Half Way There!-20 Week Update

I can not believe that I am already halfway through my pregnancy with Ela's little sister! I will admit, being a working mom, and with a husband on the go, I was a little nervous about being pregnant with a toddler. As it turns out, I have been having a good pregnancy to date and to be honest, I just don't have time to feel sick, tired or even think about it. In ways it has been much easier this go around. Here is the update!

**Whats going on this week?!**

How far along? 20 Weeks- Half Mark Milestone!
How many weeks left? 20 Weeks
Total weight gain: 8 pounds

Maternity clothes? Yes, and much earlier this go around
Food Craving of the Week: Bagels and Coconut Macaroon Special Edition by Hagen Daaz (not together)
Sleep: This week has been rough. Still fighting a remaining sinus infection
Best moment this week: Going to the Zoo with my little Ela
Movement: Yes, yes and yes. I think we are going to have a hyper one on our hands again.
Belly Button in or out? In and that is where it needs to stay. 
What I miss: Having a beer in this warm weather
What I am looking forward to: Tomasz finishing up training
Weekly Wisdom: Keep exercising
Milestones: I saw a full butt roll in the belly, Baby Girl had her toushy straight up in the air!

Ela's thoughts on Baby Sister: She is super excited and even named her baby doll sister. She also wants "sister " to sleep in her bed when she is born. 

Baby Sister will soon have a name...We have narrowed it down to two names and just need to pick a middle name that sounds good with the names that we picked. Baby Sister sure is an active little girl already and in my latest sonogram, she was punching the doppler as the tech was rolling it over my belly. She was so active that the lab tech even called in another tech to watch as it was so funny seeing her punch my belly. From the looks of Baby Sister now she will probably be a small baby at just at 6 pounds unless she has a major growth spurt. Just like her big sister! 

We are so excited and even just put down a deposit, for daycare at Ela's school for after she is born. :) 5 more months to go seems so far away some days and just around the corner on others. Ela and I are headed off to Ikea to organize her room to prepare for her little sister's arrival. (Yes nesting started WAY earlier this time)

Until next time....

Speak Up Mommy Part 2

“You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

 - Steve Jobs

This post was to precede my last post Speak Up Mommy. I have been feeling this way for a while, but just have not been able to sit down and write. Point is: Trust your gut. You know what is best.

I would not say Ela is a "sick" child, but rather a mis understood child health wise. Since a few months of birth we have had a few health issues such as eczema, and a chronic cough at night.(Don't forget food allergies)  Throw daycare into the mix at 1 years of age and you have a party of the sniffles, coughs, and every other virus imaginable. If you have followed me for a while, here was one of my conclusions after many doctors visits The Inseparable Three. So long story short, Ela had eczema at two months, and a severe food allergy reaction at 1 year so it was natural that she was diagnosed wiht Asthma due to the chronic cough about a year ago. I agree it made sense, typically kids with food allergies, especially those with eczema have asthma. So we were sent to a pediatric pulmonologist, given two inhalers and on our way. 

Flash forward to the beginning of allergy season this April. Ela still had a chronic cough ONLY at night to the point that she would get sick from coughing so hard. I tried everything! On top of the inhaler, we had a purifier, humidifier, a concoction of vapor rub and elevated pillows. I was so frustrated and after many trips to the pulmonlogist and prescription  steriods. I finally got sick of the same answers, overwilligness to prescribe meds and called our pediatric allergist. She also deals witht he pulmonary system, however given how far she was from our home we elected for a pulmonogist around the corner. I called her desperate. She confessed that she never thought Ela had asthma, as she never heard her wheeze. Additionally I told her how the rescue inhaler never worked when we used it. She asked questions, and really thought outside the box. We came up with a plan together. She thought it could be a few possible things:

1. Reflux- Give her a Tums 30 minutes before bed. No liquids 1 hour before bed

2. Post Nasal Drip-  Nasonex spray Post Nasal Drip

3. Enlarged Adenoids

So we began to try out a few things and the plan was after allergy season (June/July) to take Ela off the inhalers. I decided not to wait. What was the worst that would happen? She did mention it would take 2 weeks to see any negative reaction as the body keeps the steroid in the system. I stopped the inhaler in the midst of allergy season in late March and Ela has been fine to date(almost 4 months). Ela had a few episodes of night coughing and we tried both the Tums, which had some improvement. The real impact was the Nasonex. This has made a huge difference so we came to the conclusion that it is post nasal drip, possibly causes by her adenoids.

This leaves us with a follow up appointment to an ENT to discuss the possible removal of her adenoids, which is a very common procedure and or solutions to help the post nasal drip. Before I agree to that, I am defiantly doing my research! We had seen an ENT when Ela was close to a year, who recommended to monitor the adenoids which were swollen then. This could also be something that Ela will grow out of by the time she is 4 when the adenoids begin to shrink naturally. 

My point in all of this is, how often do doctors diagnose out of conclusion without the facts? My child is not a statistic, or a typical child with the Inseparable Three. My child deserves the full attention of the doctor and the willingness to dig a little deeper, and not just solve the symptoms. I also believe that we give too much trust to the doctors and it is ok to ask for a second opinion. The icing on the cake was the stay in the hospital a few weeks ago. I had a gut feeling and I was right. I had the same gut feeling about Ela not having asthma and guess what... I was right.As parents, we really need to listen to our instincts, because that is why we were given them!

Exciting News on the Baby Baran front! Check back for a "half way there" post this week!  No name yet..but close!

Speak up Mommy!

This time last week, I was admitting Ela into a hospital and scared out of my mind. It feels like that week was so long ago, and just a distant nightmare, but unfortunately it was not. Although it was so horrible to watch my little girl go through what we both thought was torture, I definitely put some lessons in my Mom book. I have been meaning to write a post for a long time about Ela and her asthma (or lack of) and trusting my gut when it comes to diagnoses and doctors. (That post will follow..) My experience last week just affirmed everything in all my thoughts I have yet to put online.

Flashback to two Saturdays ago. We had Ela in the pool at my Grandmothers relaxing and having fun. She was just not herself. Ela loves the pool and was not even playing. 

Within the hour she spiked a 104 fever. We gave her Motrin and hoped for the best. Over the night and the next day the fever continued to spike and the only way to bring it down was to alternate Motrin and Ibuprofen every four hours. Still nothing, so Sunday night we made a trip to the local Urgent Care center. They said every mothers worst nightmare "Its a virus and only time will work". The next morning, my hopes of going into work were destroyed( as well as my bed) when Ela proceeded to tell me " My belly huwrt' as she puked all over my bed. After being sick to her tummy for 4 hours straight we headed to the pediatrician. I thought Strep, UTI and other various infections according to Google. Her pediatrician was concerned about dehydration but said if I could keep fluids in her an IV was not necessary.A jug of Gatorade later and I thought we were in the clear. Ela was just not herself, but I did get the fluids in her..... Oh and yes she confirmed "It was just a virus". Tuesday I got a sitter to come to the house, and the fever was still present. Wednesday I tried to put Ela to school as the fever was minimal overnight...No luck. She started with diarrhea and by the end of the day the fever was back to 103. At this point I called my Boss and explained I was taking Ela back to the doctor in the morning and would not be at work. We headed to the pediatricians office, however my actual pediatrician would be out. I was to see her Nurse Practitioner. She examined Ela and after I BEGGED for a blood test, she finally gave Ela one.Her diagnoses: Rest, all she needed was rest, to try juice, to get her hydrated. I explained I was worried about dehydration and she said she was not concerned. At this point I was FURIOUS! I wished they would just find an infection so I could fix the now 6 day fever and vomiting etc. We headed home, Ela sicker than ever, and me with no answers. Words can not describe how bad she looked. 

