Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow & 8 weeks old!

I obviously have been slacking the last week on posting. Saturday (when X turned 8 weeks old) was a massive snow storm here in DC resulting in 16 inches on the ground by the end of the day. You'd think this would be conducive to blogging, but instead I spent the time indoors with Mike and Xander and watched movies all day. So relaxing! :) Look at the snow! And my lazy men! :)




Two notable things from week 8 were Xander's 2 month doc appt (on 18th) and 1st set of shots and his 1st Christmas ornament (on 19th) from Grandma Terri.

Doc appt was great until the shots. X is growing well and is measuring in at 23.5 inches and 11lb 12oz. Both of those put him in the 60th percentile. Not bad! He got a series of vaccines in 2 shots and one oral med. Oral - easy, shots - not so much. The reaction was priceless. I didn't think X could get so red or cry so loud. Poor lil' guy! Thankfully, momma had a bottle for him so he got to quickly forget about the pain and concentrate on milky. :)

We were joking prior to the appt that Xander knew what was coming and was hiding his eyes from the reality. When we pulled into the doc parking lot, this is how we found him in the back seat (below). Whoops! Funny thing is, he was as calm as can be and we had no idea! Again, whoops!



My mom is going to give Xander the Reed & Barton holly bell ornament each year. The single 2009 bell is so beautiful, and I can only imagine a whole tree of them being so amazing. He'll be able to take all of these and start his own Christmas tree someday.



Into Xander's 9th week...

On Sunday (20th), we went to a holiday party at our friend John and Jill's house. Xander wore his winter sweater and looked quite festive!



This week has also brought a new infection for me, and I feel like crap. I'm back to having a fever and fighting the infection with antibiotics. Boo! I'm trying to ignore it though because I hate the idea of begin sick on Xander's first Christmas. So I'm going to push through and make sure that we properly acknowledge X turning 2 months old today -- Christmas Eve. And then we're going to go to church and dinner at Monroe's down the street from our house.

xoxo-
Vicky

Looking good...

So we had Xander's 2nd pediatrician appt this morning, and he's looking good. The lil' guy is up to 8lb 4 oz, which is almost a pound above his birth weight of 7 lb 6 oz. Since all they look for at 2 weeks is to see if the babe has gained back the lost weight (he was 6lb 14 oz three days after birth) up to their birth weight, we're doing good. Seems the bottle feeding breast milk really works. :) And I'm really enjoying it.

Next doc appt isn't until December 18th. I'll be updating on other happenings this week and on the urologist appt in tomorrow' weekly update. He's 2 weeks tomorrow -- time is flying! :)

A cutie patootie pic at the docs:

So I lied...

no 39 week pic has been posted obviously. Oops!

It's been an odd week though. Tuesday brought on several hours of 10 minute apart contractions prior to them petering out and leaving me feeling doubtful about when this lil' guy would arrive. The rest of the week was uncomfortable and I worked from home on Wed and Friday. I seriously recommend working from home. :)

We had an appt yesterday and I Was 2cm dilated, 80% effaced. The midwife stripped my membranes which was slightly uncomfortable and resulted in my losing a whole lot of my [TMI NOTICE, TMI NOTICE] mucus plug. It was disgusting but made me hopeful. :)

Mike and I went for a walk last night, and then mom and I ate pizza for dinner and we all watched "The Proposal" -- funny movie.

I woke up around 5am very uncomfortable and after getting up realized I was having contractions. Nothing unbearable but definitely timetable again. This time they started at 15 minutes apart, moved to 10 and are currently somewhere between 5-8 minutes apart. Hoping this is it, but we'll see. Mike is at reserves all day (thankfully, just at the pentagon and accessible by phone), but I'm going to go for a walk soon to see what the contractions do. Supposedly, if they maintain themselves even when you change positions, then they're real. I've been doing chores, etc and they're still here, so I'm hoping the walk doesn't zap them away!

If we haven't had him or if the contrax aren't worse by this afternoon/evening, we're headed to a Halloween party. No costume, but I think I can come up with something.

