

For the most part, things have been going very smoothly. I might even describe the last week as uneventful, boring, or dull...just the way I like it. I have accepted that I will have these miserable contractions for the duration of my pregnancy...this is my norm. Still, the nurses have to ask the same redundant questions about symptoms, every 6 hours when they check my vitals, to which I typically respond "no change".

Last night, we had a little excitement. I noticed some back pain late in the afternoon but decided to wait it out and didn't mention anything to my nurse. After an hour I nonchalantly mention the new ache and asked for some Tylenol. She gave me the Tylenol but I also earned myself an early date with the monitor. I knew I was having a lot of contractions but was crossing my fingers they weren't as close together as they seemed to be.

Not so lucky, they were coming every 5 min and the backache was getting worse. I could see the concern growing on my nurse's face although she tried to play it cool. She casually mentioned she would feel better with an IV back in my arm (I forgot to mention I managed to talk my way out of my IV about a week ago). So the IV went back in. Another hour passed, it was coming up on shift change. There was a knock at my door and an unfamiliar face dressed in scrubs came in.

Hmmm...who was this guy? He introduced himself as Dr. (something long and difficult to say), he was an anesthesiologist, he was the anesthesiologist on call for the evening. Now, I have been here for a while and have not been introduced to a single doctor in this specialty. He must have the wrong room. Nope, he came to talk to me. It turns out he had heard about our recent "activity" and wanted to get my history in case things should "progress". Geeez...news travels fast around here. We went through the questions and I thanked him for stopping by, but I had no intention of seeing his face again until next week.

The excitement lasted about 4 hours, when things started to slow down the nurse asked if anything felt "different" before or during this episode. That was a good question and yes, yes there was something. I've mentioned that our baby is extremely active, but this afternoon it felt like she was using my uterus as a bouncy castle. When they put to toco monitor on me (belly strap with pressure sensor to monitor size of contractions) she attacked the toco like a nija warrior warding off the enemy with kicks that nearly had me jumping out of bed. I noticed she seemed to be napping now and my contractions had finally slowed down.

The nurse laughed and told me it was very possible that all her activity aggravated my overly sensitive uterus. What a little trouble maker!

Dear Baby,

We are so happy that you are enjoying your stay in Mom's belly and growing big and strong. Please feel free to continue your daily Jazzercise routine, but maybe take it easy on the Tae Bo? Also, the toco monitor is our friend. We would really like you to stay put for one more week.

Love, Your Parents

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Bigger is not always better

2011-04-03T12:16:00.001-05:00

The emotional state of a pregnant woman is not easily defined. After spending 24 hours in the new giant room I desperately missed my old room. I had spent a total of 3.5 weeks (nearly a month) of my life in that room and it was my home.

Greg urged me to give the new room a fair shot but a spotty internet connection, poor water pressure, and the big bare walls had me wishing we had never moved. To add to my devastation, I learned a new patient had been admitted to MY old room and I had no idea how long this woman would be there.

Around 6pm last night Greg noticed a wheelchair outside our old room and after a little spying, he confirmed that a volunteer had taken the occupant away in the wheelchair. I had no idea if the woman had been discharged already, that would be strange because this is the long term high risk unit. But I wasn't going to wait around to find out. I jumped out of bed leaving my dinner untouched and went straight to the nurses' station. There was no time to put on my call light and wait around for someone to answer. In a loud whisper, I asked the nurses if my old room was vacant again. They all looked at me like I had lost my mind. They did not want to confirm anything right away but assured me they would put in a request to transfer me back if the room was available. Frustrated that I did not have a definite answer, I had no choice but to return to my dinner.

I spent the next 2 hours driving Greg crazy with my speculation about whether or not they would give us the old room back. After shift change, I was thrilled to see one of my favorite night nurses walk through the door with good news We had to wait a while for the room tobe cleaned but we could move back! I immediately started packing up our things and loading them on to a transport cart. I don't know how many times Greg told me to sit down and let him do the work but some weird anxiety had taken over me. If I didn't pack up quickly I was sure the room would be given to someone else!

My awesome night nurse had already done so much for us but I still had one last request. I wanted to take the bed from the giant room with me. Like I mentioned before, it inflates and adjust to my hips and back, it is awesome. Surely this was pushing the envelope but it was necessary for my comfort...we still have 10 days to go! The nurse happily moved the bed and didn't make me feel like I was being a pain at all. We also took the Lazboy recliner back with us, a new refrigerator (our old one disappeared), and a new fancy bedside table (why not, we were on a roll). It was really quite the production...I realize this must have looked crazy but I'm pregnant and in a temporary prison, I might as well be comfortable.

Today, we are happily back in our home and will not be moving until this babe is born and we are allowed to graduate to the mother/baby unit :)

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We moved....

2011-04-01T18:24:00.001-05:00

...next door!

My old room was directly across from the nurses' station and every morning at 7am (shift change) there was a loud cackling from the nursing staff as they settled in and exchanged report. Usually, I am up pretty early but lately I've had trouble falling back to sleep after my 3am meds/vitals so I've been getting a little grumpy with all the noise. This morning my very thoughtful nurse mentioned that the patient in the very coveted corner room had delivered as was moving upstairs to mother/baby. She offered me the corner room as a quieter option.

The corner room is tucked away off the path of the main hall. Not only is this room MUCH quieter, it is gianormous with a gianormous bathroom. I also have a new view which happens to be very pretty. Another fun surprise is that my new bed inflates to adjust to points of pressure...this is an amazing feature. I can't believe they've had beds like this the whole time and I never knew about them. I'm pretty sure my last bed was at least 10 years old. The mattress was caved in even before my large butt landed on it.

The only negative I can come up with is that the TV is in an odd spot. I had a feeling this might be a bigger issue for Greg than it was for me. So I asked the nurse if it was possible to move the large blue Lazboy, that Greg has been lounging in, from our old room to the new one. The chair is massive but it is on wheels. I'm glad I asked, the chair easily moved with us and I know Greg will be excited when he sees it in our new place!

I should probably post updates about baby too! Baby continues to impress our doctors and nurses with her stellar performances on the monitor everyday. They continue to use the words "active, happy, mature, content, and feisty" to describe her. Which makes me one happy mama! I keep telling everyone if baby is happy, I am happy. I have been told, on more than one occasion, that this will continue to be true well after she is born and may become the motto to my life. I have no doubt a happy baby equals happy parents.

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Not a morning baby

2011-03-30T17:44:00.001-05:00

Look at this face. I've seen this expression before....guess who?

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Speed Racer

2011-03-29T15:54:00.001-05:00

I had made my peace with the idea that I was going to be confined to the Labor and Delivery unit of this hospital for approximately 4 weeks. Over the weekend, my nurse asked if I'd been down to the cafeteria or outside to the courtyard at all? I explained that my doctors had told me from the beginning that I was not allowed to leave the floor. She kept bringing up the issue every time she came in my room. I wanted to tell her to stop rubbing it in!

Later that day, one of my OBs came by with the daily line of questions and quick exam. He was about to leave the room when my nurse popped in the door and said, what about letting this lady have a wheelchair ride?? She even went on to say how well things were looking and that she thought it would be good for me to have a change of scenery. My OB looked pretty hesitant. I have to admit the idea was exciting but I didn't want to push my doctor out of his comfort zone. Finally he said if I was up to it, he was okay with it and left before I could say anything.

The nurse offered to call a volunteer to take me on my outing but I knew I wanted to wait for Greg. Greg had just left to run some errands so I called him and gave him the exciting news hoping he would hear the urgency in my voice, finish his errands faster and hurry back! While he was gone I contemplated all the places we could go. The problem was that I didn't know the hospital very well, all I'd really seen was the L&D unit, I came to the conclusion I didn't care where we went just as long as I was out of this room!

When the nurse pulled the wheelchair up to my room Greg looked even more excited than me. It was a pretty deluxe chair. As soon as I sat down Greg took off speeding down the hall! The nurse laughed but I was sure she was going to stop him and revoke my privileges. Even worse, I thought one of my doctors would see me and order me back to bed. I told Greg to behave, I didn't want to get in trouble before we had even left the unit!

Getting into the elevator was a challenge. Greg bumped the chair (and me) into the walls and struggled to make room for the other visitors. A man and a woman waited patiently then got in the elevator with us. The woman looked at me and asked, "Are you in labor Dear?" I answered with the first words that came to my mind, "No, I live here." She looked confused. It seemed like she wanted to respond but the elevator doors opened and Greg pushed me out laughing hysterically.

Greg is a very good and cautious driver, in a car. I never would have guessed he would be a speeder when it came to driving a wheelchair (what will he do with a stroller??). This led to lots of questionable looks as he sped his 81/2 month pregnant wife through the cafeteria. I felt a little self conscious, like maybe people thought I was really hungry. We had a little snack and then Greg told me he wanted to take me to the aquarium. I didn't know how far away the aquarium was but Greg assured me he knew a short cut.

There was no short cut, just more of Greg's speeding! The aquarium was beautiful and located in the middle of a room full of windows. Even though I have a window in my room it doesn't get a lot of sunlight. The warm sun felt amazing on my skin. It truly is the little things that can make such difference here in the hospital! I made it back to L&D in one piece but not without more speeding and a minor crash into a Ronald McDonald statue. It was a very exciting outing :) I had such a good time with my hubby. I love hanging out with him and he never fails to make me smile.

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33 Weeks

2011-03-25T18:16:00.001-05:00

One week in the hospital down! Yesterday we had an ultrasound and celebrated the fact that everything looks stable (baby does not appear to be trying to escape my womb :) My doctors were extremely pleased to see that all these contractions do not seem to be putting me in preterm labor...woohoo! So baby will continue cooking as planned. We are so relieved!

We also had another celebration yesterday. Greg's coworkers gave him a baby shower completely unannounced! I didn't know people had "man" showers but I'm so grateful for their generosity! We received so many nice gifts for baby. The couple weeks that I was home from the hospital on bedrest I made a short list for Greg so we would have the bare minimum...a pack of diapers, wipes, a few onesies, 2 bottles, some burp clothes, and a few receiving blankets. Seriously, those were our supplies! Now we are well equipped with things like a boppy pillow, baby monitor, diaper genie, hooded towels, a beautiful collection of blankets/clothing and so much more. The picture is one of 3 loads Greg brought up from his car...I am still in shock.

I've been told this was all organized by one administrative assistant who is currently more pregnant than I am (with her first baby...a girl). I kind of figured there must have been a woman behind all this, everything was exactly on track with what we needed. Plus, Greg works with a large group of men, mostly older men. Too bad they didn't take any pictures, I would have loved to have seen all these guys sitting around eating pink cake and passing around pink outfits! Back to the party planner. How can I possibly thank this woman enough for organizing all this? Maybe a house cleaning service as a thank you since she will be busy with her own little one very soon? What she did for us (in her 9th month of pregnancy!) was so thoughtful and I hope I get a chance to meet her!

