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Maternity & Parenting Center

Twoey’s 38 week appointments

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Today was appointment day…we took Twoey for her ultrasound and biophysical profile this morning, and she passed with flying colors! She was moving and breathing well, and we did get a few photos I will try to scan and share. Twoey has been very low – it used to be that her face was even with the placenta, but now she has descended so much that the placenta is even with her belly.

This afternoon, we met with the midwife. This was one of my favorite midwives, and today was her last day with the practice. So, she will definitely NOT be delivering Twoey. The good news is that the midwife who delivered Micah will be covering hospital hours over the next few weeks, so she may be delivering Twoey! I like one of the other two midwives on call – the third one is not so friendly, though.

As for my appointment, at 38 weeks, my belly is measuring 34 weeks…and shrinking. I haven’t put on any weight, and I’ve been having horrible nausea again. The contractions are pretty regular, but I don’t seem to be making any progress. I’m about 2 cm dilated and 70-80% effaced, so no real progress from last week. I’m pretty disappointed. She didn’t think it was a good time to strip my membranes – she did stretch my cervix to hope to stir things up. I had to be hooked up to the machines for an NST (non-stress test) and little Miss Twoey flunked at first. I had to stay hooked up a while longer – they eventually let me go (because she was being cooperative this morning), but all she wanted to do was sleep this afternoon.

I really hope things start to move – I’m so uncomfortable right now with all the contractions, and I’m starting to worry that I won’t go into labor on my own (side effect of those stupid progesterone shots I had to take). Inductions require needles, and I really don’t want to go that route. So…hope little Miss Twoey decides to make an appearance. My only thought is that she is holding out for June 15 – the one day I didn’t want her to arrive because it is my brother’s birthday, my parents’ anniversary, and every few years it is also Father’s Day!

We had a really good day with Micah today – he seems much less grumpy, he napped well, and he went to bed easily. Hopefully a good sign!

Crazy Day

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Wow…I’m exhausted. Micah woke up on the late side yesterday, and we did a mad dash to get hi to his art class before daycare…only to find out they canceled the class and forgot to tell us. We dropped him at daycare and came home. We got a bit of work done, but then we ran out to go to my condo to work on getting it ready for sale next week. We spent about an hour cleaning things out, then went to my my midwife appointment. The baby was doing well – I’m still 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced (or so). I was hoping for some more progress, but no such luck! I think she will be staying put for a little while longer. My belly was measuring around 35 weeks (I never got bigger than that with Micah). They did my group B strep test…let’s hope it comes back negative!

After the appointment, we came home. I finished putting a few things away, got a bit more work done, and then the architect and the builder came by. We talked about the new bid, finalized a few other pieces of information – and now we wait for a formal written bid (hopefully to come in on Monday). If the bid comes back as promised, we are all set to move forward and get these renovations on the road! Right after our meeting, Elliot ran out to pick Micah up from daycare. He did not nap at all yesterday, so cranky does not even begin to describe Micah’s mood last night. He was really difficult all through dinner, and we finally gave in and just put Sesame Street on for an hour before taking him upstairs for a bath and bedtime.

Micah woke a bit on the early side this morning (just before 8). He was still pretty cranky through breakfast, unfortunately. The babysitter, Christin, arrived at 9:00, and she helped keep him calm and get him dressed. My father showed up around 9:45 – it was the first day of the new semester of his Kidville classes, and unfortunately, I screwed up and scheduled an ultrasound during class. I wanted to go with Micah and Christin to show her the ropes, but I just couldn’t be in two places at once. My father volunteered to come down and go in with them so she would not have to do it on her own. Apparently, they had a great time – my father left the first class for a bit to run errands, but he was a huge help getting them down there and all settled into class.

While they were in class, Elliot and I went for the ultrasound. Twoey looked great…she is still head down. She was measuring at about 35 weeks (same as Micah at this point). They guestimated her weight at around 5 lbs 15 ozs (which I think is a bit smaller than they predicted for Micah at this point). I think she is going to be small like Micah. They confirmed a whole lot of hair again, too, so I think we are going to have another baby with crazy hair! She passed her biophysical profile with flying covers, scoring a perfect 8/8.

We made it home around 11:30. We scheduled Micah for back-to-back classes, so they did not come home until about 12:30. My father left and went about his day, and Christin fed Micah lunch. Our organizer, Leslie, showed up here around 12:00 – I immediately took her upstairs to help me finish digging out the bedroom. In the corner of the bedroom, I’ve had one last box that I never unpacked after we moved in, and a pile of a few other things. Since I gave up my office when we moved here, I don’t really have a place to store all of my papers and business items. Unfortunately, they’ve been getting a bit unwieldy. We sorted the box, sorted all of my papers, divided everything up for filing, and threw out several bags of unnecessary junk. I now have a space in the room to put a small dresser for Twoey’s clothing until we move into our bigger place. I feel SOOO much better to have unloaded a bit more (and Leslie also attacked Elliot’s half of the room and unloaded a bunch of his junk, too). So, things are looking up – we’ve significantly de-cluttered, which will make packing up to move MUCH easier (and I don’t have to feel like keeping the baby in our bedroom is a health hazard!).

Micah went down for his nap a little after 1:00 pm. While I was working with Leslie, Christin brought her friend Megan over (who previously babysat for us). Megan is thinking about changing her job, and might be interested in working for us as Micah and Twoey’s nanny beginning in September!! I’m so excited – if this works out, it really will be a great solution for us. She is responsible, good with children, and she is willing to work for a very reasonable amount of money since she is only 20 and has never been a nanny before (although she has TONS of babysitting experience). She would like to be a party planner when she “grows up” and my father has a lot of party planning connections (he owns a stationery business and does a lot of work in that field). We think we can hire her and help get her some internships/other part-time work in the party planning industry. Our hope is that she’ll work for us for two years full time (and maybe another year or so part-time), and that as our need decreases, we can slowly help her take off on the career of her dreams. Let’s see if this works out!

