Yes, I'm here

Sorry for such an absence as of late. Life just is spinning and spinning! Some not so good but lots of very good. I am hoping that soon the merry-go-round will slow down a bit so I can get my bearings again.

Just a few hits...The house situation worked itself out and we now are just about fully moved in to our lovely new home. There were some funny stories from the move, but over all, it went well. Carter loves his new house and his big backyard. He has already collected a pile of sticks and has explored the creek a little bit without our knowledge! I feel comfortable enough to let him play out there by himself for a while. There are enough windows in the kitchen to keep an eye on him but I like giving him a bit more independence now. Until he takes a tumble into the creek, I suppose! But hopefully soon we'll have the fence up and he won't be able to get down there. Pfeiffer is loving having room to run. She hasn't caught any squirrels yet, but has come a bit close to getting a rabbit. We haven't seen any other wildlife just yet though.

Alison is just doing what she does best. She's still tiny, but is getting longer. She's just now getting out of her three month clothes, but mostly because they are too short on her. She may be a bit smaller than Carter was at her age. They both have check-ups at the end of October. Ali is trying to sit up on her own. She HATES being on her belly and when she's put there just arches that back and screams. She prefers to just sit back and watch everything pass by. Carter was the same way and never really crawled much. So, we'll see if Ali warms to being on her belly. She is laughing and cooing all the time now. She has the sweetest smile that just melts your heart. She is finding her voice so there are times of the day that she just sits there Ahhhahhhahhing. The drooling has started already so I won't be surprised if she's an early teether as well. She doesn't take the pacifer as much as Carter did, but rather sucks on her thumb and fingers. This makes part of me melt because I was a thumbsucker big time. This morning, we walked into her room to get her up and she had come out of her Miracle Blanket and was half-asleep, sucking away on her thumb. I love it! I know that it is harder to break kids from thumbsucking, but it's just so darn cute at this age.

She has moved up to about six ounces of formula at each feeding. I held off on changing her to the faster flow nipples but finally broke down this past weekend since her others were wearing out. Now, she sucks those bottles down and cries for more! We've changed her to the Sensitive formula because she was spitting up a little bit.

That's about all that's going on here. Carter is turning four in a few weeks. It's hard to believe in some ways. But he's so much fun, learning new stuff everyday. He's been singing songs from daycare a lot more lately. I don't know what we are going to get him for his birthday. He isn't really into much lately. Besides baseball and football, that is. He loves anything to do with Orioles and Ravens, but toy-wise, he doesn't play with much. Oh well, we'll figure it out.

Well, my friends http://herdofsheps.blogspot.com/ and Cate have all started this 101 things to do in 1001 days list. I think I may have to think about doing it too. Sounds like a nice thing to work on. But I have to spend some time coming up with the actual list.

To every season, turn, turn, turn

There is just something exhilarating about the season change from summer to autumn. This is my most favorite time of the year and probably always will be. Granted we still haven't hit our full-on incoming fall weather. Just this weekend we were sweltering in our house because of the humidity. But, it's coming. This morning at 6:30am, it was still dark out. The other evening while leaving Chris' parents' house, it was down right chilly. But this time of the year just invigorates me. Probably because we kick it into high gear and there is just so much to do.

Each year at this time, there are more opportunities to do exciting things than there are free weekends! While I haven't been to the state fair since I was in elementary school, that's the official end of summer around here. Then there is the Reinassaince Festival. I didn't get to go last year and it looks as though I won't this year with everything else going on. But that is one of my favorite activities of the end of summer/beginning of fall time. All the excitement around you, the food, the performances...just so much fun. Then in October, there is the pumpkin farm trips and the numerous birthdays that are all jammed into one month.

Needless to say, it's a busy time. Added to all the excitement this year is the move to the new house. I am slowly, but surely making my way through "stuff" and getting rid of it or packing it up. Luckily with this situation, if we don't get it all done in one weekend, it's okay. We aren't rushed to get out of the current house, so that will help things a lot.

In a few years, I'll have Carter to get ready for school during this time. I have so many friends that are sending their kids off to school and part of me is sad that I have two years to go for this feeling. Then there's the small part of me that knows it's going to break my heart seeing my baby boy head off to big school. Since his birthday is in October, he has to wait until the year he turns six to start school. I'm okay with that because he'll then be one of the oldest in his class as opposed to the youngest. To be honest, I think I'm going to be okay with Carter doing the school things but when Ali starts school, I'll be a wreck. Is that bad? I guess it's kind of like I'm rushing Carter in my mind to grow up, but trying to hold Ali back. It's normal I suppose.

But here's to just under two weeks left of torture. Then it's on to the new experiences of the new home!

Wow...the dust is forming!

A whole month without a post! I apologize to the two people that may read this. :)

This summer was fun, but it's time to change seasons. Both in weather as well as in life. I am now the proud mommy of two adorable and healthy children. My husband and I are in good health and are deeply in love. Our family is complete (minus the pets that will come and go in our lives) and we are happy. Sure, there are tough days, days that Carter makes me want to pull my hair out. Days that Ali won't stop crying and just wants to be held all hours. But, we get past them.

With everything that is going on in the world lately, home is extremely comforting. And soon, that place we call home will be on the other side of town. We have bought our dream home. Who would have thought that it would be in Maryland still, but sure enough, it is. Granted, we haven't moved into it yet, so there could be some down sides to the place, but to be honest, I think we are safe in dubbing it our dream home. It is a 94 year old Victorian home sitting on just under an acre of land. There is a little creek that runs through our yard and a pretty long driveway leading to the house. (Long driveway for the outskirts of Baltimore City I should say) Can I tell you how much I am looking forward to seeing Carter's face when he takes in the size of this backyard? Or how exhilarating it will be to see Pfeiffer do a million laps around it? And the thought of baking cookies and cooking a big dinner in the country-fied kitchen just makes me smile. I can't get the thought of waking up on Christmas morning here out of my mind.

I have never lived in a detached house. All my life, we have lived in apartments and townhomes. This has been a dream of mine since I was old enough to realize the difference in homes. To not have to worry about someone else's cars in my parking area. To not be woken up at 2am by the next door neighbor arguing via throwing things against the walls. Hopefully no cops called on the hoodlum kids. *sigh* We can only hope.