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Distractions

2011-03-23T18:35:00.001-05:00

Distractions are good...make that crucial.

Knitting is actually very relaxing. It is also much more challenging than I realized. I like it because following a pattern requires a lot of focus and keeps my mind occupied. This hat is my first project and I am addicted. I sized the hat for a 9 month old so Baby Girl will be ready for her first winter next year.

I had a very sweet visitor bring me lunch and this hyacinth today (thank you Liese)! Hyacinth happen to be my favorite Spring flower, the smell is intoxicating, I rate it up there with orange blossoms. I am looking forward to watching the flowers bloom during our stay! It makes it feel like Spring is around the corner!

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Reputation

2011-03-21T15:17:00.001-05:00

I am doing my very best to be a well behaved patient during this stay. It is tough. Hospital life is not so easy. To my great dismay I have been informed that my torture device (IV portal) will remain unnaturally lodged in my arm until the delivery...booo. Even better, the port has to be moved (reinstalled) into a new vein every 3-5 days. I met this mile marker last night and let me tell you I was not pleased. But I didn't say anything I let the nurse stab me and even thanked her for the convenient placement (in my left forearm) which allows me a little more mobility.

This morning I woke up around 6am and noticed I was contracting hard. I realized in my groggy stupor that no one had bothered to wake me from my beauty sleep at the regular 3am. Did I even get my medication? I couldn't remember. I paged my nurse and asked her if I'd had my 3am dose? She said no, that "something happened to it at the pharmacy" and that she hadn't worried about it because I never woke up or reported any contractions. Hmmmm...remember that animal tranquilizer you gave me last night, also known as ambien? I probably could have slept through a band concert. Not to mention, this is a scheduled medication. It is used to prevent my contractions, I get it every 6 hours regardless of how I am feeling.

She then said she would give me a dose now and just adjust my schedule. Arrrrrr....I really liked my schedule (3am, 9am,3pm, 9pm) because I only have to be disturbed once while I'm sleeping (3am). Changing the schedule to 6am, 12pm, 6pm, 12am means I will have to wake up at midnight then again super early in the morning. Even though I was thoroughly annoyed, I did not want to make a scene. I politely let her know if it was possible to work my way back to the old schedule over the next few days, I would appreciate it.

After shift change at 7am I met my new nurse, she seemed nice enough. At 9am (after knowing me for approximately 2 hours) she wanted to have a discussion with me. She wanted to discuss asking my doctors to insert a central line instead of keeping my IV. I will not go into the details of a central line. I will just say that instead of going into a blood vessel in your arm, they are inserted into a much larger vessel in the chest. They are often used to give long term medications, chemo therapy, or nutrition supplements (for weeks/months).

The nurse thought this would be a great idea because it could be left in place until I deliver, no more IVs to start. That sounds good right...less pokes for me...less IVs to start for her? Wrong...this is a VERY invasive procedure. I've mentioned before that my doctors can have varying opinions about my plan of care. Not one of my EIGHT doctors have suggested that we take this type of extreme action. I am here as a precaution, to be close to the operating room, to have some monitoring, that is all.

At this point I think I lost it. After making this "suggestion" the nurse told me to think about it and left the room for about an hour. That hour was just enough time for all the pent up hostility to come rising up and out of me. When she came back to the room all I could say was...No! No central line. I don't want one, I don't need one, I won't have one!! I know it probably came out sounding harsh, but I could not contain myself.

I've noticed that my being a nurse practitioner is common knowledge around here. I'm wondering if there is a large red flag on my chart that says "HEALTHCARE WORKER". I know there is a stereotype that healthcare workers make terrible patients and I have no desire to validate this stereotype or to earn a bad reputation at this hospital (especially with 3 weeks to go). But I have to admit it is becoming more and more difficult each day to keep my mouth shut! Every nurse I meet seems to want to take charge and change my plan or schedule. I'm really hoping to have a nice a routine here in the near future so we can all get on the same page! Sorry if this sounds like an angry rant, just a bit frustrated today!

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A Room with a View

2011-03-18T09:39:00.001-05:00

I've been here before. From start to finish yesterday felt like I was reliving our admission from 2 weeks ago. First, we went to Dr. P's office for a quick ultrasound to measure my cervix and what do you know, short again..ugh! I can't say I was super surprised because my contractions have been coming fast and furious. At least the admission was planned this time around and I already had my bag of essentials waiting in the car. Despite this being a scheduled event, the nurses on the L&D unit still looked at us like, who are you and what are you doing here? I explained that we were there to be admitted, Dr. P sent us over and Dr. F (this is the OB we have chosen for our c-section) was expecting us. The nurses appeared largely inconvenienced by this and repeatedly stated that no one informed them we were checking in (I'm sorry but that is neither my fault/problem so please stop making me feel bad!). They finally got in touch with my OB (whom they refer to as "c-dawg"....I don't know what to make of this) and started searching for a room assignment.

Eventually the triage nurse came over to escort us to our room repeatedly stating "we are going to take great care of you"...well I would hope so. Then she led us down an all too familiar hall to the exact room I stayed in during my last visit!!! I'm actually quite pleased about this. Our room is very large and comfy. We already know where everything is and I have a view of the hospital entrance, some trees and grass! This is very important to me. Spring is a big deal here in Chicago, something residents anticipate for months after being locked up for the duration of the winter. I have been anxiously waiting for the grass to turn green or a single leaf to appear on a tree. I was a little concerned I might miss this transformation but I'm thrilled to have my own private view!

My rules and restrictions are mostly the same except they have increased my out of bed time to a whopping 60 minutes! This means in addition to getting up for a shower I can now use some of that time to walk around the halls of the L&D unit. The night nurse attempted to get me privileges to leave the unit so I could go to more exciting places like the cafeteria or outside in the courtyard but I was denied. That's okay. My only complaint is the small plastic tube they forced into my wrist yesterday, also known as a hep lock. This is basically just an IV portal available for emergency access. It is not currently hooked up to anything which is frustrating because it is very uncomfortable, on the verge of painful (especially when I catch my hand on something). I spoke to Dr. P about this when he came to visit this morning and he said he would talk to Dr. F (she ordered the torture device) about the potential of removing it if I am stable.

Maybe Dr. P was just trying to get on my good side before announcing that he is leaving tomorrow to Florida for a Disney cruise with his kids...it is Spring Break. I probably would have had a bit of a melt down if he was going to be gone for any longer than a week. Instead, I calmly wished him a wonderful trip and told him it was okay because this baby isn't going to be born next week anyway. Did I mention we are 32 weeks? Well we are...it's kind of a big deal :)

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Sophisticated Pink

2011-03-14T11:07:00.006-05:00

Our Nursery....

I feel incredibly lucky to have had theses last 2 weeks to put the finishing touches on the nursery. I am a planner and having this time was like therapy for me! Don't ask me how this nursery turned out so pink. I've never been a very "frilly" or "girlie" girl. For those of you who knew me as a child, I was the kid on the playground chasing the boys, playing kick ball, or attempting something unruly with the tetherball (most dangerous playground activity ever). I don't think I ever owned anything pink until I went to college.

Early on I pictured a nursery with primary colors, maybe red and yellow. But at Christmas we received a large package from Greg's family filled with pink baby clothes. At that point I knew it was inevitable, why fight the pink? I decided I could still have a pink nursery without going completely frilly fru fru princess. So this is the result. For a not so girlie girl, I feel quite comfy amongst all the pink and I hope Baby Girl likes it too!

Our little growing machine

2011-03-10T15:59:00.008-06:00

31 weeks and a great apt with Dr. P today. Baby girl is weighing in at 3lbs 11oz which puts her right at the 49th percentile on the growth chart! Dr. P predicts she will be weighing over 5 lbs by the time we hit 34 weeks which makes me very very happy! We didn't get a great portrait picture today because the umbilical cord was blocking our view. We did get some great pictures a couple weeks ago so I thought I'd share one!

All our other tests went well too. Cervix is stable, a repeat fetal fibronectin was negative, and NST looked good. So we are all set to check back into the hospital next Thursday at 3:30. It's very surreal to think that this is the last week Greg and I will spend in our home just the two of us!

Field trip

2011-03-09T11:39:00.010-06:00

This morning I had an appointment with the OBs. Not much happens when I go to the OB but I was excited to get out of the house. Basically they take my weight (kill me now), check urine for protein (all clear), measure my belly (on track), and take my vitals. My heart rate was up but I tried to explain to the nurse that I was having a contraction and yes my heart tends to beat faster under stress/torture!

The OBs always ask if I have any questions and I openly admitted that the delivery has been on my mind. My OBs all have different opinions about the optimal time for delivery. It has been determined that our delivery will take place between 34-36 weeks. Depending on the day or the doctor, we get a variety of answers about the "best" timing for this birthday. To any outsider it seems like an obvious answer, keep the baby in the belly as long as possible right?!? It is a little more complicated than that.

With a Vasa Previa as you get further along in pregnancy there is an increased risk for one of the exposed umbilical cord blood vessels to rupture. This would be a medical emergency and dangerous for our baby. Even though a 34 week delivery seems very early, our neonatologist does not expect any long term complications if the baby was delivered at this age. The baby would probably spend some time in the NICU (learning to feed and grow) and then come home. Not a big deal, I'm sure this would be very challenging for us emotionally, but it the grand scheme of things it would be a very small speed bump.

I would LOVE to carry this baby until 36 weeks. If we get to 36 weeks there would be a very good chance that the baby could dodge the NICU completely! But I absolutely do not want to put my baby at risk for something dangerous to happen...so you can see this is a very tough subject. Greg and I are open to the "wait and see" approach also known as the "give Amelia an anxiety attack" approach. Basically, they will evaluate us (contractions, cervical length, NSTs, ultrasounds) on a daily basis once we get back to the hospital and determine the delivery date based on how stable things look. We don't know what the best method is, and our doctors openly admit they don't have the answer either, but this is the plan (for now). With pregnancy I have learned that things are always subject to change.

The timing for delivery has been such a sore subject. I have been shocked at how openly people seem to pass judgement. When I was in the hospital last week I had a nurse tell me that, "you have to do what is best for baby and that means keeping her in your belly as long as possible..." That was so hurtful. It almost felt like she was insinuating that I was trying or electing to wrap up this pregnancy early which is pure insanity!! Of course we want to do what is best for our baby but after seeking out the opinions of several specialists it may turn out that a 34 week delivery is best, we just won't know until we get there. I guess our situation might be challenging for some people to understand, but how rude to assume that we would do anything but what is best for this little one!