At 3:00, Leslie left. I was amazed at how much we accomplished in three hours. My mom normally comes on Thursday nights for date night, but she has had a rough week at work (and an unexpected trip to the dentist), so I told her she could take the night for herself if she needed it. She apologized, but decided to head home after work. I’m just so lucky she gives us as much time as she does! Since Christin is desperate for more hours and to earn more money, I asked her if she would mind staying later tonight. She happily agreed! When Micah woke up from his nap, she asked if she could take him over to her mom’s (Laura’s) house. Laura babysits my friend Niki and Eric’s kids on Thursdays (that is how I found Christin last year), and Micah loves playing with them and loves going to their house. I said it was fine, and off they went! They played in the baby pool, and played with trains. Christin called and asked if they could stay at Laura’s house through dinner, and I said that was fine. When they took off, Elliot and I decided to head back to my condo to finish emptying it and do all the touch-up painting that needed to be done. By the way, I love those Mr. Clean Magic Erasers – they did a great job removing all kinds of scuffs and issues. We stayed there for about 2 1/2 hours, decided not to do anything more for date night, then made it back here before Micah’s bedtime. We walked through the door, and Micah was sitting quietly, cuddling with Christin, and all dressed in his pajamas. We got to spend some time with him and put him to bed, so it was a nice evening. Christin took off after a VERY long day, but they both seemed to have a great time (and we managed to accomplish a lot today).

I can’t believe we still have another day left this week! I’m looking forward to the long weekend. We are going out to dinner on Saturday night with all of my cousins. We are thinking of having a few people over on Monday afternoon/evening for a Memorial Day….gathering. Very small and low-key, but hopefully it will be fun. We want to keep it small and simple (I am not up for working too hard…and I want to be able to easily cancel if I go into labor).

So…happy Memorial Day Weekend!!

Piano Man

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I think it has been a while since I’ve done a “substance” post, so here goes! When I last left you, Elliot was out of town. Things went much better than I expected, actually. Micah slept in late on Tuesday…but the dog was up at 5:30 am. Since her heart problems started, she has been having issues holding her bladder and she gets very anxious for her food/pills about 1-2 hours before it is time. I think she knows they make her feel better and they start to wear off around the 10 hour mark. I’m working on this, but there isn’t much I can do!

On Tuesday, I had hoped to take Micah to a free musical performance and story hour at White Flint Mall, followed by a train ride, but the cleaning lady showed up pretty late. Unfortunately, we missed the musical performance and the story hour, and the thought of heading to the mall just to take Micah to the train ride seemed…daunting. I was afraid he wouldn’t sit still and I’d be chasing him by myself around the mall and fighting him about leaving. So, I chickened out and decided to save that for another day…with help. Instead, I called up my parents and asked if they wanted to meet us for lunch! Micah and I drove over to pick up my mom up from the college and my Dad joined us a bit later. We just ate at noodles and company, and we had a good time. I have to say, it is so much easier on me now that Micah will eat pasta! After lunch, Micah took a nice nap. When he woke up, we watched an episode of Between the Lions, played a bit, and then I fed him dinner. Elliot surprised us by actually making it home before bedtime, so the day was a breeze.

On Wednesday, I spent the day downtown at a work meeting. It was actually good to “see and be seen” and I may have found a few additional jobs for the next year. We shall see how that pans out. I’d like to try and line everything up before Twoey arrives.

On Thursday morning, Elliot, Micah and I headed off to an ultrasound. We had a snafu with child care for Micah (honestly, I forgot to make arrangements in advance and our “go-to” babysitter was busy) so we brought him along. Twoey was great (and Micah behaved, too)! The appointment was quick, with very little news to report. She is still head down, and now turned in “birthing position” facing my back. That probably explains the back pain I’ve been experiencing, the change in my contractions, and all the extra pressure on my bladder. Her heart rate was perfect, and then we learned one other fun piece of information…she has hair! The ultrasound tech thought she had A LOT of hair, so Twoey may come out with as much hair as Micah. I’m going to be prepared – I’m going to buy one of those little clippy bows so we can take a picture of her with a bow clipped on her beautiful locks! Elliot made sure to ask the tech if she could tell the color of her hair (my mother is DYING to know if this baby will be a redhead), but the tech was decidedly uncooperative (ha!). Once she realized we were just teasing (we obviously know you cannot tell color from the ultrasound) she announced that it looked white on the screen (as hair always does). I said I knew premature grey hair ran on my mom’s side of the family – poor baby! So, hair color (and true quantity) will still be a surprise, but there is hope that Twoey will have luscious locks like Micah.

After the ultrasound, I hosted a mini “playgroup” at our house – I invited a few of the other parents who are normally in our Thursday class (we are on hiatus for another week). Only one was able to come over, but the boys played together for a few hours. Well, I should say they mostly played independently, but occasionally Micah was not so nice to Alex. He does not like to share his toys, and he can scream if others get too close and he will sometimes fight for toys. We’re working on it, but I feel like we are not making much progress. The good news is that by the end of the playdate, Micah was walking over to Alex and hugging and kissing him. It was adorable! Of course, Alex looked quite perturbed and a bit frightened – he had that “Weren’t you just beating me up and now you are kissing me?” look on his face.

Friday was another work day, but somehow things just seem so hectic right now. I’ve been working on getting a proposal done, and I’ve been trying to wrap up a bunch of deliverables before the baby arrives. In addition, we’ve been trying to figure out how to handle these renovations. We are currently over budget (not a shock, right)? I could post a whole separate post just about the renovations (and probably should) but the short version is we hired a builder to keep us on budget. We did expand our project, he told us dollar amounts for the things we were adding, we felt we could afford it, and then he came back with the final total cost and it was significantly higher than his numbers led us to believe it would be. Every time we try to cut things back out, the price doesn’t seem to drop. So, we are at an impasse right now. Because of the delays, we no longer think we can move back into my condo during the renovations. My condo really only has 2 bedrooms (3 if you count the downstairs room). We thought that would be fine while the baby was small, but now she might be 2 or 3 months old when we move, and we really feel she needs her own room upstairs now. So, we are in a mad dash to get my place on the market and hope it sells before we need to rent a place. What a mess! We are both pretty pissed we’ve held on to the condo all this time to not even live in it again, but what can we do now?