On the kid front...Carter is getting huge. I can't believe he's going to be four years old in just a few weeks. Alison is just growing like infants do. She's sticking to the middle of the charts in her growth, so she may not be as big of a baby as her big brother was. She is just smiling away at anyone that pays her any attention. Carter is basking in the big brother limelight. He has been amazingly good with her. I never had too many worries about his behavior, but he's doing great.

I am truely blessed. When I start complaining again, just remind me of this post.

An update of sorts...

Haven't had much time online, at least enough to dedicate to updating my blogs. But I have stolen a few minutes while Chris has Alison and Carter is watching some Mickey.

Things have been going well. It's stressful, of course, but overall, we are doing well. Alison is a great nurser, but she seems to want more than I can offer her. The whole process is going better than it did with Carter, but it's still tough. She is a great sleeper though. Just last night was amazing. She ate around 11pm and then was out for the late evening. Around 2:30am, I had to wake her up to nurse. She went right back to sleep and slept until about 6am. After nursing again, I must have fallen asleep with her in bed with us. Carter woke us up around 7:30am and we all rested some more until about 8am. That's how it's been most nights. So, hopefully, our daughter will be like our son and will be a good sleeper for the most part.

I have my two week check up on Monday. I'm hoping I will get cleared to drive then because I'm getting cabin fever and with Chris going back to work next week, it would be nice to have the option to get out and walk around the mall or something. Chris leaves for his three week trip next Monday and I'm really not looking forward to it. We are taking Carter up to Delaware next Sunday for a week. I know he'll have a blast with Pop and Coco but I'll miss him again. But I just don't think I'm up for being a single mom of two plus a doggie for three weeks. For the next two weeks, I still am not sure just what the plan is. My parents would like to go down to North Carolina, but that really depends on several things. If my mom needs to be around for things for my aunt, then we can't go. If my doctor doesn't release me to drive until 6 weeks post-op, then I can't help drive and we probably won't go. As much as I would love to go down there as there would be a million people to help out with the kids, I'm starting to think a 12 hour drive would not be good for me or Alison. If we don't end up going, my dad will come to pick Carter up for daycare most mornings. I'm sure they wouldn't mind keeping him a few nights either.

But all in all, it's great having our family complete. Each time I get stressed out or overwhelmed, I think of the fact that this is my last time with an infant. Later on in life, when I get the baby bug biting, I'll just go visit a friend that has a baby to get my fill. But, we are done!

Alison's story!!

Well, at least I am going to try to tell the story. I haven't had too much computer time these last two days due to an extremely hungry infant!

Okay, so Sunday, Chris and I went to Kobe for dinner and I gorged on yummy yummy Japanese steakhouse food. I ate it ALL! Then we headed home and I finished packing for the hospital. Monday morning, after a night of really not sleeping too much due to nerves, we headed for the hospital around 6:30am or so. We got there, got registered and eventually asked to come back to the prep room. We had to call our parents to tell them to hold off on coming to the hospital because no one would really get to see me until I got to my room around noon. I changed into the robe and the most adorable hair net (heehee). I laid down on the bed and the nurse started monitoring Alison and took my history. After doing all the pre-op, we waited just a little bit for the OR to open up. They had had an emergency section so we were pushed back just about ten minutes or so. The anesthesiologist came in and told me that instead of a normal epidural, they were going to do a spinal block on me to completely numb me. I walked into the OR and got up on the torture device, oh I mean the operating table. They did the block and immediately, my legs felt like warm water was being poured down them. It was the strangest feeling! I'm sure it felt similar last time, but I didn't remember it. They laid me down and set up the drape. It couldn't have been more than five minutes when they were then poking me to make sure I was numb. I was, so they brought Chris into the OR. The drape at GBMC was MUCH lower than at St. Joe's so Chris kept his head right down by my head so he couldn't see anything on the other side. The surgery itself wasn't bad. I was nervous, but it wasn't bad. They started everything at 9:15am and at 9:38, we heard the sweetest sound a mother ever can hear. The doctor held Alison up so I could see her and then the nurses took her to get cleaned up.

Chris was called over and he got to cut the cord this time since it wasn't an emergency and he got to put on her first diaper. They weighed her and Chris brought the camera over to me so I could see the pictures. They finished up the surgery and the tubal on me as Chris and Alison went to the recovery room to wait for me. The doctor complimented me on my anatomy. Yeah...weird!

While in recovery, Chris brought back my parents one at a time to see me. After a while of them monitoring me, they finally wheeled me back to my home for the next few days. I was starting to feel weird then but just thought it was the drugs. Chris' parents came back then along with my parents and Carter. The nursery took Alison for her evaluation and ended up having her for like two hours! But during that time, I got the full side effects from the spinal block. I got these waves of nausea and would retch. Which really didn't feel too good after the numbness started going away. Over the next day and a half, I would get these bouts along with EXTREME itchiness. Ugh, it was horrible! But having Alison to hold was worth it all.

From the get-go, Ali was a great nurser. She latched well and seemed to get the whole thing. Tuesday was a good day after some of the side effects started to wear off. Then, Tuesday night, the nurse brought Alison back from her nightly evaluation. She had lost 8.2% in weight. That just depressed me so much. I knew she would lose some, but I really was hoping it wouldn't be enough to worry about. I lost it. I think then everything just crashed down on me. The stress of the surgery, the pain, and now the fact that my baby was losing weight. I hadn't stayed ontop of my pain all day and by the evening was in excruciating pain. Chris had been out doing something and came back to me in tears. The night nurse came in and saw the breakdown I was having. She got me the full amount of pain meds and suggested to me to send Alison to the nursery for the night. They would supplement her for the night and I could get some much needed sleep. After debating it, I decided it needed to happen. And after another crying round, I went to sleep. I woke up feeling a lot better and called to bring my baby back to me. We decided to try doing the supplementing through the syringe while she was nursing just to get her to stay at me longer. I also started pumping. Wednesday was better and it didn't hurt AS much to get up to walk around. Thursday was even better and I probably could have gone home. But Chris had to go into work and I didn't know what time he would be back, so we stayed until Friday.