Tomorrow is a big appointment with our Perinatologists, the highlight being a growth check for our little girl. We can't wait to see how chubby she is getting and with any luck maybe we will get a peek at her cute little face :)

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Holy Heartburn

2011-03-08T13:58:00.009-06:00

It hurts to lay down, it hurts to sit up. I am guilty of loving all foods spicy but I have completely revamped my diet in hopes of getting rid of this burning pain in my chest! Heartburn is new to me. Over the past week I've noticed it messing with me at night when I lay down to go to sleep. Today I seem to have it even when sitting straight up in bed.

I am very familiar with the wives tale that heartburn during pregnancy means you're having a hairy baby. I think it is probably accurate to assume this may be true for our little one. I had a full head of hair upon arrival and while Greg had less hair, he was not bald. It will be interesting to see if there is any link between this heartburn and the amount of hair coverage on our babe.

Paypal is Dangerous

2011-03-07T12:35:00.005-06:00

I've never been a huge online shopper but lately things have changed. I still have some loose end to tie up before this little one makes her entrance in the world and the internet just makes everything so accessible...maybe too accessible.

First item of business, art work for the nursery. The nursery is practically done. I am so glad I was able to get all my projects finished ahead of time, I had so much fun decorating and would have really been sad if I'd missed out on this experience. Unfortunately, finding baby art has been like looking for lost treasure! I wanted some very simple graphic art print and spent weeks searching online. Well I finally hit the jackpot with Poochie Prints. This website not only has adorable art, they frame it for you and ship it all for $5!!!

This is what I ordered. Cute right!?! Once it is on the walls there will be nursery pictures!

Next on the list, nursing bras. I am so thankful for all the awesome suggestions from my mom friends. It seems like there was an overwhelming positive response to the Bravado nursing bras so I went ahead and ordered one. I went for the "Cadillac" if you will of nursing bras, also know as the Bravado Original Double Plus. I determined the "double plus" was necessary after following an instructional video and taking my own measurements (not hard to do). I nearly fell over after calculating my new bust size, how did this happen, when did this happen? It appears I may have won the boobie lottery and was never informed. I have been in complete denial for some time wearing extra large camis with built in bras for months. While this bra is not the most attractive piece of under clothing that I have ever purchased it seems to be up for the task of keeping things "secure" up top, and yes it is pink just like the picture!

Obviously I spent quite a bit of time searching around for these items but once I was ready to purchase it was way too easy. I had set up a Paypal account a long time ago for something I bought on Ebay but I never use it. I was amazed to see that nearly all online stores offer the option to pay with Paypal. I never really paid attention to the concept of Paypal. You don't even have to get up and find a credit card, it literally pulls the funds directly from your bank account! It is very convenient but I could see this spiraling out of control...especially for a pregnant lady in nesting mode on bedrest. Does this not say recipe for disaster? I will be using all of my restraint to stick to shopping for "necessities" but I'm sure receiving these newly ordered goodies will only add fuel to my shopping fire!

Dr. P

2011-03-04T11:00:00.003-06:00

To be completely honest I am not a huge fan of "group practice" where you see a revolving door of physicians, especially as a pregnant patient. In my own practice I follow up with my own patients exclusively. I feel like it promotes continuity of care and allows patients to have a better relationship with their healthcare provider. That being said, it seems to be the very popular norm for women to see obstetrical groups during pregnancy. The number OBGYNs practicing solo out there seems to be dwindling. I guess I can understand, I'm sure it would be exhausting for one individual to try and meet the needs of all his/her pregnant patients. I guess it wouldn't be too far fetched to say that pregnant women are a pretty demanding population!

At 19 weeks, when we were diagnosed with the Vasa Previa, I switched to a group of OBs that came highly recommended to me for high risk delivery. Now I see a total of 8 different physicians, 5 OBs and 3 Perinatologists. That is a lot of opinions! Plus, don't forget, yours truly has a very strong opinion of her own, although I do my best to keep it under control to avoid earning the "difficult patient" gold star. Out of all my lovely doctors there is one opinion that I value above all others, Dr. P.

As far as Greg and I are concerned, he is the one driving this baby train. Maybe it is because he is the one who caught and diagnosed our Vasa Previa. Dr. P is very young (probably the youngest physician we have) and certainly not the senior member of our perinatology group but he is incredibly knowledgeable, a good listener, very cautious, and we trust his judgement completely. So when we saw him yesterday and he told me things look stable, I wanted to do jumping jacks (but I didn't want to give Dr. P a heart attack). My cervical length looked good and while I still had contractions on the NST, there was not a regular pattern. That means I get to continue my bedrest at home a little longer!

Yesterday was also the 30 week mark. It is amazing what kind of effect that number has on me mentally. I am so overjoyed and relieved to be done with the 20's!!! Next milestone is 32 weeks, that will be a big one.

Thanks everyone for sharing your favorite nursing products, let the online shopping begin!

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Nursing Necessities

2011-03-03T09:19:00.009-06:00

What is/was your favorite nursing bra/tank?????

There seem to be so many options and I would love to know what worked for my mommy friends.

-Full sling/half sling?

-Bra/Tank?

-Hook closure/Racer back?

The only thing I'm relatively sure about is that wires are not my friend.

I have 2 criteria:

-Comfort

-Support

I was planning on being fitted but I just don't think I'll be going anywhere for a while. Seems like I can order just about anything online or have Greg do some shopping for me.

Please don't be shy, I really don't want to get stuck with bad bras, your opinions are greatly appreciated!!! Please include the brand and where it was purchased if you have that information. Also, if you tried something that absolutely did NOT work, I would love a heads up!

Home Sweet Home

2011-03-02T12:46:00.008-06:00

Oh how I have missed my bed! I have a new love and appreciation for my pillows too! The plastic pillows at the hospital covered by a paper thin pillow case just don't cut it when you are pregnant. Have I mentioned I sleep with 5 pillows at night?I have stolen all the fluffiest pillows from our bedrooms and left Greg with the older deflated versions...poor guy, he is so good to me. I have turned into a pillow hog but unfortunately that's what it takes these days for me to get into a comfortable position.

Even though I'm home, all the hospital rules and regulations apply. My only destination beyond my bed is the bathroom. Greg has taken on the role of my nurse! Today when he came home to make me lunch I told him I felt like a puppy, he can't leave me alone for more than 4-5 hours at a time and is constantly bringing me food and water.

After a miserable evening of painful contractions things have been very uneventful today. Hooray for boring! My only complaints are about the side effects from the nasty pills. Every time I take the nifedipine I get an insane headache and just as it starts to go away it is time for another pill! The other issue that I'm having is that it makes my skin red, hot and tender. Basically I look and feel like a sunburned pregnant lobster. My doc said this is common and not likely to go away...sweet.

I'm including a picture of my read blotchy hands for your enjoyment. There is no way I'm showing off my face but it you use your imagination and apply the color and pattern from the image below to what my face use to look like, you'll have the idea.

Baby girl is keeping with her standard routine. She likes to get an early start with her kick boxing around 5am. Then she typically has a good nap mid morning and is ready for some playtime again around lunch. Then a little more nap time because she has to get ready for the dance party that takes place in my uterus every night. I thought Greg's eyes were going to pop out of his head last night as he literally "watched" her stretch one of her little body parts way out beyond the normal limits of my round belly. She is very entertaining.

L&D Day 5

2011-03-01T10:11:00.001-06:00

I feel a little cheated. The hospital has been withholding food from me! When I checked into my room last week they gave me a menu to order from and I have to say it was pretty limited. All the food I've ordered has had a sort of fake/cardboard like resemblance. Yesterday evening my nurse saw the menu and asked me what is was....hmmm....odd that she wouldn't know. She then made a comment that it looked like only a partial menu. This morning when I called to order breakfast I asked if they could please send me a new menu because I wasn't sure if I had the right one. One of the sweet volunteers brought it up. She was saying something to me as she walked in the room but I couldn't hear her because I was too focused on the binder of food options she had placed in front of me! There are pancakes on this menu and things like "breakfast sandwiches" I have been eating fruit, yogurt and granola for the last 4 days!!! I don't know what kind of menu I had before but keeping the full menu from me was just plain criminal, did they forget I'm pregnant!

So to make up for lost time, this morning I ordered pancakes AND a breakfast sandwich! It wasn't exactly IHOP but after 4 days of cardboard granola it was amazing!

One of my OBs was in this morning to talk about our plan. I am having mixed feelings about the whole thing. I am still having contractions that vary in frequency and intensity. There just doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to when they come. That in itself is actually a good thing. My OB said it does not appear that I am having preterm labor because although I have regular contractions, I get breaks in the contraction patterns (that doesn't happen in labor). Still, they find it very odd that they keep coming back, even after 5 days of medication. Because of our Vasa Previa I am absolutely the last patient they want contracting right now but there really isn't anything more to do at this point so this afternoon they are going to let me go home and see how it goes.

I am happy to be going home. It will be nice to have a break from the hospital and sleep in my bed for the next 2 weeks. But, I am still terrified of something going wrong. I've been given the parameter that if I have 6 or more contractions per hour that continue for 2 hours at home I would have to come straight back. Well, that has happened every day that I've been in the hospital so I'm just wondering how long I'm really going to be able to stay home! I have 911 and the L&D charge nurse on my speed dial and our house is 1.9 miles from the hospital according to google maps. I've discussed exactly what would need to happen if we had an emergency with all of my doctors and this morning I couldn't come up with any new questions.

I know this was a tough call to make. I feel for my doctors. Medicine is truly so gray and often much more of an art than a science. Managing our situation is even tougher because Vasa Previa is so uncommon and guidelines for management vary a lot. There is no clause in the outline that says "If your patient starts contracting at 29 weeks, proceed to step...." Trust me, I have read the current management guidelines for Vasa Previa, more than once. Now that I am faced with having to respond to my symptoms on my own at home, I've tried to come up with a plan for all the different scenarios that I have played out in my mind. But obviously I have no idea of predicting what could possibly lie ahead in the next couple of weeks. I'm just going to do the very best that I can to listen to this baby and my body. I'll follow up with perinatology on Thursday which is not long at all, I'm convinced that short term goals/milestones are going to be the key to my sanity!

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L&D Day 4

2011-02-28T14:20:00.001-06:00

We are having a better day today. Last night I had a nasty attack of contractions around 10 pm but after taking my medication things settled down and I slept for nearly 7 hours! I got my last dose of this temporary medication at noon today (it can only be taken for 48 hours) so I am crossing my fingers and toes that things continue to stay quite as I go back on the old "nasty" medication. The "nasty" pills have awful side effects. The give me headaches, dizziness, hot flashes and cause my hands and feet to get red, swollen and tender....bleh. Supposedly these side effects get better the longer you take it and I am more than willing to tolerate this discomfort to keep from going into labor!

