Heat wave

Well, I think today is day 5 of my hair experiment, and I am still going strong! I did cheat yesterday and use conditioner (but it was organic and pretty low on the harsh chemicals) because I was in a hurry...more on that later. We are beginning a big heat wave of 100+ degree temperatures and high humidity, so that's not doing my hair any favors either.

So far, I don't see any miraculous things happening to my hair, but also no bad results either. I think that I got the baking soda amount right on the first try, and my hair is coming perfectly clean and not dry or straw-like. The apple cider vinegar is making me gag like crazy, so I think I'm going to find a new container and add some ingredients such as honey, lemon, mint...and whatever else I come up with, to tame the smell. It is a little hard to apply a liquid to your hair and feel like it's doing the trick. I keep finding myself adding more just to be on the safe side, because it's hard to tell which spots have been adequately rinsed.
Here are pictures from days 1-3, and I will add a few more after a few more days have gone by.

So, back to my busy day yesterday. Nathan came home Wednesday from being away for three weeks, and we were very glad to see each other and just relax and get to bed early. Thursday morning (yesterday), Nathan got up to spend time with Adelyn so I could sleep some more, but after about an hour of hearing her fussing and crying a lot, I got up to see what was wrong. He told me she had fallen and had been crying ever since and holding her left wrist, which she had also done the day before. We decided she should get some Tylenol and go get an x-ray, just in case. She was still using her left arm and hand to wave, clap, grab toys...but would cry when she would try to put pressure on it or if we would touch it certain ways. 

We went to WakeMed North and they examined her, didn't see too much of concern, but did an x-ray just to be safe, and sure enough, she has a small buckle fracture in her left radius. The doctor said it was a very minor fracture and that he wouldn't even recommend casting it if she weren't going to continue falling on it as a wobbly new walker, but that since she kept landing on it, we should put a cast on to be safe.

We got in to the orthopedic specialist later that afternoon and got Adelyn a nice pink cast. She did awesome during the process and was so well-behaved and brave, and is now handling her casted arm like a champ.

Gave myself shot #2 this morning, and it is burning like crazy in my hip! It's not sore, just burning like fire...which is not how the first one felt, so I don't know what to make of it. I'm also sore already from my first chiropractic adjustment that I had yesterday. The chiropractor is awesome, and when I started to tell her about my pregnancy complications with Adelyn and how my uterus had a septum that caused all of our problems, she said "me too!" and I was amazed. It's not that uncommon, but I haven't met anyone else with a septate uterus, so having my chiropractor who will be helping me get through the trials of pregnancy know exactly what I went through and how it can affect things is awesome. My spine is definitely out of alignment, and she is hoping that working on that may help tone down the contractions I've been having.
Here's the 17 week update:

How far along? 17 Weeks

Total weight gain: 4ish lbs now?
Maternity clothes? just went to Old Navy to buy some new maternity jeans and I am so so happy to have some that fit!
Stretch marks? nope
Sleep:  never enough
Best moment this week: Feeling real, strong kicks instead of just flutters!
Miss Anything? sleeping on my belly
Movement: lots!
Food cravings: thought I wanted spaghetti when we went out for Italian last night, but I was wrong...ick.
Anything making you queasy or sick: a lot of gagging over smells, but not as much nausea this past week...yay!
Gender: still thinking girl unless we find out otherwise at our next big ultrasound
Labor Signs: still trying not to contract
Symptoms: headaches...lots of headaches
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: you'll have to ask Nathan now that he's back...
Looking forward to: the ultrasound on the 11th

An experiment in crunchy living

So I came across this idea on Pinterest a few months ago and thought it was interesting. The blog shows a lady who had wavy/curly/frizzy hair. She started the "no 'poo" plan and her hair became much smoother, shinier, and had really well defined curls instead of being halfway there. I decided to "pin" the post and consider it for later. Well, it's later.

I made a batch of 1 quart water (which is 4 cups, for those of us who don't remember elementary school conversions) with 1/4 cup baking soda. I then mixed 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar with 1 cup water. I put both in the best squirty containers I could find:

(baking soda cleanser on left, vinegar rinse on right)

Here is my before hair:

This isn't the BEST picture to display my hair, but you can see that it is semi-thick and has some frizz. This is at the end of the day, so the frizz is much less serious than it is when it first dries. Also, it appears I badly need a trim because my hair is all kinds of uneven...good to know. I also have really oily hair--MUST be washed every day, and even shampooing at night gives me icky hair by about mid-morning the next day...so this will be interesting.

The lady whose blog led me to this got much better curl out of her hair over time, so I'm curious to see which way my semi-wavy hair will go. I'll try to take pictures every few days so that the progress will hopefully be evident. Hopefully the smell of the vinegar doesn't make me gag too much along the way. I've also read that the amounts of each ingredient have to be tweaked according to hair type/texture, so I may have to make new batches based on the results of the first few tries.

Wish me luck!