On Saturday, our friends Niki and Eric hosted a party at their house. It was a ton of fun – they have a fantastic back yard with swings and toys, and they put out sprinklers and baby pools for the kids. We snacked and socialized and played all afternoon, and it was really a fun day. I actually ran into an old co-worker there – her daughter and my friend Niki’s son are in preschool together. Micah loved the slide and playing basketball, and he loved the snack table..he personally ate all the goldfish, the animal crackers, and half the fruit platter! There was also a climb-in Thomas the Tank Engine that Micah loved riding. Eventually, we moved inside, and Micah spent about an hour playing on a piano! He has seen and used toy pianos before, but he had never had the opportunity to play on a real piano. He was sitting on the bench, banging away – and I have to say, it even sounded somewhat melodic! I think he might just have some musical talent in there. Time got away from us, and we had to do a mad dash home around 8:15 pm. We literally threw Micah into the tub for a quick rinsing (he was so dirty from being outside all day!) and then plopped him into bed.

Sunday was another crazy day for us. Micah woke up extra early, and it was a long morning. We were trying to get things in order and keep him entertained, but he was really cranky. We tried putting him down for a nap around 1, and the little bugger woke up screaming at 2! I think he has more teeth coming in (not that he lets me into his mouth to inspect). We had no luck getting him back to sleep, so Elliot decided to take him outside for a walk and to run errands. I guess I lost track of time while they were out (I was trying to get some work and cleaning done). They did not arrive home until almost 4, and I suddenly realized I still needed to shower and we were supposed to be at a picnic for Micah’s daycare already! We did not make it there until about 5, but we had a nice time. There was pizza, some activities, and good music. Micah was playing with a soccer ball most of the time, and he had fun wandering all over the field and getting into trouble.

Yesterday (Monday), Micah started off the morning in daycare, but we pulled him out early because we had his follow-up appointment with the ophthalmologist. One funny story – apparently, when they changed his diaper, he looked at the caretaker and said “stinky.” That is what we always say when he poops – I tend to say “stinky, stinky Mr. Micah.” Funny – it never dawned on me that he would pick it up! Anyway, Micah’s appointment went quite well, although we were waiting forever to be seen. Micah was excited about the Cars movie on the screen – he kept saying car and vroom vroom. He also grabbed a Thomas the Tank Engine book and wanted us to read that to him (we may have a new obsession we will have to “feed.”) The good news is his optic nerve still looks great, and there is no sign of any swelling or pressure in his brain. So, surgery for the craniosynostosis is still unnecessary. The other good news…Micah does not need glasses (for now). He definitely is far-sighted, but it is not outside the range of normal for children. The bigger concern is that there is at least a half diopter difference between his two eyes, which *could* be a sign that he is developing amblyopia (lazy eye) – which I have. For now, the doctor just wants to continue monitoring things. He feels that he can see well enough for walking and learning. We do not have to go back for another year! He would also suggest bringing the baby in when she is about a year old, so I’ll bring the two of them in together next year.

One new problem that has cropped up this week…I think Micah is a bit too attached to television. I usually only have him watch 30 minutes – 1 hour of educational television a day (all PBS shows). He usually does not ask for the tv, but if he sees the remote he sometimes climbs on the couch and fusses indicating he wants to watch tv. BUT, if we put on his show for 30 minutes, he gets VERY upset when it ends. Tempertantrum kind of upset. He kicks and screams and throws his head back and points and fusses. It is quite a sight! I try to distract him, and I do not give in and let him get more television as a reward for that behavior, but I really hate that he is starting to do this. I’m hoping it is a phase and that he will learn that when the show is over, tv is finished. I really only put it on at times when he is a bit cranky/clingy, or if I need to keep him busy while I prepare his food for dinner or before bed time. I also find that when he is getting really wild and destructive, the tv is a good way to get him to calm down and focus and relax. We sing songs with the tv, go over the letters and words, and I do think he is learning from these shows. The other time it comes up – in the mornings and evenings, Elliot likes to watch the news. If Micah sees the tv on and it isn’t his show, he has started getting mad and tries to force us to put on his show. My solution for that has been shutting the tv off. If we cannot have it on at all, then that is what we will have to do.

Twoey’s 30 week ultrasound

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At long last…an update on my 30 week ultrasound (along with pictures from both the 28 and the 30 week ultrasound). We had our appointment last week on Thursday. My cervix seems to be holding steady right around 2.9-3.0 cms (good news), but I’m having way too many contractions. We finally were able to talk to my regular doctor, and he gave me medication to help control the contractions now that I am no longer taking the P17 shots to prevent pre-term labor. Everything else looks great – at 28 weeks, Twoey weighed 2 lbs 9 ozs (Micah weighed 2 lbs 10 ozs at the same point in the pregnancy), and she was measuring about 3 days behind (totally normal – probably just means she’ll be small like Micah was). I was able to tell the doctor about my frustration with his staff and the other doctor, so I felt better about that. I guess I just have to believe that things are going to turn out okay this time and try not to worry about these contractions too much.

Here are the pictures from Twoey’s 28 week check. She was laying sideways across my belly with her legs twisted all over the place, so these shots were not so clear. She had a hand by her face, and in one of the 2D shots, she has a foot right in front of her face!









And here she is at 30 weeks – head down, much better shots. She made sure to suck her thumb and stick her tongue out at us!