I sent Greg home to sleep last night. He looked exhausted. Greg had to go back to work today after spending the last 3 days/nights camped out on the sofa bed next to me. He has been amazing, watching endless episodes of How I Met Your Mother (thank you Liese), rubbing my puffy marshmallow feet, and bringing me delicious food when I just can't stomach anything on the hospital menu. He has also had the huge task of taking care of our farm (the house and dogs) which is really not so easy to do while also spending time with your bed bound wife. He is a fabulous husband and I feel extremely lucky.

I had ordered some continuing education a few weeks ago in preparation for our original hospital admission to pass the time and keep busy. I have to complete 50 hours every year to keep up my Nurse Practitioner license/ certification. So I got this HUGE book with test questions worth 61 hours of credit and figured it would keep me occupied for a while. Not so much. When I got here I started working on the pretest questions and this morning I completed and passed the post test in about 30 minutes...now what. I really thought it was going to be more time consuming. Need more activities!

Today and tomorrow are going to be important days in determining if I have to continue to stay in the hospital. My contractions have to behave for a full 24 hours since stopping the temporary medication (the clock started at noon today). If things still look calm tomorrow they will let me go home on the nasty pills and I'll just continue the bed rest there until our original admission date of March 17. If the contractions get crazy again then I will have to stay in the hospital and find some new activities to try and keep my sanity (I plan to take up knitting). Either way, the majority of March is going to be spent here so I might as well get use to the idea. I'm really not missing much, it is still "winter" in Chicago and by the time we go home in April it will be Spring and beautiful again :)

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L&D Day 3

2011-02-27T11:19:00.001-06:00

I got shower privlages yesterday! Hospital bedrest only allows you to get up for potty breaks but now I get an entire 15 minutes in the shower, although I have to remain seated...in a chair...oh well, I'll take it!

I am still having regular contractions but the new medicine has helped decrease the intensity. I'm happier because it is a little less painful but I'm still holding out hope that they decrease the number I'm having per hour. Baby girl has been a perfect little patient showing great activity and accelerations during her monitoring. They say she is acting very grown up for her age and I couldn't be prouder!

Yesterday we had some nice visitors, a massage therapist came in and gave me some much needed back relief. With some of the contractions just 3 to 5 minutes apart I can get very sore as the day progresses! Another lady brought an Akita to visit me which made me miss my puppies but Greg is still able to go home and visit them twice each day because our house is just minutes from the hospital.

My OBs are not exactly sure why I am still contracting so much. Tomorrow our specialists will be visiting to review what has been done this weekend and hopefully give us a better game plan. I'm a big fan of our perinatology group and definitely looking forward to seeing them.

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Weekend getaway...to L&D

2011-02-26T16:38:00.001-06:00

Greetings from the hospital! We've unexpectedly been admitted a little earlier than we had planned. For weeks my contractions have been getting more frequent and stronger. I have mentioned this to ALL my doctors several times. On Thurday I had my weekly apt with the perinatologist and sure enough my cervix had shortened. This combined with the contractions puts me at risk for preterm labor which is just not an option when you have a Vasa Previa.

So we were checked straight into L&D and I was given steroids to help baby's lungs mature. I also started meds for the contractions that gave me terrible/crazy side effects and did not help at all! I'm on a new med today so hopefully it will do the trick. They good news is we had a test done called a fetal fibronectin. If the test is negative, the likelihood of going into labor is very low. I am so pleased to announce our test was negative!!

Hopefully we can get these contractions under control and they will let me go home for a couple weeks. We weren't supposed to check into the hospital for 2 more weeks anyway and we still have so much to do to get ready! I don't even have preemie clothes for this child yet! I will have to stay on bedrest for the remainder of the pregnancy (33 days until c section) so poor Greg is going to busy with all the last minute preparations.

I do feel better being here in the hospital where they can keep a close eye on us. I am optomistic that our doctors can get us over this hurdle and keep us on track for the 34 week delivery. Goodness knows I am determined to keep our baby cooking until March 31st!

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Feeling Crafty

2011-02-15T09:28:00.005-06:00

I've been working on some baby projects over the past couple of weeks that I want to share. When I first found out we were expecting I came across a "bird mobile" on Etsy that inspired the entire theme for our nursery...birds. After several google searches I actually found a free pattern for the fabric birds used in the mobile. Check it out here.

The image on the left is the original mobile I found online and the one on the right is my pink version.

To continue with the bird theme I found this adorable pattern for a bird pillow on Etsy. It was only $6, an amazing deal considering I got to customize the fabircs to match the room exactly. I definitely couldn't have found anything like this in a store!

I am currently working on refinishing a bookcase but my energy seems to be gone today (it is only 10am) and posting on the blog might just be all I can handle! We've been really busy with appointments lately and still have a pediatrician interview, neonatology consult, non stress test, and 1st baby care class to get through before the week is done...I'm pooped.

Winter Weather Activites

2011-02-07T09:38:00.005-06:00

Not so much. The ice skating, sledding, and snow boarding are obviously off limits this year. So what is a prego to do when it is barely above zero outside....swim!

According to all my baby books swimming is a great option for activity/exercise. I've been dealing with sciatica on and off for weeks so I figured the weightlessness of a pool might be a nice change. It was! But, trying to actually swim with a big belly is very awkward. I don't know if I'll go again.

Overall, it was very entertaining for Greg if nothing else.

So this is snow.

2011-02-02T11:21:00.006-06:00

We've been living in Chicago for 2 full years now. This is our 3rd winter and I have never seen snow like this before. On the news last night they told us to prepare for "Thunder Snow." I would have happily prepared for Thunder Snow if I knew what the heck that was!!! Greg and I were both sent home from work early to prepare. Thankfully I had just been to the grocery store over the weekend and we had plenty of food in the house.The blizzard started yesterday evening around 5pm. The snow did not fall like it normally does...instead it was more like a tornado of snow that just kept blowing on top of us. I didn't actually think we were getting much accumulation on the ground until I looked out the window this morning....19 inches! How does that even happen? Mother Nature is so powerful and we certainly felt very helpless this morning when we were unable to open our front, side, or back doors.
Thank goodness for Greg, he has been working on clearing the driveway for the last three hours. Even with our snow blower it is still a terrible job because the snow has piled so high that some of it has to be shoveled. I just went outside and my awesome hubby has moved on to helping our neighbor across the street who lives alone. Have a mentioned what a great guy Greg is lately??? He is the best.
Chicago is a hard core city, this is the first snow day that has been granted by Chicago public schools in the past 15 years. I think those poor kids deserve it! We were also given a snow day from work today. Unlike the kids in school that will have to make up this snow day at the end of the year, our snow day from work is a complete freebie...woohoo! It also happened to be my last day before maternity leave and I'm happy to spend it by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate!

24 weeks

2011-01-19T13:22:00.006-06:00

This week is a big milestone in pregnancy, baby is a fully developed little person and our doctors are very pleased with our progress. We do have some updates from our recent appointments.

A couple weeks ago we went for a second opinion about the Vasa Previa at a large hospital is downtown Chicago. The specialist was soooo nice and did a very thorough ultrasound and confirmed our diagnosis. She gave us her recommendations and plan for managing our care. We were happy to hear that her recommendations were the same as our specialist here in Naperville.

It is a pretty simple plan:

26 weeks-Amelia will take leave from work and begin activity restriction (stay off feet as much as possible)

32 weeks-Check in to hospital

34-36 weeks-C section will be scheduled some time in this 2 weeks period depending on how well we are doing at the hospital

For now we will continue monitoring with our specialist every two weeks.

This morning I woke up feeling a point of pressure in my belly. When I reached down to touch my belly I felt a nobby little projection. When I touched it, it moved away!!!!!! Holy cow, that was the coolest thing ever! My belly has started to morph a little lately. Sometimes it will stick out a little on the right or the left and I can feel a round smooth object (either a head or bum I'm sure). But feeling that little foot or knee or elbow this morning was just too amazing! I love falling asleep and waking up to this little girl dancing away in my belly, it is the most unbelievable experience I've ever had!

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Anatomy & Monitoring

2010-12-16T17:05:00.007-06:00

It is still a girl! Our little lady looked so big during today's ultrasound! She was squirming around and kicking me all over during the scan but they still managed to see all the crucial parts they were looking for. She is measuring on target and developing according to schedule.

On another note, we were given some concerning news. The perinatologist noticed the umbilical cord is directly in front of the cervix (where baby is suppose to exit at birth). This condition known as vasa previa, it is very rare and potentially dangerous putting us at the top of the high risk delivery list. This condition requires very close monitoring and delivery by C-section before the mother goes into labor.

They are also suspecting something called velamentous cord insertion. Which means the umbilical does not connect directly to the placenta. This leaves a portion of the cord blood vessels exposed and vulnerable to rupture, especially if the mother goes into spontaneous labor. This was all very scary but we are glad to have wonderful specialists monitoring our pregnancy.

It is possible for the umbilical cord to move up and away from the cervix over the next several weeks and we will keep our fingers crossed that all will be well. We will have ultrasounds every 2 weeks for the remainder of the pregnancy to keep an eye on baby's growth. Please keep us in your thoughts. xoxo

Braxton Hicks = Anxiety

2010-12-04T12:04:00.003-06:00

Okay, I need the advice of all my formerly pregnant friends out there again. Today I had a strange sensation that the baby was stretching out in all directions and I felt a pressure/tightness in my low belly. No pain. This happened to me last night while driving home from work too. So I hopped on google and read through many different descriptions of Braxton Hicks contractions and determined that's what it was.

At 17 weeks, I felt like it was a bit early to have BH. So I called my Dr. and he assured me it is okay at this point if I only have one or two per day. He is so nice but my anxiety level is still through the roof! My pregnancy has actually been quite an uphill battle since day one and every little "ping" puts me in high alert.

I did read that BH can be brought on when the baby is very active. Well we know this little lady is quite the mover, at 3:30am it felt like she was having a dance party in my belly. I really hope the BH are just a result of all her activity.

If you could please share you stories of when you started to experience BH, how frequent were they, what you did (if anything) to keep them away....or any helpful/reassuring info you might want to share. I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanksgiving, Ring test, and....

