Lilypie Third Birthday tickers

Monday, June 16, 2008

"BREAK"ing in the Baby Sitter






Miss Riley's not been watched (baby sat) by many other people. Shelly works from home and takes care of her Monday through Friday while I work. I then play Mom on the weekends when Shelly works. That means Riley is pretty much always with a Mom. When we do need someone to watch her for a few hours we've got a live-in Baby Sitter, a la Steve, or Grandma, who lives a block away. Both Grandma and Steve watch her at our house. Needless to say, she's a little dependent on her routine.

Well, now it's summer and Aunt Angie is out of school and has volunteered to take the princess on Monday's. This helps tremendously as it's Shelly's deadline day. This is week three of Monday's at Aunt Angie's. And, I'm worried, it could be the last. Sweet little Riley is doing her best to wear out her welcome.

The day starts with a brief tantrum once she realizes I've left. So, we've decided no more sneaking out. From now on we'll say goodbye and she can watch me leave. Hopefully that will make for an easier transition (after she's done crying).

Next the little pill starts getting sleepy, yawning and rubbing her eyes. It's 9:00 am and nap time is usually between 9:00 and 10:00. Aunt Angie does the nap routine and puts Riley down for her first nap. Well, Miss Riley wasn't having it. We've said it's okay to let her cry. Aunt Angie hates this but is obliging us. Well cousin Sarah doesn't like it either and sneaks into the room to save her. Riley then decides, hey, play time, and the morning nap has been forgotten.

On to lunch where the little pill goes crazy for her peaches and becomes a sticky mess. She's got peaches all over her face, clothes, and has used the peach juice to give herself a nice punk rock hair do. So off to the tub for Miss Riley.

Next, while enjoying a bath, complete with dual entertainment from Aunt Angie and cousin Sarah, little miss decides to Baby Ruth in the tub. So chaos ensues while they get her out, clean her up, and start the bath process over again.

Who knows what might be next. Is there hope for an afternoon nap? Not sure, Grandpa is headed over there to play. Will Aunt Angie survive the day? Not sure, hopefully she's got enough wine to help her get over it. Will we still have a baby sitter come next Monday? Hopefully for a small fee.

Pictured above, Miss Riley (the sweet version), getting ready for her first swim lesson. And, what Riley usually always does with her feet during a meal. You put her in her high chair and she immediately struggles to get both feet in one slot. Plus, if she can get the socks off, they're off. (Both traits from Momma Dee...barefoot or bust and squirmy feet.) These pictures are a little dated and were actually taken at the first of May.

Our Conception Story

After eight years together we were pretty sure we'd spend our life with our four legged kids, doing lots of camping, and traveling the world. On August 12, 2004 that all changed with the birth of our God Daughter Tate. We immediately fell completely in love with her and soon began to re-think our decision of not having kids.

In October 2005 we began the process of trying to conceive. As soon as we started trying Shelly began having very erratic cycles which made the process that more complicated. After four tries over six months we decided to schedule a consultation with the a Reproductive Specialist. We were desperate to conceive and on a limited time frame since Shelly had just turned 41. Dee was 35 at the time but not able to conceive due to a medical procedure.

Our first appointment with the Repro Man was May 2006. He suggested we try IVF using Dee's eggs and Shelly as the gestational mother. He felt this scenario would give us the highest chance for success of a healthy pregnancy. We spent a short amount of time weighing our options and decided this was the best choice. We began our first IVF cycle in August. They did the Egg Retrieval and Fertilization on 8/31. Three days later, 9/3, they transferred three embryos into Shelly. Then the wait began.

Shelly promised not to begin the home pregnancy test too soon. Dee had to travel out of state for business a week after the transfer and asked Shelly to please wait to test. BUT, the wait was too much for her and she started testing after a week. At first there was no line. But after a couple of days testing a faint line started to appear. When Dee came home from her trip Shelly told her, "I know I'm pregnant." Dee didn't believe her and insisted the line wasn't dark enough so she tested herself to compare. There was absolutely no line. She began to believe Shelly was pregnant but still had doubt. Dee went to the store and bought another brand of testing strips. After five home tests, we were convinced we we're pregnant due to all positive results. A blood test at two weeks confirmed it; we were going to have a baby!