10am at the Pediatrician office

2pm at the Hospital

4:00pm getting some fluids...Finally

As you can see I ended up taking Ela straight to the ER. After we got home and I went to wake Ela up from her nap in the car, she was lifeless and could not even open her eyes. I was scared at that point. I didn't care if the hospital thought I was crazy like the nurse practitioner did. I was getting answers!!! Sure enough my Mom gut was right.  I'll spare the details in the ER, but one of the scariest moments of my life was when Ela passed out during the insertion of the IV. Thank god for good doctors to calm both of us down. Within an hour of the fluids getting started, Ela woke up and actually smiled for the first time in days. We were not out of the woods, but Ela was improving..Especially when her best buddy came to visit. The nurses joked how it was the boy not the IV that made her perk up.

Ela and Mac playing on the Ipad

We were transported to another hospital via Ambulance. Although this was not my first choice, the hospital was excellent and had some great doctors and nurses....not to mention it passed my standards with flying colors for cleanliness. Ela ended up staying for a total of three days and was on an IV for two days. It took TWO days for her fluid levels to return to normal. Here are some pictures of my sweet baby...Even sick she is too cute. 

She slept all Thursday and Friday... She only woke up to use the bathroom or when she was restless.

Oh...and the other thing I learned is that being potty trained( as of two weeks prior) really saved the day. Not only did it save the day but throughout this whole process, Ela refused to use her diaper. I was so proud. Being able to collect samples, also prevented other unnecessary medical procedures.

A little hospital crib.

 Later on that night she was finally starting to get some energy back.

We took a walk and played on the Ipad.

My "bed" If you want to call it that...

We were finally released Saturday morning. During the course of her stay, I had Ela tested for every possible  cause of the high fever and ongoing symptoms, but everything lead back to a virus. At least we ruled out everything! It also became a little more clear when one of Ela's littlest classmates ended up in the room down the hall from us. There is nothing quite like daycare!

I learned to ALWAYS trust my gut! I should have taken her for fluids earlier in the week. I feel that we put Doctors' on a pedestal because they are Doctors. We often forget that we know our children the best, even better than we know our own bodies. I am not saying that Doctors do not command respect, but in situations like these, I knew it was not like my Ela to sit on a couch for three hours and not move, or not even want to drink juice or eat ice cream. This was a huge reality check that doctors even make mistakes. At the hospital I had a great doctor, who ran any test I asked. I explained that I had been to the doctor three times that week and had to beg for these tests repeatedly. She responded " Mom you are your babies voice and you brought her here because she is not right". Even when we were transferred to the other hospital, I told the doctor how worried I was. She said " You are your child's voice, you are her advocate, speak up" She is 100% correct and that is exactly what I did. I think after this experience, I will be much more likely to speak up sooner than later and not be afraid.

All is well that ends well....and one week later my little girl is back to her hyper, rambunctious self!

Baby Baran Round #2

So.... Are you in suspense yet?

I was surprised to find out that our gender  scan was scheduled for 16 weeks with Baby B instead of the 20 weeks we had to wait to find out about our little Ela. I will say throughought this pregnancy, I have had NO clue what the sex of this Baby was. With Ela, I knew from early on that I was having a girl from both the old wives tales, my intution, and of course the Chinesse Gender Predictor. My pregnancy this time has been similar to the first as far as the morning sickness(maybe a little better), but the cravings have been completely different. The strangest of all is that I had no intuition about this one! That is odd for me. So I started thinking(yes, I am not good with surprises)...

• The results of 2 out of the 3 quizzes I took were:

There is a 50% chance you are having a BOY. There is a 50% chance you are having a GIRL.

As if I could not have guessed that myself.

• And the Chinese Gender Predictor(Which was accurate with Ela):

The Chinese chart says you're having a boy!