Overall, it was a stressful and painful experience, but my daughter is the sweetest thing ever! Carter is doing great with her and is going to be a great big brother. The nursing is going much better. I am trying not to stress about it because that doesn't help things along at all. Yesterday and today she has been cluster feeding and I feel that my milk is finally coming in. We'll see on Tuesday if she's gaining or losing weight. I nurse her as much as I can and if she's still hungry after me nursing her more than twice in an hour, we give her a bit of formula. I'm trying to hold the formula until I absolutely cannot take anymore nursing for a bit. So, hopefully, in a few days we will be on a good schedule and she will be getting at least most of her milk from me.

I'm sure there will be more updates about these first few weeks, but right now, it's time for me to wrap this up. I have to pump and then rest a bit. It's been a long day. I'll update again when I get a chance! But as most moms know...these first few days are always so hectic.

Four more days!

Since I'm quite positive I won't be going early, the countdown is at four days to go. I was supposed to go to the doctor's today at noon, but around 11am or so, I got a call from the office saying the the doctor I was scheduled to see had an emergency and would not be able to keep her appointments for the day. It's all good and I rescheduled for tomorrow and will actually be seeing the doctor who will be doing this surgery so it all works out.

I'm getting a bit antsy for it all to be over, well at least this part of it. I'm tired of the pain and discomfort of having this weight pressing down on me. And while I know that when she's out, it's a whole new ball game as far as rest and pain goes, at least this part will be over.

I have made it a point to get out of the house for the past two days. Yesterday I went to Wal-Mart, a place I hate to go, and treated myself to a lunch at the sub shop in Carroll Island. Then I came home and rested a bit before having to pick Emily up from school. My parents were at the hospital visiting Edith so I had to step in. They all came back to my house and I made spaghetti for dinner. Then today, I took Pfeiffer to PetSmart to get a pedicure. While in the area, I stopped in Home Depot really quick. My cousin had installed a toilet seat that had a kid's seat intergrated into the lid. Since Carter's current removable seat is quite disgusting and needs to be replaced, we decided to just splurge and get this one. So, I ran in and bought that while Pfeiffer was in the van. Luckily it isn't a very hot day and she was fine for the five minutes it took.

But, all in all, I think I'm ready. I finally got my bag almost fully packed. Of course there are some things I can't toss in until the morning of. I have to get Carter's bag together, but considering he only has a limited supply of shorts, I may have to wait a day or so. The boy has grown so much this past year that most of his shorts from last year are too tight. I'm trying to only buy him elastic waist pants to make it easier for him to get in and out of for potty time, so we have about a week's supply now. Sucks in the laundry department, but oh well.

I think I'm starting to get a little anxious about the whole surgery thought as well. I mean, last time, even though I was completely open for whatever happened, the c-section was just a means to an end. I didn't have time to worry about it. Plus, I was so scared that everything was okay with Carter that I didn't even think about the pressure and all. Now, that's all I can think of. At least I won't be having the pain of contractions at the same time, most likely. I'm sure everything will go just as smooth and just as fast as before. I just know I'll feel better when all of this is said and done with.

It's also a different hospital than before and while I hear nothing but good things about GBMC and I have had several good experiences with other things at the hospital, it's still the unknown.

I have told Chris that he has to take me out for a "last meal" on Sunday night. Considering I know this time that I won't be eating anything at least all of Monday, I want something good to end with. He is going with the daycare to a free O's game that afternoon with Carter so, hopefully it won't be a long game. When he gets back, we'll take Carter to my parents house to spend the night and then head out to Little Italy. I had mentioned the other day that I would like to head down there again as it's been years since I've eaten anywhere down there. So, Chris now wants to go so we are using this occassion as and excuse!

On Monday, my parents will take Carter to daycare and I'm assuming they will be stopping by the hospital at some point. Parts of me wonder if we should have Carter there, but then again, that's not the best place for a three year old and who knows how long they would have to wait in the waiting room before coming back to see me. I think if they just brought him up later in the evening it will be better. He'll stay at my parents' until I'm released. I know he'll love that. Especially since Emily is off school and all. They may not take him to daycare, I really don't care. We have to pay no matter what, so why not use it!

Well, I think a nap is in my future before I have to pick the Boy up. I think Chris has to work tonight so it will be my first night of giving a bath in a week or so! We'll see if this big ole preggo can lean over to wash her son off.

Yeah, I'm still here...still pregnant

Sorry I haven't updated this in a while. It's been a crazy, stressful and busy few weeks.

As of Friday, I am 38 weeks. I am officially done with work until August. Last Tuesday, I was at work and had a very strange dizzy spell. My left ear had been ringing for a day or so and all the sudden, I couldn't even see straight. My boss drove me over because I couldn't even walk straight let alone drive! Chris got there right when I got back into the room. The doctor basically said that she had no clue what the dizziness was, but it could have been a cold or something. I mentioned that I hadn't felt the baby move quite as much that morning so she decided to monitor me for a while. Because of her positioning, the only way we could get the monitor to work was for Chris to just hold the little sensor at an odd angle for 15 minutes. But, everything was fine. Later, after eating, she woke back up and started practicing for her kickboxing medal again. But, considering all the stress that I've been dealing with lately, I asked the doctor if she could write me out for the rest of the pregnancy. Since I'm not technically using disability or anything, she was fine with it.

We went back to the office to wrap up some final things. It felt odd walking out knowing I won't be back for so long!

But, the stress that I've been having is a long story, but for the few that read this that don't read my other journal, I'll just summarize it.

My aunt, the only aunt that I really know, had a massive stroke last Saturday. Luckily, she was in the hospital due to having lots of fluid in her lungs so they were able to begin treating her immediately. She has a huge clot on the left side of her brain so that means her entire right side is paralyzed. They hoped they could operate and try to get the clot out, but it turned out to be WAY too large. So, a week later, she's been in University of Maryland Hospital. She's had some good days and some bad days. One day she's awake and looking around and responding to questions and commands, but then the next, she's back to sleeping a lot and not responding correctly. I think that she at least recognizes people because she responded the best with her mother. My granny, two aunts and an uncle all drove up from North Carolina on Monday to be up here. Then, my other uncle came in from Florida yesterday. So, for the first time that I can ever remember, all of my Granny's children and their spouses (well, Roy's wife didn't come I don't think) were all together. My mom said when Edith saw Roy, she teared up. I think she realized that things were as serious as they are since only an emergency would bring him up here. It's sad that tragedies like this usually is the only thing that get families all together.