2010-11-30T20:24:00.006-06:00

Thanksgiving weekend was special and memorable for so many reasons. We spent the holiday in Indiana with my grandparents and had a wonderful time eating and eating and eating! I started to feel the baby right around 16 weeks, maybe a little earlier but it took me a couple days to realize this really is the baby! I appreciate all the descriptions everyone contributed to help me figure out what it might feel like. I have to say that I think everyone is very different. The most accurate way to describe my experience is having the sensation of popcorn popping in my belly. I'm pretty sure these are actual kicks...I don't think I ever felt "flutters" just the kicks. We've been told this is a very active little one but I'll get to that in a minute.

While we were in Indiana my family performed the "Ring Test" on my belly. For those of you who are not familiar, the ring test is supposed to predict the gender of the baby (according to some people). You place your wedding band on a very thin necklas chain and hold it steady over the belly (or some people have told me you can do it over your wrist). The ring starts moving (all by itself, it's true and very freaky). If the ring starts moving in a circular motion the baby will be a girl, if it moves back and forth in a line it will be a boy. Here is my ring test.

Or you can see it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4OFlx5xl58

It definitely moved in a circle! Sure enough, last night we went for our gender ultrasound and we are having a little GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is quite the active little lady according to the ultrasound technician. She was bouncing all around stretching her arms and legs, arching her back, practicing her kicks, yawning and putting her hands in her mouth! It was so amazing, I can't even explain. Greg was completely mesmorized by our tiny little girl and possibly a little intimidated at how active she is! I tried to tell him that ever since I started feeling her move it seems like she never slows down! We are so thrilled and feel so blessed to have a little daughter on the way :)

Flutter:

2010-11-17T14:29:00.004-06:00

to wave or flap rapidly in an irregular manner

As a first time prego I feel so clueless. At my OB visit last week the nurse asked me, "Are you feeling any fetal movement?" Ummm....I dunno. I'll be 15 weeks tomorrow and I feel little pokes and jabs in my "low belly" all the time, but I think that is called round ligament pain (because I am growing....rapidly).

The nurse explained that I will start to feel flutters. Ok, that doesn't really help me either. All you previously prego ladies know gas and constipation are pregnancy's two best friends. I feel all sort of things going on in there! My pregnancy book says it can take longer for 1st timers to feel movement so I'm trying to be patient but I am so excited!

Please share with me your stories about "flutters" and "kicks". I would like to think I'll be able to distinguish my baby from say gas but I just don't know what I'm looking out for!

Goodbye First Trimester

2010-11-11T10:24:00.010-06:00

Today I am 14 weeks pregnant. Some people say the first trimester is over at the end of the 12th week, and others would argue it is the end of the 13th week. Either way, the 1st third of my pregnancy is officially complete. I noticed the change in my symptoms right at week 12. It was almost like someone had pressed a button allowing my unpleasant symptoms to magically subside. I can not express how thrilled I am to have the 1st trimester behind me. I will not miss the:

-nausea
-barfing
-loss of apetite
-constant worry/anxiety
-zombie like fatigue
-20 nightly trips to the bathroom
-migraine headaches

The second trimester has brought on many new (more pleasant) experiences:

-extreme hunger attacks

-an intense love for salty foods
-reduced worry
-3 maybe 5 nightly trips to the bathroom

-my new bedtime of 8:30
-much more energy

-my highly emotional mushy side
-my round BELLY!

Whoa Baby!

2010-11-04T13:54:00.009-05:00

What we have really been up to...

...trying to keep this cutie a secret for 13 whole weeks!

For those who have not yet seen the news on FB, Baby Polheber is expected to arrive in May 2011. Words can not express how thrilled we are. This baby is such a little miracle and we can not wait to meet him/her!

Making an Effort

2010-10-25T16:00:00.006-05:00

Last week we received a random magazine in the mail that was filled with fall cookie recipes. Typically, I'm not the baking type. I really enjoy cooking but baking is too exact. I'm just not a fan so I usually cheat and use mixes. I'm a little embarrassed about revealing this secret, but read on, I think I may have just redeemed myself.

I decided to make some Halloween treats for my grown up neighbors and that is exactly what I set out to do...three days ago. Yes, embarrassing confession number 2, it took me 3 days to bake cookies. I am exhausted but very proud! I gave these cookies my very best effort. They are beautiful and rather delicious! Still, I am exhausted. I don't know that there will be any home made Christmas cookies in my future, baking from scratch once a year is plenty!

Pumpkin Pecan Spice Cookies, Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Cranberry Walnut Pinwheel Cookies

I do love Fall.

Fun with the Fam

2010-09-18T14:19:00.004-05:00

I know it might seem like all we do is ride bikes around Naperville and grow vegetables in the backyard, not true. We've been...busy....I know that sounds generic, but you'll have to trust me.

These pictures are a tad late! My dad, his new wife, and my brother came to visit us 2 weeks ago. Take a look...

The weather was little on the chilly side but that didn't stop us from seeing all the sites! Kamran had such a good time he decided to come back next week!

Kamran is interviewing for dental school at Midwestern and will be staying with us during the interview process. We are so proud of him and hope he will be staying in Illinois long term!!!!!!!!!!!

Cool as a Cucumber

2010-08-12T15:43:00.003-05:00

I have to say the cucumbers have been the most successful product of the veggie garden thus far. I like cucumbers. A traditional persian breakfast might include cucumbers, cheese, pita bread, nuts, and fresh herbs. That was the whole purpose of growing the cucumbers, so I could occasionally make this breakfast that I enjoy so much.

Well I think I've hit my limit. After a couple weeks I was quickly over the breakfast idea. Then I moved on to cucumber salads, sandwiches, and even made cucumber soup (which Greg did not enjoy). I learned that Greg is not a fan of cold soup. I wanted to make pickles but apparently I have grown the wrong variety of cucumbers. There is a special "pickle cucumber" needed to make pickles. The skin on our cucumber is too thick. So I started handing out cucumbers to my neighbors.

Despite my efforts I can not keep up with the cucumber production...this is what I collected from the garden this morning.

If you live in the Chicago area and would like a cucumber, please don't hesitate to ask ;)

Love

2010-08-07T13:57:00.003-05:00

My husband loves his kettle corn.

Saturdays

2010-07-31T15:18:00.003-05:00

I spent last weekend working and Greg took a fishing trip to Wisconsin so I was really excited to visit the farmer's market this morning. We had the bikes out all ready to go but we didn't make it very far. Greg had a flat tire...boooo. Bummer, had to take the car.

So much good stuff. The fruits and veggies are great but there is also fresh bread, pasta, cheese, honey, flowers...on and on and on. Greg is showing off his freshly baked pie above! I think baked goods should be off limits at a farmer's market, how are we supposed to resist???

Eating Organic

2010-07-27T11:57:00.002-05:00

It doesn't get any fresher!

I am really enjoying the veggie garden!!! I might have to ask Greg to help me expand the garden space so I can plant a wider variety of veggies next year!

Summer time in the city

2010-07-16T11:58:00.004-05:00

We've been having such a fun summer! Have a mentioned how much I love summer time in Chicago???

Of course we had to make an appearance at The Taste...food was incredible!

Downtown is the place to be in the summer!

Cooling off in the fountains at Millennium/Grant Park.

Naperville has outdoor summer concerts and theater every weekend, and it's free!

Lastly, just a couple shots of my veggie garden growing out of control! I've always wanted a vegetable garden but I had no idea how fast this stuff would grow!

Sorry this is such a jumble of stuff all rolled into one post. I've been really bad about updating the blog. I'm going to try and do a better job of documenting all our summer adventures! On Saturdays we ride bikes to the Farmer's Market, this is one of my favorite weekend activities, will promise to take pictures :)

I left my heart in...Sacramento

2010-06-08T10:55:00.011-05:00

Last weekend we flew to Sacramento for a wedding. The company was fabulous, the venue was GORGEOUS, the food was delicious, and we had an amazing time!

The happy couple enjoying their first dance! I love going to weddings, especially now that we are married. You can marvel and enjoy all the beautiful decor and fabulous food knowing you didn't have to plan a thing!

Above, my handsome husband looked divine in his wedding party get up. Below, my shoes eventually found their way off, this is not unusual.

Sacramento is definitely on our list of place we would consider living in the future. As much as we love Chicago, there is just something super comfortable about the west coast. We will miss you Sacramento!

Returned Visitors

2010-05-06T12:47:00.004-05:00

Our Robin family has returned to our front porch light and we can no longer use the front door (again) thanks to these three. Mama and Papa Robin are just ask protective as they were last year and I have learned my lesson. For those of you who don't recall the bird attack last year lets just say it was a little embarrassing.

The babies are a lot cuter now that they have some feathers. I love how they sleep, head slung over the side of the nest like "I give up".

And a quick shot of my Irises. I know this is our second spring here but I'm still amazed at how flowers just grow. No watering needed. Love it.

New link

2010-05-06T11:30:00.001-05:00

http://www.mylifetime.com/my-lifetime-commitment/breast-cancer/petition/breast-cancer-petition

Try this one. I just closed the sign in box and was able to sign the petition without signing in.

Please Read

2010-05-02T11:45:00.004-05:00

Proposed Mastectomy Law Change

I'll never forget the look in my patients eyes when I had to tell them they had to go home with the drains, new exercises and no breast. I remember begging the doctors to keep these women in the hospital longer, only to hear that they would, but their hands were tied by the insurance companies.

So there I sat with my patient giving them the instructions they needed to take care of themselves, knowing full well they didn't grasp half of what I was saying, because the glazed, hopeless, frightened look spoke louder than the quiet 'Thank you' they muttered.

A mastectomy is when a woman's breast is removed in order to remove cancerous breast cells/tissue. If you know anyone who has had a mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterward. Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.

This Mastectomy Bill is in Congress now. It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important. Please take the time and do it really quick! The Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill is important legislation for all women.

If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times. If you're receiving this, it's because I think you will take the 30 seconds to go to vote on this issue and send it on to others you know who will do the same.

There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the 'drive-through mastectomy' where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support.. Last year over half the House signed on. PLEASE! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below.

http://www.mylifetime.com/my-lifetime-commitment/breast-cancer/petition/breast-cancer-petition

Clicking the above link and supporting this petition will take less than 30 seconds. If you feel comfortable posting the above information on your blog I would encourage you to do so. Everyone knows someone that has been affected by breast cancer so do it for your family and friends. Thank you!

Wedding Season

2010-04-26T14:45:00.005-05:00

And so it begins. Last weekend my childhood friend Amanda Wolfard married and wonderful guy named Zach. Zach caught the garter at our wedding so naturally their union was meant to be :) I am so glad that Amanda and Zach let us be a part of their special day. We had a great time in Arizona!

Update on the tanning situation: I chickened out and didn't do the spray tan, it was too short of notice. I was worried if it went badly I'd look orange. I ended up using good ol' Dove Energy Glow lotion which certainly helped my blinding white skin. I promise to try the spray tan for the next wedding coming up in May. Thanks so much for all the helpful advice, I'm a little lost in the tanning world!