16 week baby sweet T update

How far along? 16 Weeks

Total weight gain: 3 lbs.
Maternity clothes? sometimes...I'm in between right now.
Stretch marks? not yet
Sleep:  never enough
Best moment this week: feeling baby sweet T kick on the inside while Adelyn was laying across the outside of my belly...so sweet.
Miss Anything? I could definitely go for a strong drink some nights lately after a long day with a toddler!
Movement: yep! still feels mostly like a goldfish fluttering around in there
Food cravings: this week I have craved pepper jack cheese and then porkchops with bbq sauce
Anything making you queasy or sick: most everything
Gender: looks like a girl based on last week's ultrasounds, and we'll know 100% on July 11th at our big ultrasound
Labor Signs: contractions, but we don't want those right now!
Symptoms: a lot more headaches in this past week or so, and crazy heartburn!
Belly Button in or out? in! hopefully for a long time...eek.
Wedding rings on or off? on...they have been sliding around and falling off even
Happy or Moody most of the time: pretty happy I think...
Looking forward to: feeling less sick...really, any day now would be fine...


So, that's where we are now.  Maybe I'll try to take a belly shot later today and post it so that my super unimpressive bump can be compared to later on, when it is much cuter than it is so far.


Edit: here it is...I don't think it usually looks this impressive, but some trick of the mirror/camera/lighting makes it look like I have a decent bump here. Most people would tell you I don't look like I'm showing at all.

Today I go to my OB office to get the first of 20 weekly progesterone injections (in my butt!) to prevent preterm labor. I will give them to myself after this first one, and continue until 36 weeks and then let nature take its course if I'm still pregnant then. Not a lot is fully known about how exactly the progesterone therapy works, but studies are showing a definite link to less recurrent preterm births in women who have had one previously and used progesterone the next time around. Since the side effects are few, my doctors and I thought it was worth a try, even if we don't know for sure how it might help me. I have been having some mild contractions and crampiness over the past week or two, and am trying to stay hydrated as much as possible, but I am hoping that the shots maybe calm that down a little bit.


Adelyn also has an appointment today for her 15 month well-check. I'm mostly just interested to see how big she is now. I am pretty sure she has gained an inch or two in height, but I'm not sure she has really gained much weight in a few months now that she is walking and climbing and basically doing non-stop cardio!


Edit: Results are in--she weighs 19lbs, 7oz (5th%ile) and is 28.25inches tall (<5th%ile). We're not worried, because she is symmetric and growing and 5th-10th is where she's been all along...so she's just our petite little girl and we like her that way :).


Nathan was able to call yesterday and check in, and other than being a little sick and run-down, he is doing fine. He says they are working hard and having long days, but that things are going well. Only a little over a week to go--and we Timbergals are ready to have our man back!

Testing 1, 2, 3...

I think I'm doing it. Starting a blog, that is. I feel like a major sell-out or joiner or wannabe or something, but I think for now I'll just see how it goes and decide later if I want to let people in on the fun. I think most blogs are either way wittier, more creative, and more interesting than I could try to be, or are super mundane and uninteresting to anyone but the blogger, so maybe I'll  just aim for middle ground.

Not sure really how to start blogging. "The beginning" doesn't seem like the place to start in this instance, so maybe I'll start with the present and see where that takes me. Let's try it.

Right now? I'm procrastinating. There is A LOT of laundry that needs to be folded, more in the dryer that will add to the pile if only I'll take it out, and a just-washed load that needs to be dried, but most likely I'll leave it in there and wash it a few more times to avoid actually having to switch it and then fold it. I should really stop doing that...especially in light of the water bill we received today.

Adelyn is asleep, and has been since around 7pm, which is pretty early for her lately. I think we're in a vicious cycle of early waking and then evening melt-downs, and I don't really know how to get out of that. She's sleeping through the night most every night now though, and that is a HUGE relief to my exhausted self.

Nathan is in Virginia doing his Annual Training with his National Guard unit. He will be gone for two more weeks, and so far he hasn't been able to call or text much, so I haven't talked to him for more than a few minutes in the past week. I was hoping to be able to talk to him yesterday and let him be the first to hear the gender news of our new baby, but as it stands, I texted him, have no idea if he has received it yet, and I totally don't have the capacity to keep a secret, so many others know already too. I know that was a run-on sentence. If you (whoever you are) plan to read my blog, you should know that there will be many run-on sentences. It's how I write. I refuse to change.

Baby #2 is doing well--measuring right on track (three days behind estimated due date, but has been consistent with that through three ultrasounds), jumping around like crazy in my poor sore uterus, and sending me plenty of fun pregnancy symptoms to make sure I don't wake up and forget that (s)he's in there. I'm currently feeling the burn of reflux, some constant nausea, a slight headache, and an overall lack of any energy or motivation. That's pregnancy induced--right? I start progesterone injections in one week (more on that in another post soon?), and the only major side effect of that will be potentially intensified pregnancy symptoms. Oh joy. Hopefully that won't be the case, because pregnancy already kicks my butt without any help. Here's a picture of his/her cute face:

On that note, I should probably sleep. I hear that helps with energy-deficiency. Maybe I'll write more soon. Maybe I won't. You'll just have to wait and see (whoever you are).