But, I think with all the stress of worrying about Edith contributed to my little "episode" on Tuesday. But, I'm relaxing now. I'm taking advantage of the quiet for now. One more week, most likely. I have not made ANY progress down there so I'm sure it will be right up to the 15th. At least I have an end date...no going well past my due date this time!

I'll try to update this more...I won't promise anything though! :)

Sleep!! I need it!

It's so frustrating. This weekend, Chris' parents had Carter for possibly his last hurrah up there before the new baby comes. It was WONDERFUL to sleep in on Saturday and Sunday. While my nights' sleep isn't as restful as I would like, I still felt good because of the lateness I had to get up. Today was back to reality. The alarm went off this morning and I felt like utter crapola. I had woken up several times in the night and once I had even contemplated getting up to eat or something, I just couldn't get back to sleep. So, when I had to get up this morning, I was not a happy camper.

Sleeping just is not comfortable right now. I have this huge knot in my neck from sleeping on one side or the other, but I can't figure out which. I can't sleep on my back which is the position that my body seems to want to go. On my back, my neck relaxes and my back doesn't hurt. On my sides, the back hurts and I get pains in my legs. UGH!! Four more weeks.

At least once the baby comes, I'll be able to hopefully get a few hours of decent sleep at a time. I'm sure she will be a non-sleeper since Carter was so easy-peasey, but anything will be better than this right now.

Went to the doctor on Friday. Everything looks great. I told him about the few days that I have had where I was having some hard contractions and he looked at me and said, "Sounds like you are pregnant!" You know, it was all I could do from clocking him upside the head. I know he was just trying to make light of the situation since it really is nothing to be worried about, but wow. I'm now going every week and I'm assuming they will start checking for any progress from here on out. Not that I expect anything to start considering last time I didn't do ANYTHING down there.

But, no matter what, even if she decides that she's ready to come out early, four weeks from today, I will either be in the hospital or home with my little one. Hard to believe!

Yes I'm still here...

Sorry for the lack of posting for the few people that read this. It's just been a few crazy weeks. I have definitely crossed over to the majorly uncomfortable portion of this program called pregnancy. I have been having some much stronger contractions, but nothing regular. They just come and go as they seem fit and leave me wondering if more are coming. The other day at work I literally had to stop working and close my eyes through a particularly rough one. One whole side of the belly just got rock-hard for about a minute or so. But, nothing else happened so all was good.

Then, yesterday, my mom and I had planned to go shopping for some clothes for Ali. I went up into the attic (bad mistake number one) and rolled down the three bags of clothes that I have collected that were stored up there (not that I lifted them, but bad mistake number two). After sitting on our very low and sinkable couch (B.M. number three) to sort them all out, Mom showed up. My lower back was starting to feel tight which I attributed to sitting on the couch upright so long. I got up and sat in my Poang chair. When I got up from there, my back started screaming. I couldn't bend whatsoever. I couldn't even lean over to pick up my glass of water. My tummy was rock hard again and I was very very hot. It was quite humid despite being comfortable outside so I had been sweaty all morning. After about an hour of me downing some water and stressing over the back pain, it started to feel slightly better. I called the doctor's office and got the emergency number just in case. But, after a while, I figured I just had overexerted myself that morning. I found my maternity belt that I haven't been wearing and put it on. Then instead of heading to Arundel Mills like originally planned, Mom, Carter and I went to Babies R Us.

After going through the clothes that my cousin had given me, I realized that I had quite a bit of itty bitty sizes, much more than I orignially thought. So, while at BRU, I was contimplating using this shopping trip for more gear-like things like bottles and pacis and such. But, after seeing all the clothes, I decided to go ahead and stock up on them. I got a good amount but after sorting everything later last night, realized I may have too much in the newborn sizes. I may take some of the new things back and get 3-6 month clothes. Plus, my cousin may have more for me from her friend. Overall, I think we are pretty set!

Chris is going this afternoon to the College Park Ikea to get the dresser for her room. Apparently our Ikea does not carry the full line of furniture and they don't ship between stores. How stupid is that? We looked it up online to see how much it would be to have it shipped home. Yeah, for a dresser that is about $250, the shipping was over $300!! So, it's definitely worth the time and gas for Chris to drive down to College Park. Hopefully he will get to put all the furniture together sometime this week and we'll start actually having a room ready!

So, six weeks to go. It's gonna be a rough ride.

And the date is...

June 15th. Monday, the 15th I will have my baby. That is, unless she decides she wants to make an earlier appearance. While it would be funny if after all the planning she did come on the 12th anyway, I'd rather her stay in as long as possible just for health's sake.

But things are truckin' along. I'm starting to get the sympathy glances and the smiles now from random strangers. I guess since I'm finally completely bumped out, they look at me with pity. Too bad I can't be too casual here at work because I would buy a t-shirt for every day of the week that had some snarky comment on it. But, sadly, I cannot.

Carter has been a piece of work lately. I'm not sure if it's just him acting three and a half, or what, but wow!! Each morning is a fight of some sort getting to school. Either he doesn't want to stop watching Disney to eat/get dressed/whatever or he doesn't want to leave the house or gets upset when his favorite song isn't playing at the time of our departure. Today, we had a fairly calm morning until I pull up to the daycare. I parked a few slots further down than I usually do and you would have thought that the world was ending. "Want you to park down 'dare" complete with crocodile tears and all. Then his refusal to get out of the van. Then, his anger at me for picking him up and carrying him to the door. Then, he didn't want to put his bag in his cubby so I did it for him. That started it all over yet again. When we finally got to the class, the teacher in there told me she was happy to see that he does that to me because apparently he has been Mr. Do The Opposite of Everything Said lately. It's just sad that he can make me go from zero to pissed off in no time flat. I honestly hope that this gets worked out in his head before Ali comes.

Whew...is today over yet?

It's been one of those days! Besides crazy work stuff that I do not go into here, I had a doctor's appointment today. The appointment itself was fine and normal. I left work in normally adequate time just to find that the slow and steady rain of earlier was now monsoon-like and flooding everywhere. The drive down York Road was quite fun.