I will be taking the "one last belly pic before heading to the hospital" pic, so hopefully that arrives before I have to think about a 40 week belly pic on Tuesday.

xoxo-
Vicky

Doc Appt

So I had my 37/38 week doc appointment this morning and all seems well. He's definitely way down low which is resulting in a smaller fundal measurement than in past weeks. E.g. 1 cm for each week of pregnancy. So I should be at 37.5cm. I've been "perfect" this whole pregnancy but today we were back at 35. This is a result of him dropping even lower into my pelvis, which the midwife confirmed with a pelvic exam. I am 1cm dialated. Not bad. Then again, it means nothing, and I could still go 2 weeks late. But please, God, no. I want him to be "early" or punctual please. :) 18 days and counting.

A girl who was a couple days ahead of me in her pregnancy had her water break (gush!) in the middle of prenatal yoga last night. It was shocking and a big realization that we could have this little guy at any time. We're ready! Honestly, the "to do" list is incredibly shrinking, and there are very few things we still need to do to be totally 100% ready. And, honestly, these are "to dos" that only I could think of...

(1) I need to make and laminate lists ((i) laundry instructions (especially for cloth diapers), (ii) important phone #s for the fridge and (iii) a daily log book to keep track of poo, feedings, etc.)
(2) I need to return a "Bundle Me" at BRU and replace it with one that doesn't get put under him in the car seat. Basically, a bundle me is a sleeping bag that keeps him warm in the car seat. We're exchanging it for one that just covers him instead.
(3) one more load of baby laundry for some new awesome outfits Tia Carmen bought him this week
(4) organize the new bookcase in the den
(5) touch up some spots of paint upstairs in the hallway
(6) install car seat base in my mom's car
(7) take the mat Tia Carmen bought him to a seamstress to see about having an extra padding and edging put on it that will have his name embroidered on it.

Literally, that's it. And that's stretching it, in my opinion. We could bring him home without any of these things being done. :)

That's a good feeling!

Happy Friday!

xoxo-
Vicky

All is well with the Pumpkin...

We had the fetal echo today, and the specialist confirmed that all was fine with Xander's little heart. Apparently the term the other doc had used was a mild "prominence" not "pronation" (whoops) of the left artery and it turns out to be nothing. The doc said it is a normal'"variance" and nothing to worry about. He checked the various parts of the heart and listened to various parts and watched blood flow in and out and said it was perfect. Yay! Such a relief.

He also said X was weighing 1 lb, 9 oz (he's grown so much) and measuring perfectly. He apparently has long legs too -- guess he's his daddy's son. :)

Anyway, this made for a very good start to the weekend. Now if I just didn't have another hour of work to do and then housecleaning for tomorrow's BBQ. Blah to work and cleaning -- yay to having friends over for a BBQ! :)

xoxo
V

Time is flying...

Where do the days go? The last couple of weeks seem to have just disappeared. It's both refreshing and very odd. We got Oscar 1.5 weeks ago, Mike was awarded the Bronze Star last Friday, we had another doc appt the same day and I started a new job on Monday. Busy, busy.

So this will be an update on all of those things...

Oscar is doing so much better. He's still addicted to Mike in a possibly unhealthy way, but he's getting better. He is now staying outside when home alone, and it seems to be working for him (Yes, yes...he has shelter, plenty of shade and water. We also have a doggie door that will be installed once he's a bit better so that he can have access to the den and the backyard). That being said, it could be working because there aren't any more screens for him to take out in an attempt to get back in. All window screens and the big sliding screen door were casualties of Oscar's first week at our home. Oh well! He had his first comprehensive exam at the vet yesterday, and he did very well with all the poking and prodding. He disliked the ear cleaning more than the temp taking or blood draw. Odd dog. But so cute.

