Our (Neurodiverse) Family

I feel like this blog has become just a bunch of catch-up lists. Maybe I'll get with the program. Maybe. The big update is that we went to Disney Land last week with my husband's family. It was in the works for a long time and it finally happened. I hadn't been since I was sixteen with my high school orchestra...and it was a very limited experience even then because we got rained out. Disney Land this time around was fun and very exhausting, though I would rather not do it with a mostly nursing baby again. However, the baby care centers at both Disney Land and California adventures were wonderful. Kate turned four a week before we left for Disney Land. We took doughnuts to play group the morning of her birthday, because I am too tired and lazy to have a big friend birthday party. Then in the evening, we had spaghetti and birthday brownie. We also Skyped with my parents. I still can't believe I have a four-year-old--it feels like yesterday that she was just a baby. ...

Hello 2016 Good-bye 2015 As I mentioned on Facebook, 2015 is best described as "the best of times, the worst of times". While there were great parts of the year, there were also some very difficult parts. The best of 2015 Stephan's new job. While it was an adjustment at first (longer commute, longer hours, and different atmosphere), he is genuinely enjoying it now. We thought we were going to move closer, but decided that we needed to stay put, especially since... We found out we were having baby #2! Admittedly, it was a wee bit of a surprise, mostly at how quickly it happened after Stephan started his new job. Thank you for waiting until Daddy had a new job, baby ;) Finding out that baby #2 was going to be another little girl! I grew up with brothers and Stephan's sisters are about 12 years and three boys apart in age, so most bets were on me having a boy. Kate kept insisting she was getting a baby sister, and lo and behold, she was right. We were thr...

Other than her birth story, Livia hasn't had a post dedicated to her. (1) She's three months old now. (2) We call her our little butterfly because she has a birthmark on back of her head (hidden by her hair) that looks like a butterfly. We like to think it's a butterfly kiss from her grandpa in heaven. (3) When Livia was born, the general consensus was that she looked just like Stephan did as a baby. Nowadays, strangers say she looks just like me. Currently, the agreement is that she looks like a brunette Kate. (4) Had I made it to my due date, she would have been just about the exact same weight Stephan was when he was born (on his due date, incidentally). At birth, he was a half-ounce shy of nine pounds. Yeah, I think I'm glad she came early. (5) Whereas her sister was always long and lean, she seems to be going the short and chubby route. (6) Snuggles. She loooves to be snuggled. (7) She has my lips. Take that people who like to say she didn't ge...

The Friday before I was induced, I went in for my twice-weekly NST. I had my blood drawn a few days before to check my Bile Acid and Liver Function a few days before and I asked the nurse who did my NST if she could check on that. She found my test results, and my BA level was 45--five points above "severe". This was with me being medicated. I was rushed into an appointment with one of the midwives--she consulted with two of the OBs and it was decided that we would still go forward with the plan to induce the following Wednesday. On Labor Day, I found out that I was #5 on the hospital's induction call list. Somehow the next day, I moved up to the #2 slot so I woke up extra early (not that I slept much the night before anyway, because I had THE WORST itching that night) to wait for the call. At 7:30, my phone rang and the nurse said that my induction was scheduled for 9 a.m. So, we got Kate out of bed, loaded up the car, took her to my mother-in-law's house...