I got to the office and signed in. After waiting for about an hour, I finally got called back and could finally pee! I hadn't eaten yet so my tummy was GROWLING! A half hour more passes before the doctor finally got to me. Apparently, he was really backed up but he was still the chattier of the doctors so he just kept getting further and further behind. But, he's perfectly happy with my progress. He told me that I passed the glucose test with flying colors. My number was 98 and the cut off point is 140. So, that was very good news, especially since diabetes runs in my family!

After we were done, I made arrangements to set a date for the delivery. I'm waiting now to hear back from the receptionist, but hopefully it will be Monday, June 15th. I tried to get it for June 12th, because the 12th of the month is pretty common in my old group of friends for birthdays. However, the person on call that day is the nurse practioner and she doesn't do scheduled deliveries. Oh well!

So, after the appointment, I had to stop at McDonalds, the only food place on that part of York Road, to get something to eat. I shoved a large order of fries in my mouth on my way back to work, spilling a quarter of them on the floor when I hit the brakes a little too hard. The tea that I got was filled almost to the very top with ice so I had maybe four good slurps of actual tea.

All in all, I was very stressed by the time I got settled back at work. My blood pressure was awesome at the doctors...it could have been considered high after getting back to work!

Now it's time to start kicking into planning mode. :) I'm getting excited!

Ugh...Yay for third trimester

Yeah, it's official. I'm now uncomfortable. I mean more so than usual. All day yesterday I was exhausted from not getting a good night's sleep the night before. I didn't wake up tired, but it was apparent by day's end that the sleep was not restful. Then today, some slight Braxton-Hicks contractions have started. Nothing very painful, just uncomfortable.

I'll be 29 weeks on Friday. It's hard to believe but I also feel as if June is forever away. I am slowly getting more and more excited for the big day, but I'm just anxious to start getting this weight off. I'm now the heaviest I've ever been and I know that it is contributing to my uncomfortableness (is that a word?)

Another doctor's appointment on Friday as well. I hope they give me a scheduled date this week. I need to go talk to the HR guy here to get maternity leave all straightened out. At times I wish there was just a blanket policy on leave everywhere. That way it would be much easier to understand. Oh well!

New Pic

Here I am, one day before 28 weeks. Things are going just fine. Being kicked to death. :) I think she is still laying breech, but I also think she's a bit diagonal. It's weird. What's funny is the shirt I'm wearing in the pic isn't even maternity. It's a shirt that I've had for a while now but was just loose throughout. That's always good! That means it will still look normal afterwards.

Well, it's dinnertime and I have no clue what this household will be eating!

Now begins the every two weeks!

This morning was my glucose test. For some reason, they told me to fast for this one. After waking up and having my tummy yell at me for a while, I looked it up online and saw that for the initial test, fasting is not required. So, instead of drinking apple juice and having my full-blown breakfast, I drank water and ate some peanut butter crackers. I even took my coffee with me but ended up only have a few sips of it.

After drinking my yummy fruit punch, I had my appointment as well. I've gained even more and when I lamented over the number, the nurse just looked at me, matter-of-factly, and said, "Well, you are growing a baby!" I guess since the doctor's aren't worried about it, I shouldn't be. I've now gained 17 pounds. Hopefully that will slow down or else, I have a lot of work to do after June!

But, once again, everything looks and sounds good. When trying to take the baby's heartrate, she kept kicking the wand again. The NP started scolding her in a joking way that if she didn't stop moving, she couldn't check the heart! Eventually, we got a count. My blood pressure was back up to my normal range, 120/80 so that's good.

I will either hear back maybe tomorrow if the test was failed, or I won't hear anything. I'm definitely hoping for a no call because I honestly do not know how I will manage a three hour test! I hope that at my next appointment, we will go ahead and schedule a date.

Very soon I will be starting to get the room together. I think we will be buying the dressers next month so then I'll start going through clothes and figuring out just what I need and such. I'm excited. I think it's the nesting as well as the change in seasons that makes me want to get things organized.

Maybe it's nesting already??

I'm in planning mode. As I get older, the more I like to plan. I think it started this time after Emily gave me a cute little dress for the baby and then this past weekend, seeing our niece for the first time. But now I feel like I want to get the room all ready and start gathering clothes and such. It's still early though so I don't want to do too much.

We have the crib and Chris discovered that it is white the other day. Not my top choice, but hey, the crib was free so I'm not complaining. We need to get a changing table because with Carter, we had a make-shift one and that's gone now. Since we are getting that, I have picked one from Ikea that has a dresser to match. The changing table converts to a three drawer dresser as well. So, that's planned. Now I'm starting to think about the gear and all the neccessities we will need. I'll be going through what we have from Carter as far as clothes go to pull out the neutral and not overly boyish clothes to use. Most of the gear just needs to be brought down from the attic and cleaned up. We won't need any of the big things, is just all those small things that add up.

We won't be having a shower because I, along with my family and friends, don't feel I need one. Showers are for getting the big things mostly and we are set there. But, getting clothes is going to be the main thing. I have a few friends that have had girls, so hopefully I can score some hand-me-downs from them, but mostly, everyone I know has boys. I'm sure Susan will pass along anything of Bethany's once she's done with them. So, I know that I'm worrying for no reason, but that's what mommies do!

Part of me can't wait these next three months. But then most of me knows that I need the time to prepare. I have several friends on Facebook, though, that are on the edge or just have had their babies. Some it's their first, but most it was more than that. So I'm seeing the pictures of the babies and know that soon that's going to be me.

24 Weeks Down!!

I had to reschedule my appointment today once again due to the weather. Of course I had an appointment scheduled on Monday, but we got our one decent sized snow this year that morning so I cancelled. So, I went today. I saw the midwife today for the first time ever. She was very nice and very personable! If I were trying for a natural(ish) delivery, I would definitely ask for her again. But, because it's going to be cesarean, I'll stick to one of the other doctors.

My blood pressure was very low today. I've always had low BP and never have had it even remotely elevated, at least when it was read. But today, the nurse took it once and then asked me what my BP was usually. I told her it was usually low. She said "Okay, because it was 90/70." I was shocked. I told her it never was that low and she tried once again with a different cuff just to get the same number. Crazy. I asked if I should be worried, but she said that was still within normal range, just at the low end. "Nothing wrong with low blood pressure" she said! I only gained one pound from a couple weeks ago. That was good because there was a spike that time, probably due to just eating prior or something. But, I've gained 11 pounds total now. As long as it stays at that rate, I'll be fine with it.