Two Steps Behind

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It seems that lately I am always woefully behind in updating this blog. I think I’m just so overwhelmed with everything going on right now in my life that I cannot seem to stay on top of it all. In general, I would have to say that the past few weeks have been rough – filled with chaos, big decisions and stress. Luckily, all of this craziness is laced with good, but I’m having a hard time enjoying the high points right now.
I think to catch everyone up, I probably need to backtrack to my post on March 24. First, I’ll start with a cute story about Micah. I can’t remember now which night it was – I know that Elliot wasn’t home and I was putting Micah to bed by myself. I asked Micah if he was ready to go take a bath and go night night, and he immediately ran to the stairs. I opened the gate for him, and he climbed upstairs and made a beeline for my bedroom (where we bathe him). He walked around to my side of the bed and grabbed the video monitor (he loves to play with it). I unplugged it so he could have his toy, and then I watched him as he used the doggy steps by the bed to climb up onto the bed. He was just so cute as he sat and played and talked! He also really loves bath time – he plays with his toys, he laughs, and he sticks his face in the water. I should take a few pictures/videos soon.
Anyway, Thursday, March 25, was a typical Thursday. We got up at our regular time, I did some work, and then Elliot and I left a bit early to take my car to be detailed (we were getting ready to trade it in, so we wanted it to look nice). We dropped off the car on the way to taking Micah to his Kidville class, which worked out well. After class, we raced home so Micah could take a nap. I have to say, Micah has been so funny lately. When he is tired, if you ask him if he wants to go upstairs and go “night night,” he drops whatever he is doing, runs to the stairs and bangs on the gate. If you open the gate for him, he hastily climbs upstairs to his bedroom. It makes nap time and bed time so much easier!



Shortly thereafter, our architect showed up with the latest draft of our designs. The good news – he figured out how to give us the “bare minimum” of our request within the space/budget we had originally discussed. The “bad” news – he also showed us some designs with a slightly bigger budget that would give us everything we had hoped for (but more than we expected). Unfortunately, we are already a few weeks behind in the decision-making process, and this placed us even further behind. We could not give the architect the go-ahead to finalize the drawings until we know which design approach we want. Naturally, we need to know how the change in plans will affect our budget before we can make that decision. So, we were on hold until we could meet with our builder and discuss costs with him.
Thursday night was date night…and, once again, we decided that we needed to use our precious date time to go car shopping. This time, we headed to the Lexus dealership where we leased my car. We wanted to discuss the lease rates (and get a trade-in value on my car). Unfortunately, we felt we were low-balled a bit on the price for my car, but we really did get a great rate on the lease. After all the car shopping we had done, we decided that leasing the same vehicle again was likely our best bet. We were torn between leasing the 2010 RX 350 and the 2010 RX 450h (hybrid version). There was a definite price difference between the two – the 2010 version of my car would have lowered our monthly payments, but the 2010 hybrid version would increase them. Elliot felt strongly about switching to the hybrid version (he felt the $50+ per month in gas savings would make up for the increase in monthly payments). After our meeting, we decided to call it a night, and we headed home without even bothering with a date night dinner.
On Friday, I went to have my one hour glucose tolerance test done and then took my car to be appraised at Carmax (we were hoping to get a stronger offer to take to the dealership, but no such luck). Their offer was the same as the dealership, unfortunately. Elliot came and met me at Carmax after his meeting, and then we drove back to Lexus. While we were there, we met with the manager on the “certified pre-owned” side of the business. He had previously been a salesman who leased me all three of my prior vehicles, so I’ve known him for years. We talked him into increasing the trade-in offer on my car, and while we were there, we decided to look at the 2007 used (sorry – pre-owned) hybrids. The hybrids were in great shape, and the price was right. We test drove two of them, and we priced them both. It turns out, purchasing the 2007 hybrid would cost us less per month than leasing the new 2010 non-hybrid. We tentatively told the manager that we would like to get the 2007 used car. Unfortunately, our first choice (the less expensive option) had a deposit on it. The manager was kind, and he ended up lowering the price on the other vehicle to match the price of the first car we wanted. We test drove it, and asked him for a day to think about it.
We had a quiet evening at home on Friday night, and on Saturday I worked on decorating a cake for my friend Laurie’s bachelorette party. At some point, we did call the dealership and tell them that we wanted to buy the 2007 used hybrid, and asked them to hold it for us for pickup either on Sunday or Monday. I made a slightly…naughty…cake. It was designed to look like the chest of a male stripper, and I have to say, he was designed to do some stripping. After I finished the cake, I got dressed and ready for a night of festivities. I have to say…bachelorette parties are not quite the same while you are pregnant! We went out to dinner and had a 3 course meal at a fantastic restaurant. We did head out to one or two bars, but we mostly sat around talking at a table – our days of carousing seem to be long gone! Nearly all of the women there were married (and most of us had children). It was a fun evening, but I was completely exhausted by the end of the night.