The beautiful bride and her daddy

This is at the Grand Canyon Resort in Apache Junction, just gorgeous!

The happy couple!

Friends since we were munchkins

We founds these good lookin guys at the wedding!

At the reception with Mama Anne!

Had such a good time with my honey...we almost made it to the one year mark on the anniversary dance, not quite yet. Next month...Carson and Meghan, Weddings Round 2.

Need a Glow

2010-04-06T15:19:00.006-05:00

Well friends, wedding season is upon us! I love weddings and I LOVE shopping for dresses to wear to weddings! So I have been shopping up a storm on every day that I've had off for the last week and a half trying to get ready for some upcoming events. Unfortunately, my dress buying skills are not as sharp as my car buying skills and I've been a bit indecisive. I've been to all of my favorite stores and tried on way too many dresses.

This morning I got super lucky and found two good options. A cute little number from H&M and another dress, completely different at Lord & Taylor, so I bought both. Now here is the kicker. I have been living in the snow for the last 6 months and believe it or not I started to blend in. I am pasty. The sun has started to come out now that it is spring but I don't know if I am going to be able to lay out in our backyard enough before our first wedding engagement in just 10 short days. This could be a problem.

No matter which dress I end up wearing I am going to need some degree of bronzy glow in order to pull it off. I have never, NEVER in my life, fake n' baked. I have used Dove Energy Glow lotion in the past but it takes time to build up and is very subtle. It's great to use on arms and legs but then the rest of you is still white. So what is the best (and healthiest) way to get a natural looking tan (that is NOT orange)????? If you are a tanning expert please help me!

Isn't this cool??? I want one.

Unplanned fun

2010-03-19T11:16:00.005-05:00

So much has happened in the last couple weeks and I can't say we planned any of it! It all started two weeks ago with a little shopping trip to Target.

We were in desperate need of groceries and some household items so I spent a couple hours and did some serious damage. I loaded up my little Honda CRV and headed home. On the way home from Target I pass several car dealerships. I could see the Toyota dealer coming up in the distance and thought of the commercial I had seen for zero financing for 60 months.

My faithful Honda has been an excellent car but was in need of some major service repairs that were much more expensive than the value of the vehicle. I'd been thinking about buying a new car for months and had done lots of research but was waiting for winter to be over. Winter in Chicago is really hard on your car, lots of salt and moisture!

So anyway, back to my story. I decided to pull into Toyota and ask them about the finance deal and which vehicles it applied to. A five minute conversation turned into a test drive of the Toyota Highlander. My groceries are fine, it's colder outside than it is in my refrigerator!

I drove the Highlander around and it was very nice. But I wasn't excited about it. So we returned to the dealership and I thought that would be the end of it. The sales lady could tell I wasn't sold so she asked me if there were any other vehicles I was interested in?

Well...I reluctantly told her that I had been looking at a preowned Lexus RX 350 that was up for auction in Arizona. But the cost to have the vehicle shipped and transfer tax was very expensive.

She told me they rarely get any RX 350's on the lot but if I would wait a few minutes she could search their system and see if they had any. Well, there was ONE.

It was a 2007, white, great millage, IDENTICAL to the one I was interested in buying from the Arizona auction. I could not believe my eyes! So of course, there had to be a test drive.

I climbed into the SUV and the seat fit me like a glove. I was sold, completely in love, and an hour later they were running my credit!!!! Oh my god, what and I doing?!?!?!? I was scared to death to call Greg and tell him, ummm...honey, I think I'm going to buy a car!

I told the people at Toyota I was not about to buy a car without my husband seeing it first. Greg was at work so they suggested I drive the car over to his office and show him! Hahaha! I can just picture the look on his face!

It was a very tempting idea. I called Greg and he told me he was just about to leave the office. So I suggested we meet for dinner, how about Panera? I drove the new car and waited in the parking lot for Greg to show up. He pulled into the parking lot and did not even notice me waiting in the new car. So I rolled down the window and whistled at him.

He looked over, saw me in the car, and smiled. Fheeew, a smiling face, I was relieved.

Greg: Nice car.

Me: Thanks, I think I'm gonna keep it.

Greg: Oh really...

I fill him in on all the details over some panini and soup. I think I had 2 bites. I was so nervous I couldn't really eat.

We went back to the Toyota dealer and 2 hours of negotiations later, I was transferring my groceries from faithful old "Bessy" to my new baby. I still can't believe it, I guess it's fair to say I'm an impulse shopper. But when it's right, sometimes you just know it! Two weeks later and I have no regrets, happy as a clam, sometimes I don't want to get out of my car!!!

Spring inside but not outside

2010-02-24T15:15:00.005-06:00

I am so ready for spring that I decided to pick up a little something for the house to make me feel better about all the miserable snow outside.

I was at Trader Joe's over the weekend and they had all these great potted plants. Lots of tulips and daffodils in pretty pots. They also had hyacinth, I never knew what these flowers were called but they smelled WONDERFUL so I went with it.

My favorite smell in the whole world is still the orange blossoms back in AZ but hyacinth is now a very close second! The plant makes it feel a little more like spring is coming but I know in reality there is probably still at least another month of this freezing cold...bummer.

LOVE

2010-02-14T19:19:00.005-06:00

Ice Skating in Millennium Park

Happy Valentine's Day

Can you say BARGAIN

2010-02-05T09:32:00.006-06:00

I bought this...Originally priced at this .....$1,449.00but I only paid this....$399.00

Oh how I love you C&B outlet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He's a Natural!

2010-02-03T11:17:00.003-06:00

He did it! Greg went snowboarding with me! Here he is, all smiles, before the "fun" begins. For any of you who have learned to snowboard, the first day is not typically a lot of fun. You spend a lot of time on your butt and sometimes it can be a little painful.

Greg took a quick lesson, and was going down the hill in no time!!

My hubby was such a good sport! I'm so glad we finally got to do this together!

I need a vacation

2010-01-28T11:38:00.003-06:00

It is that time of the year here in Illinois. When winter has lost it's charm and I am very much ready for another season. Unfortunately, this is probably just the half way point. Last year it didn't warm up until April (maybe even May depending on your definition of "warm").

So...we are going to make the best of the snow. I am going to teach Greg how to snowboard. I brought my board with me to Illinois and just bought some new boots last weekend (Sports Authority was having a sale...I couldn't resist...pink Burton's, that's all I'm going to say). There are a few "learn to ski" hills here in Illinois. One is about 45 minutes north of us. Or we can go to a real mountain in Wisconsin which is about a 2 hour drive. I haven't made up my mind where we're going to go. All I know is Saturday is the day. I will take pictures, don't you worry. I've been waiting 5 years to see my honey on a snowboard.

This is not really much of a vacation, just a day trip. But, we do have a real vacation in our future and I am SO excited. Our good friends Carson and Meghan have made the brilliant decision to get married at a vineyard near Sacramento. The tickets are booked, we will be there in May. Every time I open my gmail account and see the travel itinerary staring back at me I know it won't be long until I'm back on the west coast soaking up the sun!!!

Until then....

They were 50% off, how are you going to pass that up?!?!

Slacking

2010-01-07T17:04:00.006-06:00

I don't know why but I've been slacking on the blogging lately. It's not like I've been particularly busy or swamped with work, just lazy I guess. The cold weather does make you want to curl up by the fire and do nothing for hours. This morning I watched the snow fall outside our bedroom window for way way too long. It's my day off, I guess that's allowed.

Today I also took down all the Christmas decorations. It was very sad, I feel like the house is so bare without them. But the time had definitely come, our tree is very crispy... aka dead.

I never really posted any pictures from the holidays so here are a few. We did a split Christmas between Mesa and Tucson. New Years Eve was filled with sushi, board games, and friends here in Naperville. What can I say, we are so lucky and we've been having a great time. Happy New Year! I have high hopes for 2010 :)

Annual lunch turned dinner with my favorite ladies!

25...yikes.

Christmas, Polheber style.

All our nieces and nephews!

A little rock climbing

Winter, Arizona style :)

Books

2009-12-13T11:47:00.003-06:00

Not every day is a busy day at CVS and I've finally had the time to do some reading. I was never much of a reader growing up. I never found the books that we were reading in class to be all that interesting. In college, my reading list was made up of what was required for class. After finishing my required readings I had absolutely no desire to read for fun.

Now that I finally have some down time, I've read some really great books! I just wanted to share my list. The books that have hearts next to them have been my favorites. I am also asking for suggestions, you'll notice I've just been sticking to authors that I like. I need a little more variety. My only requirement is the book be a page turner, other wise I lose interest quickly. If you have a favorite please leave me a comment! Thanks!

While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky - current book (entertaining)
Stern Men by Elizabeth Gilbert ♥ (slow start, wasn't sure I'd finish this one, amazing ending!)
Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky (entertaining)
Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin ♥ (page turner)
The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert (story of Eustace Conway)
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert ♥ (probably my favorite book ever)

Winter Wonderland

2009-12-09T16:39:00.010-06:00

Winter is officially here. Take a look.

I hope you enjoy this shot of the house, I had to brave the freezing cold weather to bring it to you...burr! I have not been outside all day. The house is nice and cozy...which makes it hard to leave!

...16 days left until Christmas!

Our plan is to be in Mesa Dec 22nd-25th (AM) and in Tucson Dec 25th (PM)-28th!

Turkey for me and turkey for you!

2009-11-30T10:40:00.007-06:00

This year Thanksgiving was stuck in the middle of 4 twelve hour shifts at CVS...not fun. As a result, there was no way we were going to be able to get home for the holiday. This was the first Thanksgiving I have ever spent away from my family and I really really missed being home!

On a positive note, this gave me the chance to cook my first ever Thanksgiving meal. I decided to make an entire spread of food (even though it was just Greg and me). I'm so glad I got the chance to do this!!! I have always feared the day I would have to make Thanksgiving for a large group of people with no practice or experience under my belt. I knew if I botched this meal, it would be okay, Greg would not be upset. Worst case scenario we would end up at Boston Market. I was completely shocked beyond belief that all my dishes were eatable! Not only that, Greg looked like he actually enjoyed the meal!

Take a look at our spread. Needless to say we are still eating left overs, but I actually think Thanksgiving food tastes better a few days later in the form of sandwiches! Yum!

The day to day

2009-11-11T09:51:00.008-06:00

Not much new here. My job at CVS is going well. I have one more week of orientation in the clinic before I'm on my own. I've seen hundreds of sick people over the past few weeks and given maybe a thousand flu shots! The Minute Clinic is a happening place. I can't say it has been difficult adjusting to my new 3 day work week. I actually have time to blog on a Wednesday morning :) The days that I do work are long....very very very long. I usually don't get home until 9pm. Still trying to adjust to the 12 hour shifts, I've never handled them well in the past but I'm hoping it will start to fell more normal soon.