When we went to listen to the heartbeat, Ali began kicking the doppler. It was pretty cute. But, her heart sounds great.

Chris' brother and his wife have a new little one. Bethany Eliana was born on Monday. We plan on going down to Virginia this Saturday to see her.

My co-worker just found out yesterday that she's carrying twins. She went for her first sonagram last night and the doctor just had a strange look on his face, she said. This is her first pregnancy so of course she is freaked out. I hope all goes well for her.

Carter has a touch of bronchitis. We took him to the doctor's yesterday and Dr. Mike checked him out. He doesn't have a full-blown case of it, but the doctor has seen many kids with the same symptoms lately that has turned into bronchitis so he went ahead and prescribed him some medicine. It was standing room only at the office last night! So many kids are sick right now. I just hope all the time Carter spent laying on me and coughing on me this weekend doesn't catch up with me. Ugh! But, while there, Dr. Mike felt his belly and said he thought the spleen was a bit smaller than last time he saw him. That's good. The hematologist had called on Friday to tell us all the tests came back negative or normal so there was no diagnosis. We are going back in six months just to see the progress. I think we are finally getting to the point of just writing it off as my son being slightly weird. :)

Eww!!

My belly button is starting to poke out already. It's still set back in it's home, but there is definitely a bit of a popping out. Lovely!

Okay, off to watch Lost!!

How do you get a flipped baby to flip?

Oy! Carrying this breeched little nugget is not much fun! Now that her kicks are getting stronger, whenever she is active, I get beaten up down in the nether regions! My bladder of course is getting a whupping. While the rib-shaking kicks aren't fun, at least they don't make me have to run to the bathroom! It also sucks because when she's kicking, it's hard for Chris to feel because without looking totally inappropriate with his hand placement, he can't get down there. We were laying in bed one morning when she was swimming around and the timing just wouldn't work out. So, he still has yet to feel her.

I had a quick question. I don't even know who reads this and all, but there could be someone that had a breech baby. Or, you can ask some of your other mommy friends. I was just curious to see if anyone else carried a breech baby and if when that baby was born and grew up if they didn't like to be upside down. Yeah, I have a weird way of thinking, but I just found it amusing that maybe this baby just does not like to be upside down even now and that's why she's staying with her head up. Yeah, I probably am completely off the mark, but it would interesting to know if that has happened ever. :)

Doing better now...

Apparently, a few days of taking Motrin did the trick. My back now is much better. I have cut back on taking them and by Monday, the doctor wants me to stop taking it. Hopefully I can stay on top of it now and if it starts hurting a little bit, I can take Tylenol or something to try to keep the inflammation down.

Other than that, things are going well. Still have the heartburn every now and then. That's always fun. But, I'll take it over the horror stories I've heard of other people's pregnancies!

Watching Little Einsteins yet again with Carter. We have limited his movie watching since he has been acting out at school so we are sticking with some Playhouse Disney stuff. While I like the shows, OnDemand really needs to get more than just four episodes of each show on their listings! After noon, Disney changes to all the tweeny shows and Carter doesn't really care for them. So in the evening, if I don't have any shows on DVR, we have to resort to the OD shows. Yippie!! But he has fun. He's really getting into the participation part of the show. For so long he would just watch it while playing. Now he does the motions and finds the things they are looking for. He's watched Chris play World Tour enough that he pretends to be playing the drums when the music plays. I'll have to take some pictures of it...it's adorable!

So, Chris and I are apparently having some desention of how to spell the baby's name. We always liked Alison with one L. But I like Allie as the shortened version. Chris doesn't like it with the E. So, since Alli is the name of that weight-loss drug thing, I think it's going to be Alison and shortened to Ali. I don't like that shortened way as much, but it will work. That way, it's not as confusing as how I originally was thinking. Alison Victoria...can't believe she will be here soon.

I'm still not ready just yet to be a mommy of two. I know it will come, but I definitely need the next few months to prepare. We hopefully will be starting to change the rooms around here soon. Once I do that and start shopping for her, I'll start getting more into the excitment. For now, I'm just enjoying watching this belly expand.

Well, it's almost bath time. Then it's storytime. I wonder how many books we'll have to read tonight! :)

Ughh!!

So, last week, I had to walk across campus for a meeting. Normally, it's not a big deal. But lately, I haven't been too active, so apparently, I went a bit too fast for my body. Beginning that night, I was a bit sore. I took it easy but it's still gotten worse. I bought a pregnancy belt on Friday and wore it all day on Saturday while at Port Discovery. But I still had to sit the entire time and was really hurting by the time we got home. Then yesterday, I spent most of the day on the couch with the heating pad on but had to get up to make dinner while Chris went to the gym. By the time he got home, I was literally in tears. He banished me to the couch for the rest of the night. I decided last night that I would not go to work today and try to get to the doctor.

The pain is in the lower left side of my back and spreads up my back and down my leg. My knee which is already weak has been hurting as well. I had sciatic pain with Carter but this was far worse than I ever felt with him. So, I was a bit concerned just because it hurt so much.

The doctor said that the walk that I did last week must have triggered the sciatica to flare up and I'm now very inflammed. She said basically the only two courses of action were to try 400mg of Motrin every six hours for 24 hours. If that works, we could stick with that until about 36 weeks. If not, she will write me a script for a few sessions of physical therapy. So, hopefully the stronger medicine will help more than the Tylenol was. And hopefully once the main inflammation goes down, it will be bearable.

But I can tell you now, if this pain lasts for the next few months, I'm going to go crazy! But at least Allie seems to be doing just fine. Her heartbeat was great and she's still swimming around. So, here's hoping that things die down soon and I can go back to work tomorrow.

Regular happenings

Nothing really new going on. Heartburn is starting for me. There are days I think there is a fire burning inside my upper chest. But, luckily it usually only lasts a day then I get a break. I've only had to use some antacids once. The baby is moving all around. I'm still not feeling much from the outside, but occasionally I'll feel a tiny kick. If she stays in this position, I fear she'll only be kicking at my bladder all the time. That could be worse than those crazy rib jabs.