After all the running around on Saturday, I wasn’t feeling well, and my contractions were getting much worse on Sunday. On Sunday, Elliot woke up early to cook Easter dinner for 1500 people at Martha’s Table. Normally, I would cook with him, but we did not have anyone to watch Micah, so I stayed behind this time. Micah and I had a fun day together. Micah has just been so cute – he plays with his toys, he laughs at himself, he chases Nugget, we cuddle together, and we read books. Especially Dr. Seuss’ The Foot Book (over and over and over….). By the time Elliot got home, I was exhausted and really not feeling well – I had to lay down for a few hours to deal with the contractions and nausea.
I also knew that Monday night was the first night of Passover – and our first Seder. Passover is the holiday that commemorates the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. We have a Seder (a special dinner) for the first two nights of Passover. At the Seder, we eat special foods to remember the journey out of Egypt and the hardships of slavery we suffered at the hands of Pharaoh. Our plan this year was to go to my parents’ house for the first Seder to celebrate with my parents, Jeremy, Jen, Paige and Peyton. We decided to postpone the second Seder until the third night because our oldest niece was flying in from a semester abroad in South Africa on Wednesday morning. By holding the second Seder until Wednesday night, Melissa would be able to celebrate with us.
When I could finally move again on Sunday night after my nap, I got up to start preparing the food I promised to make for dinner at my parents’. I started by making charoset – basically, it is a mixture of chopped apples, cinnamon, walnuts, and sweet wine, which is intended to symbolize the mortar used by the Jews when we were slaves in Egypt and building pyramids for Pharaoh. I decided I was too exhausted to do anything else, so I went to bed.
On Monday, I balanced getting my work done with cooking and getting another weekly progesterone shot in my ass! I have to say, I was quite impressed with myself – while drafting several documents and handling 3 conference calls, I managed to make a batch of kosher for passover brownies (no flour or leavening in them) and a broccoli souffle. In between calls and baking, I had my shot and got back to work. I got everything in the oven by early afternoon – just in time for the architect and the builder to arrive. We met with them for a few hours to discuss the status of the project. The builder was able to give us a price quote on expanding our project. We were pleasantly surprised that it was MUCH less money than we expected. Consequently, we decided that if we could secure the funds for the project, we felt it was worth the investment to do the expanded addition. So…that left us with a funding challenge. We had set our budget based on the current funds we had available. With the expanded project, we definitely need either a construction loan, or an increase in our home equity line of credit, or to sell my condo, or to refinance the house, and we just did not know whether that was reasonable. So, we told the architect and the builder we needed a few days to figure out the financing to decide whether we would go with the expanded project or if we would have to go with the original plan.
With that, we hastily hurried them out the door, grabbed our stuff, and dashed off to pick Micah up from daycare so we could get to my parents’ house in time for the Seder. After we grabbed Micah and made our way to the dealership…I realized I’d forgotten the charoset at home! I did all that work and promised my mother, then promptly left it at home. I felt terrible – she had to mix up a batch on the fly (as if she didn’t do enough work for the dinner). On our way to dinner, we decided to stop off at the dealership to pick up my “new” used car. Micah had a chance to dance to the music in the dealership.




We signed the paperwork, but it was taking too long. I started to get really annoyed, and the manager said they could finish things up and drop the car off at my parents’ house later that night. We decided to take them up on their offer and raced over to my parents’ house.
When we arrived at my parents’ house, we found our close friend Rayna there (who was in for the holiday) to visit us. Micah and his cousins showed off and played with Rayna for a bit, and then we started our dinner. The Seder actually went quite well. It was extremely short, but we decided to do a child-friendly version. We explained the story of Passover and did all the symbolic parts, and we sang a few children’s Passover songs. And then we ate…gefilte fish, an egg (to symbolize the start of new beginnings), brisket, turkey breast, broccoli souffle, and asparagus. We topped off our meal with brownies and mandel bread (kind of like biscotti, but made without flour for the holiday). Towards the end of the meal, the guys from the dealership showed up to drop off my car! We made sure everything was in order, and we drove my “new” used car home. I have to say, while I’m glad it is all done, I really hate that my “new” car looks EXACTLY like my old car. It kind of takes the “new” feeling away. It is a hybrid, so that is an improvement. I’m just glad the whole struggle/debate is done.
Tuesday was crazy again – I tried juggling Micah and work and preparing for Elliot’s family to arrive. The cleaning lady was here and I had to put everything in order and work with Elliot to prepare the dinner (and organize the kitchen and set the table….). Elliot made turkey loaf and meat loaf, and we prepared roasted potatoes and we served green beans with an Italian dressing on them. Tuesday night, Steven, Jodi, Brian and Stephanie arrived, and my parents joined us for dinner. After dinner, Steven and Jodi went to a hotel near the airport to stay, and the kids stayed with us for the night.