• And the REAL expert on the subject matter, Ela of couse:

Since we told Ela she was going to be a big sister she said that she was going to have a "Brodther" (Brother). About a week ago after we told her that she was going to get to see her Brother or Sister on TV, she started saying she was going to have a "Sista"(Sister). Apparently NO ONE knew what I was having!

If you have not already scrolled to the bottom, I will get to the exciting news!

 We ended up taking Ela to my appointment since her school was on a reduced schedule for the holiday and that was priceless. When she saw the Baby on the big monitor, Tomasz told her that was her baby. She had the HUGEST smile on her face. She waived and said "Hi Baby". MELT. MY. HEART. As soon as we told her what the sex of the baby was she screamed out a name! (which happened to be the name of the doctor as well) That is for another day and another post when we decide but Baby Baran is a .....

GIRL!

This is a crotch shot...Those are legs in case you were confused!

We are so happy and who would not want another little Ela running around the house? I am so excited that Ela will have a built in best friend and someone to plot against Tomasz and I with! We go back in another few weeks to get a peek at her again!

All I want for Christmas....

Is a sweet little baby to cuddle!

 We are so excited to announce that Ela is going to be a BIG sister. 

My first official Pregnancy Post...We are going to refrain from calling Baby B "Our little Peanut" given our family history of food allergies! ;)

**Whats going on this week?!**

How far along? 15 Weeks
How many weeks left? Oyh! To many to count. I think 25 weeks.
Total weight gain: 5 pounds
Maternity clothes? Yes for about 2 weeks.
Food Craving of the Week: Philly Cheese Steak/RaspberriesSleep: Have the snuggle pillow but still up to pee 2-3 times a night
Best moment this week: Shopping with Ela and after I tried on a new Maternity Dress she said "Oh Mommy you look so cute"
Movement: I don't think I am supposed to feel movement, but I think that I have. Even when I had an ultrasound two weeks ago, I was able to tell the tech where BB#2 was....So maybe.
Belly Button in or out? Its still deep in there.
What I miss: I just want to have a beer! Its so hot outside!
What I am looking forward to: Finding out the sex. JUNE 28th 

Ela's thoughts on the Baby:
* I was explaining that when Santa comes Mommy was going to have a baby. She asked " Is it stuck, why cant it come now"
* As I was getting dressed on day, Ela asked "Mommy why do you hide your baby"
* I was kissing and pretend eating her belly when she woke up one morning. She started tickling/pretend eating my leg and I asked her why and she replied "Mommy I can not eat my Brodther"
*And the best.... I go pick Ela up from school and the teacher asks if I have something to tell her. She said Ela has been talking about the Baby in her Mommy's belly all week. Ela told her " My Mommy has a baby in her belly and it eats alot"



At this point I have no intuition if Baby B is going to be a boy or a girl. At first I thought a boy because I was not as sick, but then came week 10 and it was deja vu all over again. Cravings change weekly; who am I kidding, Daily. I have had a dream about a girl twice this week,but Ela says it is a Baby "Brodther". We will see....

Here are a few bump pictures...I am getting much bigger quicker this time.

13 weeks                           14.5 weeks

Ela bump 16 weeks.

The Ela bump at 15 weeks.

Although I don't have as much time on my hands as last time.. I hope to keep my blog updated until our sweet little one gets here!

"I love you too much"

I love being a Mom. Its just that simple.
This year for Mother's Day I just wanted to be with my little family, and thats just what I did. I tried to teach Ela about Mother's Day and Father's Day and she kept saying "No, Ela Day"  :) So it was really Ela's day.