Greg has been working like a crazy person. He has worked the last 13 days straight and isn't about to stop any time soon. He plans to work through this weekend and all of next week too so I won't be seeing much of him! I miss my hubby. I'm glad he has been given so much responsibility at work I know it is really a huge compliment in disguise. His company must really like him if they want to spend 10 hours a day 7 days a week with him ;)

I attempted to rake leaves over the weekend. It did not go well. I am such a wimpy girl and was barely able to clear 1/4 of our yard. Today it feels like I might have torn every muscle in my back (not really, but I'm super sore), I guess the yoga just isn't cutting it. After I finished bagging the massive piles of leaves my sweet neighbor informed me that "most people" use a blower and a tarp. You just blow the leaves onto the tarp and drag the tarp to the side of the road. Wow! That would be sooooo much simpler than what I did! Can you tell I'm from Arizona? Do orange trees even lose their leaves? I can't remember. Greg and I have learned a lot from our neighbors. They have become like a second set of parents. I know they just sit inside their house, looking out the window into our yard thinking...

...what the heck are those kids doing now.

Toro! Toro!

2009-11-01T14:21:00.006-06:00

We had a beautiful Halloween in Naperville! The rain cleared up just in time for our trick or treaters. The 3 jumbo bags of candy that I bought we're gone in the 1st 30 minutes. Greg had to make a candy run in the middle of dinner, but overall it was a huge success!

This is fall!

Spooky Halloween sky

Our pumpkinsI got to spend the evening with a 9ft bull!
Baby and Johnny
Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Pumpkins shouldn't come from Walmart

2009-10-19T15:03:00.005-05:00

This past weekend was full of fall. It made think back to last October, when Greg and I were living in the middle of east Texas (aka: the middle of nowhere), and feel really grateful for how far we've come.

Last year we drove to Walmart and picked our pumpkins from a large cardboard bin. Last year I hung a flying witch from our from porch, I swear the neighbors thought we were some kind of crazy devil worshipers. I was the only house in our entire neighborhood with any Halloween decor. Last year I bought a giant bag of candy, but was hugely disappointed when we only got one lonely trick or treater.

This year we picked our pumpkins on a farm! Imagine that! We even took a hay ride and got lost in a corn maze while we were there! I decorated our house with my flying witch, a new sound activated ghost, cobwebs, and glowing spiders in the front window! I am probably one of the least decorated houses in my neighborhood. I am loving all this Halloween spirit. This is my kind of place! Can't wait to see what our trick or treater turn out will be :)

Announcement

2009-10-15T13:49:00.004-05:00

Drum roll please........I have accepted the position at CVS! I will be starting October 26th.

I'm soooo excited to start my new job at Minute Clinic. In addition to great salary and benefits, I'm really hoping this new job will offer a little more peace. Goodbye office drama, hello 3 day work weeks :)

Ready for October

2009-10-03T08:12:00.007-05:00

I haven't been on here in what seems like FOREVER. It is 7am Saturday morning and I finally have a little time to blog while Greg is sleeping in.

Last night we celebrated 5 years as a couple and I can't tell you all how lucky I feel to be married to my amazing hubby. Greg is such a good guy. I can honestly say he shares all our household responsibilities from mowing the lawn to doing the dishes (with the one exception of cooking...Greg is not a chef, but that's okay). The month of September was a crazy mess for me and Greg has been so supportive and fabulous through it all. He is my best friend and my life would not be complete with out him.

Okay, I promise I'm done with the mushy love stuff. Now to fill in all the gaps from this past month. My job has been a crazy roller coaster. I wish I could tell you it is my dream job and I'm busy every day seeing lots of patients, but that's just not the case. Our management/administration is a hot mess. I signed a written agreement when I was hired to define the terms of my position, my schedule, vacation, all that good stuff. Unfortunately, our "administration" has taken my written agreement and tossed it out the window. I have been TOLD (never asked) that my schedule has changed to a 6 day work week 50% of the time, my vacation has gone from 2 weeks to zero, and I sometimes go an entire day without seeing a single patient. I had been warned that this can sometimes happen in private practice but WOW I was not expecting this.

More news, I have another job offer with a very large corporation. The salary is higher, the benefits are better, and the vacation is longer. The other plus side of working for a large corporation is that they must stick to their agreements. They can not suddenly decide not to give me vacation because a physician has decided to take off to Europe for a month. My agreement would be upheld because it is corporate policy. There are also some negatives: 10 hour shifts, running my own clinic with no support staff (very isolating), and working a couple weekends every 6 weeks.

I've been bouncing back and forth on my decision for the last 2 weeks. It would be very difficult for me to leave my office because I had really high hopes that this would work out. I have to make up my mind by Monday so I'll keep you posted.

In addition to the stress of my work situation I had another bomb dropped on me last month. I found a little group of women online in similar situations that I'm chatting with (probably the reason my blog has been neglected...sorry) but I can tell you the support I'm getting is so helpful. I'd like to be able to open up and say more but I'm not quite there yet.

I am so ready to move on to October, YAY, my favorite month. Fall is definitely here is Chicago, the leaves are starting to change and the weather is ridiculously COLD! I promise lots of pictures when the leaves are in their prime.

Don't look down

2009-09-13T12:52:00.011-05:00

Greg and I did a little sightseeing this weekend in downtown Chicago. My cousin and her husband came to visit so we decided to do some of the touristy things like shopping on Michigan avenue, taking a water taxi down the Chicago River, and braving the Ledge at the Sears tower. Greg and I don't go downtown very often so we we're not the best tour guides, but hopefully in time we'll get to know the city better.We had a really hard time finding the Sears tower. I was kind of embarrassed that I didn't know which building it was, but there are so many tall buildings in Chicago and they all look really similar. None of us (6 people) could find the tower. We found out that the Sears tower is not even called the "Sears" tower anymore, it's called the Willis Tower, that's not confusing at all!

We waited in line for over 2 hours to get up to the Skydeck of the tower. After all the lines, you finally get to an elevator that takes you up 103 stories in under 30 seconds. Did I mention I'm terrified of heights? The views from the Skydeck are amazing, you can see all of Chicago and into 4 different states up there! There is a new attraction on the Skydeck called "The Ledge", this is a glass box that you stand in and it feels like you are suspended in midair over the city of Chicago.

Can you say freaky????

Proof that we did it!

Adventures in Family Practice

2009-09-08T19:54:00.008-05:00

So I have been an employee of the Joliet Doctors Clinic for exactly one week! Things are off to a slow but awesome start. I am building my own roster of patients which takes time. There are 5 other providers in this practice and some of them have offered to send a patient or two my way. But for the most part, everyone has their own patients and we don't really share, unless one of us is out of town/on vacation.

My office decided to advertise me this past weekend with a HUGE picture of my face in the Sunday paper. Hopefully, this will start bringing in the patients :)

My first day at the office I only saw ONE single patient. I had been waiting all morning constantly refreshing my computer screen hoping to see someone...anyone show up on my schedule. Finally, around two o'clock in the afternoon, a name popped up! I was thrilled, and then my joy was overcome with panic. Holy crap, I have to take care of this person all by myself! I quickly checked the "problem" column to see what they were here for and all it said was "sick". Okay, this could be a million different things. So I looked through the patient's chart to get a better picture of her history and then it was GO time.

The docs joked "...someone should take a picture, Amelia is seeing her first patient!" Ha! Thanks alot! I opened the door to find an agitated middle aged woman sitting on the exam table. I don't know why she was so irritated, she hadn't waited more than 30 seconds for me to enter the room. I introduced myself, took a nice little history, did my assessment, and poof....acute sinusitis (sinus infection). Easy peasy I thought! I'll just prescribe an antibiotic and that's it!

No...that was not it. This patient had not been into the office for quite a long while and she suddenly sprung a laundry list of problems on me! Back pain, weight gain, tingling in her fingers, swelling in her right leg....ahhh, the list went on and on!!! I wanted to say, listen lady, this is a 15 minute appointment, but clearly that would be rude.

Technically, in this sort of situation, you are supposed to tell that patient that they will need to schedule a routine visit in order to allow enough time to manage the other issues. I knew I didn't have any other patients so I decided, what the heck, I'll see what I can do. I went through all of her complaints one by one. It took a good 45 minutes. Finally, I finished, I presented the woman with all of her prescriptions. She gave me an evil look. What did I do wrong, why is she not happy?!?!? She said, you didn't give me a prescription for _________ medication. I said, yes, I know, it is over the counter, you don't need a prescription. The woman threw a fit! Well my other doctor always gives me a prescription, she said! I explained that she didn't need one, that anyone could go to the pharmacy and get what she was looking for. This did not make the situation any better.

The patient started yelling at me, saying that I didn't know what I was doing! Not wanting to get in a full on fist fight with this woman over something so ridiculous, I wrote the name of the medication on a prescription pad to make it "look" very official. She left without saying thank you.

I returned to my office to finish my note and my medical assistant came in to tell me that the patient I had just seen was giving her a hard time. The MA had offered to fax the prescriptions directly to the pharmacy and the patient accused her of thinking she was irresponsible or assuming that she would sell the prescriptions on the street!!!! Wow! The poor girl was just trying to be nice! Fifteen minutes later I got a call from the pharmacy saying there was a disgruntled woman here trying to "fill" an over the counter medication. The pharmacist explained to my patient that the medication was on the shelf, and easily accessible, there was nothing for him to "fill" (exactly like I had told her). Apparently, she didn't get it.

I felt really bad about not being able to please this patient. I'm guessing this lady will probably never come back and see me, but then again, I think I'm okay with that. So that was it, I survived my first day!

Excited and nervous all at once!

2009-08-31T15:38:00.005-05:00

Tomorrow is my first day back at the office...not as an intern, but as a paid employee! Holy cow! I can't believe someone is going to pay me to do this job!

Wish me luck!

I can't wait to tell you all about it!

Entertaining

2009-08-19T14:40:00.002-05:00

Last weekend I had house guests! My mother, her boyfriend, and my grandparents all came to stay at Casa de Polheber. I've never had to entertain guests before and I have to say I was a little nervous about having 4 extra people in our house. Turns out I had nothing to worry about! We all fit just fine.

We did a lot in just 3 short days. There is a dinner movie theater in Woodridge and we all went and saw Julie and Julia. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie, very entertaining and funny. My grandmother helped us do a little decorating and we got new curtains for our family room. Greg actually picked the fabric and I think it looks great!