As I mentioned in my last post, things turned crazy on the home front that night – we rushed Nugget to the emergency room in the wee hours of the night Wednesday morning. Bright and early on Wednesday morning, Melissa landed. Somewhere during that time, I received a call from the doctors that I failed the one hour glucose test. I spent the day juggling visits to the vet emergency room, coordinating with family, and trying to cook a huge meal. Luckily, my mom had made extra briskets and chicken soup for us, so we just had to heat that up. Elliot made turkey, and I did the side dishes. Jodi helped me make a spinach souffle, matzah balls, an apple charlotte, and asparagus. Melissa had brought us a special gourmet vinegar from South Africa, so we used the vinegar in the dressing for the asparagus. Brian helped me make a second batch of brownies for dessert. Despite all the chaos, we managed to get everything finished and it tasted delicious. We were a bit disorganized (we were racing around trying to set the table, find the Hagaddahs, and put everything on the Seder plate). The Seder was not exactly smooth…but we managed. I cut out several of the dishes I had planned to make, but in the end, there was plenty of food and it all went well.
While it was wonderful to have everyone in town, I have to admit I wanted nothing more than to cancel the whole dinner and curl up in bed and cry. I realized as I was sitting down for dinner that I’d been in the same outfit for 48 hours. I didn’t even have the energy to go upstairs and change at that point. It was just a long and emotional day, and I have to say, I was a bit relieved when everyone left. I immediately drove back down to the vet hospital to sit with Nugget…and left Elliot with all the mess to clean up!
While I was visiting Nugget, she seemed okay – happy to see me, but still having difficulty breathing. They thought she was doing better and were hopeful that she would be released from the hospital in the morning. While I was there, she would not stay in her oxygen tent – she just wanted to be held. They gave her some food and she scarfed it up! The worst part of the evening…she peed all over me. Twice. The medicine she was on was intended to rid her body of fluids, and it made it difficult for her to control her bladder. It was awful, and she looked so embarrassed when it happened. So, after being in the same outfit for 48 hours, I ended up in a urine-soaked dirty outfit. Fitting end to the day, right?
I stayed with her about one hour…and watched a cat die. I was a mess – the poor cat had some kind of a bad reaction (possibly to a vaccine) and they kept working on him and working on him and trying to administer CPR, but they just couldn’t get him going again. The owner came back and the whole experience was awful. It actually reminded me of a visit there when Nugget was just a few years old…that time, I had rushed my neighbor to the hospital with her dog, who had collapsed while we were on a walk. His name was George, and he was a St. Bernard. He died that day on the same table while we watched through the glass door. That table loomed in front of me the entire time Nugget was in the hospital. I hope I never have to see her that way on that same table.
I finally got home around 11:00 pm…and crashed. I didn’t even bother to see if Elliot had cleaned up! I figured it did not matter if there was still food on the table…Nugget wasn’t home to steal it. On Thursday morning, we woke up to another crazy day. We had to go to my ultrasound and my OB appointment and pick Nugget up from the hospital. Since Elliot needed to get his car serviced, he left a bit before us to drop his car off and get a rental. While it was there, the “Dent guy” was going to give us an estimate on fixing the damage to the car, too.
I had carefully packed up my phone and everything I needed for Micah. On his way out the door, Elliot “accidentally” grabbed my phone. I was so angry! I didn’t notice it was gone until I was almost to my mom’s office. She was going to watch Micah for us while we went to the ultrasound, and I was supposed to call her when I got there so she could come down. I had planned on having her take Micah then quickly run over to the dealership to have a few things fixed on my car (naturally, it didn’t occur to Elliot to call my mom to tell her he had my phone). Elliot was supposed to meet me at the Lexus dealership, and then we were going to drive to the ultrasound together in his car. Since I couldn’t call my mom, I had to park the car – no easy task. The parking lot was packed, so I had to park illegally. I then needed to get the stroller out, and load Micah in, and gather all his stuff together. Naturally, the accessible entrance was all the way around the front of the building. It took forever to walk around to the front, go in the accessible entrance and take the elevator upstairs. I went to my mom’s office…and she wasn’t there. I then went to the front desk…and she wasn’t there. After finding someone who recognized me and begging to use their phone so that I could call my mom’s cell phone to tell her we were there, my mom showed up and found us! I handed off Micah, borrowed her phone to call (and yell) at Elliot. The whole thing set us back 20 minutes, so I was no longer able to go to the dealership, and Elliot had to meet me at the doctor’s office.
My appointment brought mixed news. My cervix shrunk another 2 mms, but Twoey was doing really well! She was moving great, and measuring about 27 weeks 6 days (I was 28 weeks 2 days). Once again, my regular doctor wasn’t there, so we had to see the other doctor. She really bugs me. She was totally unconcerned about the contractions, and kept saying that my cervix was good even though it keeps shrinking. I mentioned that the other doctor said he would get more aggressive about treating the contractions if my cervix dropped below 3.0, but she said she was not concerned unless my cervix was below 2.0. I again pointed out that the goal was to avoid bedrest, and she told me that I could take medicine for the contractions “if I wanted to.” Well…I’m not the doctor! I felt like it shouldn’t be my call. She wrote me a prescription and told me to do whatever I wanted. I was so frustrated! What I wanted was advice and an explanation, and this doctor just always seems to shrug everything off.
We went back to pick Micah up from my mom, and Elliot took my car and Micah to the dealership to fix a few problems while I drove down in the rental to pick up the dog. She was looking much better, and I was thrilled to be bringing her home. Elliot got home and put Micah down for his nap. I still had my OB appointment, and we decided that Elliot would stay behind with Micah and the dog while I went alone. My appointment went really well. We discussed the possible gestational diabetes (and I started to monitor my sugar levels). I have to meet with a nutritionist to talk about diet, but things look promising. So far, all of my sugar levels have been normal. We also discussed my frustration with the doctor, and the midwife said she felt that I should only take the medication when my contractions are particularly frequent/strong. I felt like she gave me some good guidance, and she said that if things start to feel like they are increasing in intensity on a regular basis (or seem to move back towards real labor) then I will go on the medicines permanently. But, for right now, the contractions are not sufficiently strong or regular to warrant aggressive medication, and while my cervix is shrinking, it is not currently shrinking at a rapid rate, so she felt we would do better to continue to wait it out a bit. She thinks I still have enough time to continue avoiding bedrest.
When I returned from my appointment, Rayna and Arleen stopped by for a brief visit. It was nice catching up with them, and they got to spend a bit of time with both Micah and Nugget. Thursday night, my mom came down for date night. We just did not feel like going out with everything going on, so my mom helped with feeding Micah and entertaining him, and she helped me bathe him and put him to bed. We made sure to give Nugget lots of love and attention, too. My mom left pretty early, but the extra help was such a relief. She offered to help pack up and freeze the leftovers, but the kitchen was still such a mess that we did not even know where to begin. Instead, she suggested that she and my father return on Friday night to eat some leftovers and help us clean everything up.
On Friday, we spent the day trying to get all of our work done while Micah was at daycare. I spent a lot of time cuddling Nugget, too. We also managed to get in touch with a mortgage broker, and it seems that we can easily refinance the mortgage on the house and get the money we need to do the expanded renovations. So, we gave the architect the go-ahead to start finalizing the plans. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get back on schedule. I ran out for an hour in the afternoon to meet my friend Heather for lunch. I have to say, when 5:00 rolled around, I was so relieved that the week had ended.
My parents came over for dinner on Friday night. We ate some leftovers, and Elliot managed to get most of the dishes done (or at least in the sink). We were able to start putting things away and break down the extra table and chairs. My dad helped me put the plates and platters away, and my mom and Elliot cut the leftover brisket and meat loaf into single-sized portions for the freezer. We sent some brisket and soup home with my parents, and by the end of the night, we finally felt like we had control of the chaos.
On Saturday, we had a lazy morning. Elliot and Micah went to services, and I stayed home to do some more cleaning/organization and spend time with Nugget. After Micah woke up from his nap, we went out to meet Elliot’s cousin Dana for an early dinner (she and her husband and their 2 kids were in town unexpectedly for a quick visit). After dinner, we raced home to give Nugget her medication and put Micah to bed, and then I went out to meet my friend Niki and catch up with her for a few hours. I got home and worked with Elliot to finally finish the clean up from the prior week. We made sure everything that needed hand-washing was washed, and we put away all the platters. I wiped down the counters, and put everything back in its place. I straightened up the toys, and threw all the dirty dish towels down into the laundry room. I also set the table and prepared everything for our brunch the following morning (yes, that seemed like a good idea back when I set it up).
This morning, our friends Ellen and David (and their son Max) joined us for brunch at 11:30. Ellen is also pregnant, and due just a few weeks after me! We kept brunch nice and simple. I had cleared the buffet and cleaned up the kitchen, and did my best to control the toys in the living room. We made matzah brie (kind of like french toast, but made with matzah), an old family recipe that we call “matzkes” (which is just a sweetened farmers cheese broiled on some matzah), and some scrambled eggs. They stayed for a few hours, and the cleanup was nice and easy – I did all the dishes and we’ve got just about everything put back together again. I am hoping that our cleanup for the cleaning lady tomorrow night will be nice and simple now!
So, here is my “naked baby” running around tonight before bed.