On Saturday we went to spend the day with my Grandmother. She is Mother of 4, Grandmother to 7, and Great Grandmother to 2. We had a BBQ despite the torrential rainfall mid day. It was so nice to just hang out, eat, and have Ela destroy someone else's house. (Just kidding about the last part) We cooked so much food and Ela successfully went the whole day in her "Big Girl Undies"

First Corn on the Cob



The next day we woke up, Ela jumped in our bed and we had some Baran family snuggles before church.  We headed to church, and then off to one of my favorite brunch spots. I am proud to say that Hubs and I both forgot our cell phones(by pure accident) so I have no pictures, but we had such a nice time without technology for a few hours. Brunch started to get challenging without the go-to Elmo videos but Ela survived the way we did as kids and just made a mess of the table.

The rest of the day, I had planned to get my nails done and have some quiet time, however it was so nice outside that I wanted to enjoy the park with Ela and Tomek. There is always next weekend!

We came home, cooked dinner together and then Tomasz and I curled up and watched Safe Haven. I have been wanting to see that move for a while.

 If you follow me on Facebook, then you probably already read the best part of my day. I went to go take a bath and relax for a few minutes while Tomasz entertained Ela. While sitting in the bath, I hear Ela in the other bathroom and Tomasz trying to rationalize with her.(Which never works for the record). He finally gave in and Ela comes running into my bathroom. With the biggest,  proudest grin on her face she says "Mommy I brought you toys" as she plops them in the tub. By this time Tomasz came into the bathroom and she is half undressed with one leg in the tub. How cute is she? What amazes me is her genuine sweetness. She really wanted to make me happy. (And that she did) I cried like a baby. That night when I put her to bed, I told her how sweet she was and that Mommy was happy she thought about me. Her reply " I love you too much Mommy".  Need I say more.

Away we go!- London 2013

So much like everything else in life lately, this post is a little late. A month to be precise. Hubs and I love to travel and when we found out we were pregnant with Ela we decided that our family would learn to love to travel too. We travel any chance we get, but once a year we usually try to take a trip overseas. Typically it is by ourselves around our anniversary.(May 9th) This year I (we ) could not bear the thought of leaving Ela for a few days and decided to take her with us. Flash forward to standing in line in the post office getting Ela's passport.

Doesn't it look like a baby Mug shot?!

And away we go to London! Although Ela has racked up the frequent flyer miles over her two years of life, this was going to be the longest flight. 8 hours is even long for me! I was armed with the Ipad with tons of new apps, coloring books, snacks, stickers, and a new Dora etch a sketch. I figured the way home would be the hard part because it was a morning flight. Quite the contrary;on the way there we left at 8pm and she did not fall asleep until 12am our time.She did great on the way home, and fell asleep as soon as we took off for 4 hours. The even bigger bonus is that she woke up with a dry diaper and did not go in her diaper once the entire flight...Not sure if she just liked going to the plane bathroom but ever since she is almost potty trained!(Sorry for the excited parent segway...Diapers suck) I dont know why she could not sleep,this girl had it made on the flight....

When she finally did fall asleep, we were able to carry her off the plane and she slept the hour wait in Customs and the hour train ride to our hotel....

We had a great trip, however Jet Lag really kicked her cute little behind.

Check out this video of her falling asleep at lunch.

Sleepy LIttle Ela-London

Once we all got showered and slept a little, we went out to see  the town for a few days.

The London Eye...It was HUGE!

Grabbing some lunch at a British Cafe--CHEESE!

She takes after my heart. Ice Cream

First taste of Sprite

Big Ben

Little Girl in a Big World

London Bridge is Falling Down...

A local Zoo...

Dont Worry its Decaf! 

Probably the highlight of her trip...She loved these little cars.

We all had a great time, but boy were we exhausted when we got home. At the end Ela kept saying " Ela go to her house".  Coming home was so much easier as far as the flight and recuperating from jet leg. We just kept Ela up to her normal bed time and she slept for 14 hours straight! Traveling with a toddler overseas is  a different experience. Our trip that normally consisted of first class, sleeping in and bar hopping now consisted of coach, early rising, Zoo's, parks and toy car rides :) I wouldn't have it any other way! <3 I feel so blessed to be able to teach and show her new parts of the world.