I'm a bit concerned for Carter. I think he's showing signs of being color blind. I know that isn't a horrible thing and he will learn to differentiate colors in his own way, but it's unfortunate. Both my dad and my brother are so I will not be surprised if Carter is too. What makes me think this is he has really come far in his letter recognition and all. We played Memory this weekend and he totally surprised me with this remembering where things where on the floor. But when it comes to recognizing colors, he calls everything green. He can sort things at times, but putting the name of the color to the right one just is not catching on. I won't really worry about it until it's time to think about kindergarten, but I think that's the situation. But, as long as we get it diagnosed, we'll be able to work with it. So, we'll see!

It's official

Went for the second ultrasound today. Much more active today even though the baby is still breech. But, but we got several good shots of the heart and best of all, clear and present proof that this one is a girl. Yippie!!

20 Weeks down

Slightly more than halfway through. Since I most likely will be scheduled a bit early, I won't be going the full 40 weeks. It's so hard to believe it's been 20 weeks. In many ways I'm only just now starting to feel pregnant. Of course the beginning was the just knowing something was different. Now I'm seeing my belly growing and I'm feeling the little one swimming around. I still haven't been able to really feel much from the outside, but it's still early. I am pretty sure she (not that I'm totally sure but it sounds better than it) is still breech. Most of the movement is in my lower belly so I'm sure that's where the feet still are. The doctor actually told me last week that with each pregnancy, the babies have more room to move around because the muscles never fully return to pre-pregnancy tautness. I never thought about it, but it makes sense! She told us of a woman she saw once that had four children vaginally and at 37 weeks with her fifth, it was breech. She freaked out knowing she would probably have to have a C/S. But then she thought, with four other ones at home, maybe a planned delivery would be nice! I could not imagine having that many children!! At times I fear if I will be able to handle two. Especially when Carter decides to show just how independent he thinks he really is! But I know we will work through it. But this is it. The kitchen will be closed after this one. Our family will be even numbers and we don't need to bring any more into this world!

This takes me on a quick rant about certain television families. Many people know my hatred of Kate of Jon and Kate Plus Eight. Well, hatred is a harsh word. I just don't understand her. But the family I can't stand even more is the Duggars. I mean, come on!! 18 kids?!?! Why in God's name would you want to bring that many kids into this world. Now, I'm not saying that the kids are at fault and who knows...one of them could be some world-changing pioneer one day. But, there needs to be logic behind your intentions. Sure, they believe that birth control is evil. Many people do. There is that whole "BC is essentially instant abortion" theory. While I don't believe it, I can understand the logic. BUT...when a couple does not believe in using medical or barrier BC, they usually practice other ways of controlling. This couple just seem to reproduce like rabbits. Wouldn't there be a point when any sane woman would push the guy off of her? Wow! And the fact that in today's day and age, it's difficult to fully provide for one child, let alone that many. Sure she's homeschooling therefore able to teach her kids only what she wants them to learn. Sure she's not putting the kids in daycare. But really, how much time can she actually devote to one child? If one is having difficulties in math and another in vocabulary, how to help them both while nursing two other infants? Then we get into the future for these kids. The only way they will get to go to college would be on the charity of others. The town pitches in to care for these kids. Why should they have to? Oh, and another thing about the family. They are teaching their kids that this is the will of God, to have huge families and depend on others. So, what happens when the kids grow up and try to do the same thing? They end up with five kids each, but who is going to help them? Most likely, the majority of them are not going to get degrees in anything so what are they going to do for money? The cycle continues.

Now, I'm not saying that there should be a limit to families. I am no where near a Chinese dictatorship. But, people need to use common sense. Chris and I firmly agreed that two children was plenty. That way we can provide for them both without putting them at a disservice. If for some crazy chance God decides to be funny and give us another child, we will manage. But we feel for our family, four is enough. I just hope the children of families like the Duggars and that other family (I always forget their last name since I don't watch the show) make the best of their situation. OH, and don't get me started on that one single mother who went and had octuplets!!

Sorry for the rant. I guess I just wanted to post something of substance!

Another day, another doctor's appointment

I was supposed to go to the doctor on Wednesday but because of the weather, I reschueduled it. So I went today during lunch. Because I knew that I have gained some this month, I didn't eat beforehand. It was a quick appointment. Plus it was with Chris' favorite doctor. So we sat there talking with her for a while after. I have gained five pounds but considering I went four months not gaining, I'll take it. We got a form for another sonagram and I'll schedule that for a week or so.

My appetite definitely has picked up. I'm eating all the time now. I need to start eating a bit better just so I'm not filling up on empty calories. Oh well. I keep saying it, but it doesn't feel like I'm doing it, but I need to just not worry about the weight until after the pregnancy is over.

It's a....

Well, we are pretty sure that we are going to have a girl. I went in yesterday for my ultrasound after Carter's. His went just fine. The first thing the tech said was that the baby was breech. Not that it really matters now or even later since we are going to plan a cesarean. But, because of the breech position, the baby didn't have much room to move the legs. So, after checking most things, we tried to get some in between the legs shots. After a while, the tech finally got a bit of a shot and she said she's pretty sure that it is a girl. There wasn't another appendage down there and she thinks she saw the lines that indicate girl parts. Luckily, because of the positioning, she couldn't get a good shot of the heart. So, I will have to go back in about two to three weeks and hopefully then SHE will have moved and we will be able to get the shots we need.

So, we are excited. If it is a girl, we are set as far as names go. We have picked out Alison Victoria for a while now so that will be it. If it is a boy, we have some work to do.

Brrr! It's cold out there!

I really hope that I can make it through this winter with my current coat. I really do not feel like spending upwards to $70 for a coat that I will only need for a couple months. But if it remains this cold for the rest of the season, we may have a problem!! My current coat just barely fits around my belly when I have my scarf on as well. I look like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, but at least I'm warmish. I'm trying to figure out alternatives for the time when the belly just can't be contained!

Otherwise, pregnant life is just chugging along. Still feeling little quivers every now and then, nothing pronounced yet. I keep meaning to take another belly shot, but never remember to get Chris to snap one. He's definitely not the photographer of our family, so it's hard to remember to shove the camera in his hands.

Is that what I think it is??

I think I may be feeling the first little movements! For the past few weeks, I've been feeling twinges in places that I know can't be the little one. But the last two days, I'm feeling them in the right places. Just little quivers, not the bone-crushing jabs that I know are coming. Once I know that I'm feeling them, I know I will feel even more relieved.