I think I’ll conclude this post with a few photos – I finally got those “rock star photos” of Micah from our class field trip almost two weeks ago. How funny are these?









I still have to scan the ultrasound pictures from Thursday and post them, so I’ll be back with more pictures of Twoey soon!

Whirlwind, 15 month checkup, Twoey

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What a crazy day we had today! Micah is not quite back on schedule yet since we changed to daylight savings time. Last night, he was exhausted but would not go to bed before 9:15. He was falling asleep, so we took him upstairs at 8 to give him a bath and put him to bed. When we put him in his crib, he started to wail. We gave him a while to calm down, but the poor thing worked himself up into a state of absolute hysteria. He just wanted more time to cuddle with Mommy. We ended up bringing him downstairs to cuddle and relax a bit. After another 40 minutes, Daddy was able to take him upstairs and put him to sleep. Not surprisingly, he slept until 9 am this morning.

Because Micah slept in, we were in a bit of a rush. We fed Micah a scrambled egg, cereal and a banana for breakfast. I quickly got him dressed and at 9:30, we raced off to class. Micah danced, played an instrument, and thoroughly enjoyed himself. By the end of class, he was clearly exhausted. We drove back home, and Micah immediately went down for his nap. I made a quick business conference call (it was insane here – the phone would not stop ringing, the cleaning lady showed up, the landscaper who was working on removing our broken trees/fallen fence damaged by the blizzards arrived to start working, and the architect showed up early for our meeting – I can multitask with the best, but this was a bit much!).

Our meeting with the architect was…frustrating. We were not pleased with some of the proposals, and any time we raised a concern, he kept telling us to “take a chill.” For me, that phrase was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. After a frustrating 2 hour meeting, we realized we were late for our doctor’s appointment with Micah. While trying to graciously throw out our architect, Elliot worked on waking Micah up from his nap while I quickly packed up a lunch for him. We raced off to our appointment and arrived about 10 or 15 minutes late…oops.

Micah was such a good boy at his 15 month checkup! The doctor was lovely (and he made sure to flirt with her). She kept telling us how sweet Micah is, and he showed off his walking and eating skills. She asked us about his language development and we discussed the kind of foods he eats (and doesn’t eat). She checked out his teeth (she admired his 6 teeth and told us it looks like there are another 2-6 on the way). We talked about the vaccinations and his sleep habits, and she told us Micah is doing very well. He weighed in at 20 lbs 9 ozs (3-5%) and he was 31 3/4 inches tall (50-75%). Micah got three vaccinations today – MMR, chicken pox and Hepatitis A. His first shot was in his left thigh – he looked a bit perturbed when the nurse stuck him, but he did not cry at all. When the nurse stuck him for the 2nd shot in his left arm, he again looked a bit surprised and maybe mildly annoyed, but he did not cry at all. The third and final shot was in his right arm. The nurse warned me that the shot would likely sting. She stuck him again, and once again, he seemed a bit irritated at her. When she actually started to push in the vaccine, he started to scream. He was MISERABLE, and I felt awful for him. It took us a bit to get him to calm back down again – actually, I bribed him with a carrot/apple crusher, and that seemed to soothe him.

We arrived back home just in time for the babysitter to arrive! Today, Micah’s babysitter from last summer, Christin, was home from college for Spring Break, and she agreed to come by to watch Micah while we went for an ultrasound. We also discussed re-hiring her for this summer, and she agreed! We are so excited that in May she will be working with us again on Tuesdays and Thursdays (and we may decide to add more days than that later). After catching up a bit, Elliot & I headed out for our ultrasound.

Today’s ultrasound was just a cervical length check. Last visit, my cervix measurements ranged from 3.3 – 3.7, with most of the measurements in the 3.5 or 3.6 range. Today, the measurements ranged from 3.0-3.3. In pregnancy, they like to see the cervix long and closed, and do not want to see the cervix drop below 3.0 cms. Once you fall below 3.0, you are in the “danger” zone. Naturally, when I saw that the measurement had dropped down to 3.0, I was a bit concerned. We met with the doctor to discuss the changes and my continued contractions. At this point, he is not ready to aggressively work to stop the contractions. He is hoping the shots will help a bit (although I’ve seen no evidence of that so far), but until my cervix falls below 3.0, he does not feel they are a cause for concern. My fibroids also grew a bit – he thinks the contractions and the size of the fibroids are related, and the fibroids may be why the shots do not seem to be reducing the contractions. For now, I am still not officially on bedrest, and he feels I am doing “great” for 26 weeks pregnant. He seems confident we will be able to keep Twoey in place long enough to finish baking…my concern is about how miserable things might get for me. I know…selfish. I just know that dealing with all those contractions and trips to labor and delivery and the medications and the bedrest was MISERABLE last time – it was a terrible 8 weeks. I’m dreading doing that all over again. I think the anticipation makes it worse – I know what to expect now. I really hope we can be more proactive and reduce the bedrest time. I wish I could say I left that appointment in good spirits…but I’m actually kind of dreading my next appointments and feel like bedrest is looming ahead. For now, I am going to try and enjoy what time I have left on my feet, and try to “take it easy” as much as I can.