Mike was awarded the Bronze Star last Friday at the Pentagon. It was a nice ceremony, and I am very proudof him. Our DC family and many of Mike's SPA and Navy/Army colleagues were able to attend. Pics below:







Xander is doing very well. Heartbeat was in the 150s when we went on Friday and the midwife said he seemed to be growing at the right pace (based on my uterus position). Um, okay. I was told to "make sure [I] eat"...ha ha. I assured her I have no problems eating right now. But apparently I only gained 1 pound in the last 4 weeks, so she was a bit worried. Let's just ignore the fact that I've gained more than average over the whole pregnancy. :p

My new job started on Monday. I don't have to go back until Thurs and Fri this week, so I've had the last 2 days off. Nice to have the break in the middle of the week. My first day was uneventful...just a bunch of training. I really like all of my colleagues though, so I'm excited about the job. Fingers crossed for a good conversation about Xander tomorrow.

xoxo
V

14 Week Doc Appt

We had another doctor's appt on Saturday. It was relatively uneventful and quick. She confirmed that our NT Scan results looked really good and that Baby H seems to be doing well. The little heartbeat was at 154bpm while we were in the office. It seems to have decreased and leveled out as expected.

Our next doc appt is not until May 29th (4 weeks). At that appt, we will draw blood to test baby for spina bifida (hopefully all that folic acid I've been taking over the last year means no worries) and get the script for our big u/s that will be scheduled for sometime between weeks 18 and 22. If we opt for the elective 3D gender determination scan in a week (which I think we are going to do), then we'll probably wait to do the big u/s until closer to 22 weeks so there is a nice break between when we get to see Pumpkin.

We're doing well here in DC. Mike's grandparents flew into town today but drove straight to PA to visit with Earnest's sister and her husband. They live on an alpaca farm somewhere in PA. They'll be back down here on Thursday for a week long visit. I'm looking forward to getting out of the house and playing tour guide. :)

Then when they leave on the 15th, my mom will be here from the 15th until the 19th. Looking forward to that visit, too!

xoxo-
V

3rd Doctor's Appointment

Our 3rd doctor's appt was today. We met with one of the hospital midwives (Patrice Valle) who was awesome. She's part mexican, spanish and italian, and as she mentioned, looked a lot like me. She came in to the exam room with such a positive energy and fun personality, I couldn't help but enjoy myself. We just went over very basic things, such as my symptoms (minimal), concerns (this non-strenuous work out thing sucks) and determined that I've officially gained 6lb in my first tri. Not bad for someone with an increased appetite, no morning sickness and inability to workout for real.

The highlight: Baby H's heartbeat was heard loud and clear on the doppler at 174-179bpm. Very good and healthy for this point in the pregnancy. I guess the baby's heartbeat gets really fast until about 11 weeks when it starts to decrease and then eventually level out somewhere between 120-160bpm. Yay, Pumpkin! You're doing good.

We scheduled our next doc appt for May 2nd, which is a Saturday. I'll be 14 weeks, 4 days (so out of 1st trimester)!

Next big milestone: NT Scan on Friday. I'll be sure to post pics of our u/s as soon as I have them. And speaking of pics...we finally got the mattress company to send us $160 to replace the camera the delivery people stole. So hopefully I can buy it soon and get on track with taking my weekly belly pics with the nice, new camera. Now to just get the belly. Hmm...

xoxo -
V

2nd Appointment...

and apparently still not my first official maternity appt. I'm so confused! Okay, so I guess this is strictly speaking for insurance purposes, but I find it a bit annoying...with maternity benefits, I just pay one $20 copay at my first appt and then no more until the hospital stay, which is $200/night. These last two appts have each been considered gyno appts and had a $30 copay. And I still have the $20/copay at my next appt. Boo!

This appt was fairly quick with another pelvic exam and more labs. This time they took 4 vials of blood. Nice! Have I ever told you that I have fainted before at the sight of blood? So I look away with my eyes shut the whole time. :) The doctor gave Mike and I a bunch of literature to read over before the next appt (cord blood banking, labor options, prenatal yoga, infant classes, etc) and discussed genetic testing options with us. Because I'm under 35 with no family history of genetic disorders, we'll just be doing the NT Scan (1st Trimester Screening) and then won't have to do the CVS or Amnio unless something comes back abnormal or risky from the NT Scan. I am so happy about this since the NT Scan is simply a blood test and ultrasound and does not include the same risks to baby (of miscarriage) as the CVS or Amnio.