Isn't it strange how here I am at 17 weeks and besides watching my tummy start to poke out, I still have trouble believing I'm pregnant again? I know it's because I seem to be one of the very few people that didn't get sick with either pregnancy. I haven't had months of puking and all of that nasty stuff. It's so funny how every woman is so different.

So, our family is going to be sonagram pros soon! We scheduled Carter's third abdominal u/s the same morning as mine. His appointment is at 8am because he has to have an empty stomache. Mine isn't until 10am, so we'll go to Chick-Fil-A or something to grab some breakfast before heading back over there. My mom has insisted on going so she's going to have to go the whole time. We aren't going to drive to White Marsh and then have to go back to her house just to get her for my appointment.

Then, after all that, we are supposed to be going down to VA for our sister-in-law's baby shower. It's her second baby, but it's a girl this time so her sister is throwing her a shower to get girlie things. So, all in all, it's going to be a busy day!

Carter's appointment

This is the post I wrote up on my LJ about Carter's appointment. Just wanted to put it here too. I wrote it last night.

"So, today was Carter's hematology appointment. We had to be down at Hopkins by 11:30am according to the paperwork. I just took off for the day to make things easier. Well, we thought we could find our way down there from 40, but evidently, we are idiots. We ended up taking a tour of East Baltimore and even a bit beyond. I told Chris at one point that we were going away from the big buildings so that wasn't a good sign. That used to be mine and Mandi's way of guiding through Baltimore. Drive towards the big buildings. For the most part, it works. I called the office and told them we were running a bit late and she gave us directions. You would think I would know that area better, but I wasn't driving. We finally got to Hopkins and found our way through the garage.

Wow, this place is crazy! We had to pull a number like at the MVA and wait to be signed in. Then we went to a different area to wait to be called back. They called Carter back for his vitals and I saw him get his blood pressure taken for the first time. Yeah, he didn't like that too much! Luckily, I had thought to bring Best Friend, or his stuffed monkey, and that helped him through some of the day. They had this cool chair that Carter just sat in and it weighed him. He's 36lbs and 39inches. Not too much of a difference since his check-up. Then we waited some more.

Finally we got called back. A doctor told us that she was there to do the initial exam and to do the family history. We talked for a long time about Carter's entire life and my pregnancy with him. Then we discussed me and my family's long medical history. Then Chris had his turn but he didn't have too much to discuss. She then examined Carter. After that, she went out to review his file and to get the other doctor. They came back in and the more senior doctor examined Carter again. By now, Carter was getting tired and cranky. It was now after 2pm! They made some marks on his tummy to measure a few things. Then we all sat around discussing what they thought.(Sorry this is so long winded, I just want to get it all out)

They basically said that his spleen is a size that is just slightly too big to write off and not worry about and not big enough to be extremely worried about. They are pretty sure it is not anything very serious, especially since he's not displaying any other symptoms. They ordered another round of blood tests and another sonogram, this time done with doppler. They mentioned that they were going to test again for mono. Apparently, kids can have mono and not even show signs of it like teenagers and adults! They are wondering if the labs before didn't show mono because it hadn't developed enough yet. So, after a long visit, we were walked over to the phlebotomy area.

This was the part I was dreading. As soon as Carter saw the room, he started crying. He HATES getting his blood drawn. Chris had to hold him in the chair, I held Carter's leg and one arm while two techs had to take four pediatric vials of blood from him. I was heartbroken to see him so scared. He kept trying to pull at the rubber tourniquet saying "It hurts!" He didn't even want the band-aid on him. But we made him leave it on for a little while just to make sure it clotted and all that stuff. We left then after three hours of being at the office. Oy! I'm glad I didn't plan to go back to work!

We hadn't eaten lunch yet because...well, no reason. I just wasn't thinking about it. We stopped to eat at John's, this sub shop in Canton that Chris and I used to always eat at when we lived there. Then, since it was my dad's birthday, we stopped by their house. We had decided to just keep Carter up instead of letting him lay down for a nap and risking him not sleeping tonight.

So, now, we have to schedule the sonogram and then wait for the bloodwork to come back. Then after all the tests are complete, we will schedule another appointment with Dr. Casella. Yet again, it's a wait and see, but at least now I have a bit more peace about it all. Two doctors looked us straight in the eyes and said that they were not very worried about my son."

New layout

I changed the layout for my birfday in a few days! 31 is right around the corner. Whew!

I'm here

It was back to work I went yesterday. Can I tell you how hard it was? I was quite enjoying my laziness during my break!

On New Year's Eve, I had my doctor's appointment. It was a rather quick one and they took blood for my quad-screen. Not that I'm worried about that really but it's another test and they always give me a bit of a nagging sensation. Have I mentioned the crazy dreams I have been having? I do tend to get some woozies during pregnancy, but this time around, I don't know if it's because my one friend had a surprise or if it's just a nagging thought, but I have been dreaming that I have twins in me. Now, twins do not really run in our families, but there is that chance of the non-genetic type of twins. I honestly do not think I have twins cooking, but it's enough to get me worried. So, this blood test has a chance of noticing that there could be multiples in there. Otherwise, I'll feel much better on the 24th when we go for the ultrasound!

But, at the doctors, I was given a compliment that I'm happy to hear but also hope I never hear it from anyone but the nurse. She said that I had beautiful urine. I mean, only during pregnancy can you be complimented on your pee! My blood pressure was great as usual and I haven't gained a pound yet. The not gaining would worry me a bit, but I can see my belly popping out, so I know that things are fine. I had a lot of extra to go around, so the baby is doing just fine.

New Year's night we went to a friend's house and partyied it up. It was our last night without Carter. My parents had gotten back in town earlier that day, but we didn't have time to stop by to see him. We picked him up the next morning and he didn't even want to come home!

He now has a cold and it's lasted for over a week. We have an appointment with the hematologist tomorrow, so I may try to get an appointment at his regular doctor afterwards for them to check him out. I just hope it hasn't turned into bronchitis again or something. He is my kid, afterall!

That's about it for now. Things are going smoothly. I'm not as tired, but that could be because during my break I got LOTS of sleep. The last two nights haven't been great and I don't know if it's because of the pregnancy or just because I knew I had to get up for work. Hopefully tonight we go better.