Finally, on Sunday we went to the most amazing brunch at Meson Sabika. This is a tappas restaurant in Naperville, where they serve small plates of food so you get to taste a lot of different things. It is an awesome experience because you can take your time eating and then waiting for the next plate to come. I made reservations for brunch a week in advance because this restaurant is busy busy busy. The food is probably some of the best I've ever had. Brunch is my all time favorite meal. There is something about sleeping in, having a late meal, and drinking mimosas that puts a big smile on my face!

I'm so glad my family came to visit, we had a great time! Bring on the house guests :)

Frustrated

2009-08-10T12:18:00.003-05:00

I'm not good at waiting. My new license number has still not arrived and I am starting to get a little frustrated. Each day at 1:00pm I check the mail hopeful that today will be the day. Seeing the mail truck pull up on our street is the highlight of my day. But my excitement quickly turns to disappointment when the mailbox is full of junk ads or mislabeled mail or sometimes no mail at all, that is the worst.

I'm starting to run out of projects. The house is mostly in order, I had house guests over the weekend so everything is already clean and neat. There really isn't much to do. I feel like I need to join a club or find a new hobby. I've never had this much down time ever before. I've never not been in school or working before!

Greg has been so supportive through all of this. He has been the sole provider and never complained about it once. I know he is ready to have me working so I can share some of our financial responsibilities, like the mortgage! Life will be less stressful once we are a two person income. I can't wait.

But, since I have no choice in the matter, I will continue to play the waiting game while stalking the mail man until my letter comes and the next chapter can begin.

Facelift

2009-08-05T12:44:00.005-05:00

Before and After...Fireplace Facelift

....it speaks for itself

Change is good

2009-07-27T10:26:00.003-05:00

Life is way better when you aren't studying 9 hours a day.

I could get use to this.

25

2009-07-23T10:52:00.006-05:00

My wonderful hubby turns 25 today.

Happy Birthday Honey, I love you!

25 things I love about Greg

1. He is the most loyal person you will ever meet

2. He has dreamy blue eyes

3. He is freaking hilarious

4. He washes the dishes

5. He has big sexy lips :)

6. He is my best friend

7. He loves kids, this seems to be a more recent development and it is SO sexy

8. He is a crazy good athlete

9. He is incredibly hard working

10. He is super chill

11. He loves to stay in and watch movies

12. He likes my cooking

13. He is very clean

14. He is a dog lover

15. He is super handy and has done a ton of work on our house

16. He shares my passion for sushi

17. He is very thoughtful and sentimental

18. He is not a morning person

19. He cuts his own hair and it always looks perfect

20. He is a really good driver, unlike someone else

21. He is a family person

22. He doesn't mind taking pictures

23. He watches HGTV with me, most of the time

24. He loves stand up comedy

25. He is my rock

What a day!

2009-07-22T13:53:00.004-05:00

Today I passed the Family Nurse Practitioner board exam. Yay! I always knew I wanted to be a nurse practitioner but getting to this point was a crazy long process!

It all started with Nursing School....Hate is a strong word, but I STRONGLY disliked nursing school. Nursing school was so terribly painful for me! If you really know me well, you'd know that I don't like hospitals.

From day one, I knew I wanted to work as a nurse practitioner in primary care (an office). Well, in nursing school, your future goals don't matter much. The bottom line is you are going to learn how to be a well rounded RN. That means spending time in MedSurg, L&D, ICU, Emergency, Psych/Mental Health...etc. That was great news for the 49 other people in my program, but it was torture for me. I even had a nursing professor tell me I should change my major, that I shouldn't be a nurse!

It's not that I wasn't meant to be a nurse, nurses can work in a ton of different settings. Hospitals just are not my cup of tea, they cause me serious anxiety, I like to avoid them at all costs! I guess it's no surprise that I LOVE primary care, the whole purpose is to keep people OUT of hospitals (coincidence? I don't think so!).

The other major challenge was studying on the road. During the course of my masters program we moved FIVE times. That means 5 different preceptors (I actually had way more than 5). Every time we moved I had to find a new preceptor (some one to mentor me for the clinical portion of my school requirements).

Oh the joy of opening the phone book and randomly calling doctors and nurse practitioners I'd never met and asking them if I could intern at their practice. I could almost hear their thoughts through the silent phone line, "who is this person and why is she calling me???" I can't tell you how many times I was hung up on....HUNDREDS.

I'd like to give a quick shout out to the people who did NOT hang up on me...Dr. Robertson, Dr. Ellman, Dr. Hamidi, Kelly Schauer, Ellen Gastauer, Dr. Borucki, Katheryn Green, Dr. Smith, Dr. Price and Dr. Noorani...Thank you all for being the most wonderful preceptors I could have every asked for! Without these amazingly kind and generous people I would not be here :)

In the end, 7 years of education was all worth it because I love this job:)

P.S. I saw that nursing professor that told me I shouldn't be a nurse at my FNP graduation, and I made it a point to give her a big HELLO! The look on her face was priceless....she definitely remembered me.

Road trip to Michigan

2009-07-14T10:52:00.004-05:00

This past weekend Greg and I hopped in the car and drove 6 hours to visit family in Michigan. We got to meet our new niece Kylie Grace and do some awesome fishing!

Me and the babe, Kylie has some LONG toes, just like her uncle Greg!

Family Pic!

Thanks Michelle and Marty for a great weekend!

Fabulous Fourth

2009-07-06T10:35:00.005-05:00

The 4th of July was a 4 day event this year. There is no denying that Chicago is an awesome city in the summer. Greg had Thursday and Friday off so went to the Tast of Chicago and RibFest. Basically our entire weekend revolved around food, and that was okay by me!

We did a little eating....

and a little playing....

and then we ate some more....

Happy 4th of July!

If a tree falls in your backyard....

2009-07-03T14:26:00.007-05:00

....does it make a sound?

Apparently not. I was in the kitchen washing dishes, no more than 20 feet away, and I didn't hear a thing.
It wasn't actually the entire tree, but it was a 40 ft branch and it nearly fell on our house!

Unfortunately, this one central branch falling was enough to through off the "balance" of the tree. Meaning we are at great risk for other branches falling directly onto our house....not good. We talked to an arborist (aka tree doctor) and were informed that the ENTIRE tree will have to come down. I am actually very upset about the situation.
Our poor lopsided tree will be coming down shortly. But we will be planting TWO new trees to replace it :)

Milwaukee

2009-06-30T10:10:00.003-05:00

Last week I traveled to Wisconsin for a 3 day review class meant to prepare me for the FNP board certification exam. On Wednesday afternoon I drove 2.5 hours from Chicago to Milwaukee so I could be up bright and early Thursday morning for class that STARTED at 7:30am! This is pretty early for me considering the earliest I get up these days is around 8am, when I drag myself out of bed and barely make it to yoga by 8:30.
There were over 100 people attending the seminar and I was shocked to see several other young new nurse practitioners just like myself! Most of the women I went to school with had all worked as nurses for several years and then decided to go back to school, very few under the age of 30. But this was not the case in Milwaukee, I met plenty of women in their 20's crazy!
Anyway, the class was very intense 8 hours of lecture and review questions all day every day...yuck! I missed Greg TERRIBLY. It was the first time we'd been apart since the wedding and I did not enjoy it.
I've determined I definitely do not like traveling alone, it is lonely, go figure. Wisconsin is an okay place, a little weird with all the strange city names like Waukesha, Waunakee, Kewaskum, and my all time favorite Oconomowoc. Ha! I would maybe consider going back, but not for another review seminar, and next time I'd bring Greg of course!

Waiting...

2009-06-18T10:28:00.006-05:00

The process of becoming and licensed and certified Family Nurse Practitioner is long and tedious!!! I am starting to go a little crazy. The first step obviously is graduating. Done, check, no problem. It's everything after graduation that takes FOREVER. I sent in my application to the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) literally the day after I graduated, along with my transcripts and all other supporting documents. The ANCC has to review my application, confirm that I am not a psychopath, and then they will give me permission to take the certification exam and a "window to test" . Then I can schedule the exam any time in the next 90 days. Well it's been a month and I haven't heard anything about a test date! To make matters worse, I can't get a state nurse practitioner license until I have scheduled the exam. That is the only reason I am sitting on my butt and not at work right now!!!

I just called the ANCC to see what the heck is taking so long and they told me they had not received my transcripts. IMPOSSIBLE! I even got a confirmation from U of A that they had been delivered. Then I finally put two and two together. My last name was throwing everyone off. My transcripts say PIRASTEHFAR and my application says POLHEBER! I included my marriage license with my application so they could see I really was the same person but apparently they hadn't figured it out! So frustrating! I just got off the phone with a very rude woman but she promised to make a note in my file. It sounds like I might be able to have a "window to test" by next week...but I don't want to get my hopes too high. Once I get my window I can schedule the exam, drive to Springfield and get a state license, and hopefully start my job (after completing massive amounts of paperwork required by my employer). Boooo!

Back to reality

2009-06-15T16:32:00.008-05:00

We got back from Costa Rica about 2 weeks and we're slowly trying to get our life back in order. It is great to be home! Living out of our suitcases for nearly 3 weeks was pretty exhausting! I really missed our dogs, being able to do laundry, sleeping in our bed, and just laying on the couch doing nothing.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like we've just been vegging out since we got home. We've actually been very productive trying to conquer all our home renovation projects. Some of the major improvements include the installation of 3 new ceiling fans, demolition of the nasty tile around our fireplace, a new cornice board for the bedroom (hand made by ME), assembly of a new dining room table, installation of cabinetry in our mud room and laundry room for extra storage, LOTS and LOTS of yard work (primarily tree trimming and weed killing), and I've been making an effort to frame some our millions of wedding pictures.

Actually, we've been incredibly busy. I think Greg and I have trouble relaxing.

Aren't the new fans beautiful!?! I love them! I put one up but Greg had to do the other two, they are pretty heavy.

I made a cornice board for our bedroom out of a bedskirt. It was the only way to make it match our duvet cover (below). Now I just need to find some nice flowy white drapes. I promise to posta full bedroom shot once I get the whole room put together...it's just not quite ready yet :)

Pictures in frames! I'm in love with black and white photography.

The TERRIBLE fireplace tile from 1971, right before the demo.

This took me several hours with a hammer and a chisle. Not fun.

VICTORY!

Stay tuned...next week I'm replacing the 40 year old tile with SLATE. I'm sure it will give our fireplace the much needed face lift it deserves!!!

Professional Wedding Photos

2009-06-08T09:50:00.003-05:00

Lots and lots of wedding photos :)

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/thumbpage.aspx?e=4775367

password: amelia

Courtesy of John Holman Photography