Our next appt is not going to be until Monday, April 6th (just over 4 weeks from now) since Mike will be in Korea for 12 days at the end of March for work. The doc tries to see you every 3-4 weeks until the 26th week (and then it becomes every 2 weeks and then every week until delivery). I think Mike's trip is officially March 26th - April 5th (yes, he's getting back on my birthday). I am so excited for him (I'd love to go to Korea!), but I think much of his trip will be on a naval ship. So maybe not so fun...I don't know.

Other than the next doc appt, we're scheduling the NT Scan (ultrasound) for Friday, April 10th (11 weeks, 3 days). The test has to be done between 11 and 13 weeks, and it's recommended to do it on the early side in case you need a CVS which has to be done in the 13th week. I love the idea of Friday, April 10th because it's 2 days before Easter. We're hoping to tell family and friends (other than those who already know) about Pumpkin on Easter. So hopefully all will be well and we'll see him/her on Friday (with a strong lil' heartbeat), and then be able to spill the beans on Sunday since we'll be so close to being out of 1st tri! I can't wait!

I think we're officially out of first tri on April 24th (13 weeks, 3 days).

Off to eat some ice cream! Happy Saturday!

xoxo
V

1st Appointment

Prior to our first appt, I felt the need to reconfirm for myself that I actually was pregnant, so I took another digital pregnancy test. And there it was...a beautiful "yes+". We had our first appt yesterday at Physicians & Midwives. Mike was sweet enough to come with me even though we both knew it was super early, we wouldn't be seeing baby, etc etc. I'm grateful and love that I'll be able to share the experience so completely with him...well, all of the experience other than the pelvic exams, which he is still squimish about and had to leave the exam room for and wait in the lobby. I suppose I understand the initial hesitancy! :)

Anyway, my doc got me in so early because of a history of ovarian cysts and a sharp left-sided pelvic pain that I had last Saturday, which has continued as a consistent, dull ache. I've had this pain on and off for years, and it's always accompanied by an odd, golfball size mass on my lower abdomin. Anyway, the doc feared an ectopic pregnancy (if a cyst was blocking the ovary/tube), and so did I.

After a pelvic exam and much pushing and proding on my tubes and ovaries (nice!), the doc determined the chances of the ectopic pregnancy were low (or rather in the normal 5% range). My cervix was closed and my ute was soft...yay me! As far as he could tell all was well, albeit early. Anyway, so what is the painful, funky mass on the side of my belly then? He let me stand up and show him the mass the way I always feel for it (by throwing out my hip), and lo and behold...it's a completely unbaby-related hernia. Yay! Is it possible to be happy about a hernia? Yes. Ecstatic. Doc says we'll have to have it repaired eventually, but for now...it's staying right where it is through this pregnancy.

So...next steps. My first sonogram will be scheduled for sometime at the end of next week or the beginning of the following week. Hoping to hold out long enough that we get to see the lil' heartbeat. And my next appt with the doc is Saturday, March 7th. Yep, Saturday appts...got to love that! It'll make it much easier with Mike's work schedule. They did take blood yesterday to check for everything under the sun, including just my betas. So I'm hoping to hear back early next week that my HcG is in the right range. Doc said he'd decide when he saw the results if I needed to come back for a 2nd one. Don't really understand this since I thought the whole idea was to measure the doubling of the #s every 48 hours (or something), but he's the doc...I may ask about it on the phone though.

Lastly, no "strenuous" exercise until my next appt. Great (please note the sarcasm). I asked if this includes running and boxing (which we do 3x per week EACH) and he looked at my like I had two heads...apparently running and boxing are strenuous. He told Mike to take me for a "nice stroll"...yikes! I have decided that elliptical and low weights are not strenuous and will continue with that for now. I don't need to start looking pregnant any earlier than necessary...especially as a result of last night's General Tso's Chicken rather than actual baby-related weight. ;)