After our appointment, we came back home. We found Micah and Christin playing outside and finishing up a walk. They had a wonderful time together! We came inside, said our goodbyes for now, and went back to playing. We fed Micah chicken nuggets for dinner. At first, he refused to even try it, but he eventually ate 2 of them and 1/2 a peanut butter sandwich. We decided it was a successful meal! Elliot headed off to a meeting, and Micah and I stayed behind to play before bedtime. He had been awake without a second nap since 1:00, so by 7:30 Micah was pretty cranky and grumpy. I picked him up and took him upstairs to change him into his pajamas. We cuddled for a bit, and right at 8:00, I put him to bed. For the second night in a row, Micah became hysterical – he did NOT like leaving the comfort of Mommy’s arms for that crib. He screamed for a while, and I eventually gave up and went and got him. He had a rough day – no sleep, vaccinations, etc. We came back downstairs and curled up on the couch together, Micah laying across me and sucking his thumb.

I had the television on with American Idol in the background. Micah LOVES American Idol. He was smiling at the songs, swaying back and forth to the music, and he even clapped a few times. When Casey came on, Micah sat right up and hopped off the couch. He reached into his basket and grabbed his kazoo and started to play along with Casey. He then started to mimic Casey’s guitar playing, and Micah did his own version of an “air guitar” – he strummed his belly! He was so cute dancing, playing the belly guitar and the kazoo, and clapping. Finally, at 9:15 I thought Micah was completely exhausted, so I took him upstairs and tried once again to put him to bed. I gave him a hug, told him night night and gently put him in the crib. I held his hand for a few minutes and kissed his forehead. I slowly pulled away and left. He fussed for a few minutes, but finally crashed for the night. I hope this grumpiness is just teething and that it will pass soon!

What a long day…I can’t believe it is only Tuesday.

Checking in on Twoey

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Today I had another appointment with the maternal fetal medicine specialist. I was just scheduled for a cervical length check and a quick consultation with the doctor to discuss my contractions. I’m happy to report that all went well – my cervix remains around 3.5-3.7 cm long, so there has not been any change since my last check. While ideal is over 4.0 cm, they are happy as long as I stay above 3.0 cms.

Much to my surprise, they decided to do another quick ultrasound of my baby girl to check her heartbeat. She is currently breech (well, butt-down). I thought she had flipped in the last day because I have been feeling her kicking (actually, it turns out punching) up higher. We actually got a beautiful little 3D picture of her face! She is still a bit young for the 3D technology, so her features were a touch blurred, but I think she might look a bit like Micah already! Yes, I’m sure NO ONE else will be able to see that from these pictures, but hey, I’m a proud mama! What do you think?



I then had a brief consultation with the doctor. My “regular” doctor there is the head of the maternal fetal medicine center, but he was out of town on vacation. I saw another doctor who was on duty today. I am certain that all of the doctors at this practice are competent, but, unfortunately, this one really does not know my history and only barely skimmed my file. We talked about my contractions, but she basically responded that as long as my cervix holds steady, they just don’t care about the contractions. I tried to ask when I should worry about them and call/seek additional medication, but I do not feel like she gave me a good answer. She then asked if I considered getting the 17P shots (a type of progesterone shot administered weekly to help prevent pre-term labor). I said that I had discussed that with the other doctor early on this pregnancy, and he recommended against it because he felt it was unlikely to help my situation because the fibroid was the source of the contractions. She shrugged and said that was a possibility, but that the shots might help if the contractions had nothing to do with the fibroid. She then said that the shots are the most effective when started around 16 weeks, and since I’m already at 22 weeks, they may not even help at this point.

So…I have a decision to make. The doctor submitted the request for the 17P shots to the insurance company. If I am approved, I have to decide whether or not to take them.

Pros:

  • They may reduce the contractions.
  • They may help me carry Twoey to term without other medications and horrible/scary bouts of contractions.
  • If I try to wait it out until the contractions are worse and I experience cervical changes, it would be too late. These shots are meant to be preventive so I do not have to deal with bedrest or contractions or oral medications or the discomfort (if it works).
  • I’m trying to think of more, but I think I’m out!

Cons:

  • I’m needle phobic – a shot every week is a bit overwhelming for me to think about. I know I can get through it if it is best for the baby, but I have to believe that to really make this happen.
  • It may not help at all and I could put myself through the needle torture for nothing.
  • Side effects – can include vomiting and nausea (already a problem for me), headaches, dizziness, swelling, and other issues I’d prefer to avoid. Not everyone has side effects, but I’m concerned because I tend to be very hormone-sensitive (and let’s be honest – I’m sure my needle phobia is playing into this fear, too).
  • It may work so well that it could cause me to be overdue or need to be induced when the time comes (an issue again because of my needle-phobia).
  • It may be unnecessary treatment – I may not end up having an issue at all with pre-term labor this pregnancy, and last pregnancy I managed just fine on the oral medications. Even if I have a repeat of last time, I could still carry to term.

Anyone have any input?

Twoey’s 20 week OB appointment and ultrasound

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Yesterday was my 20 week OB appointment. Although they made us wait 1 1/2 hours to see the midwife, it was a rather uneventful appointment. We listened to (and recorded) Twoey’s heartbeat (it was in the 160s).
No weight gain yet, and my belly was measuring right on target. Everything is looking good so far. I did have a discussion with this midwife about getting a prescription for Reglan if I have issues with my milk supply after Twoey is born, and she was quite willing to help me out. We were supposed to get a prescription for an AFP tests (checks my blood for a protein that is an indicator of spina bifida) and my first trimester bloodwork (long story, but I still haven’t gotten that done). Because we were running so late, we grabbed our prescriptions and ran – only to find out that once AGAIN, the nurse forgot to give me the prescription for the AFP (it is actually supposed to be done between weeks 17 and 18, and no later than 20 weeks). I tried calling the office, but the nurse could not find the midwife’s notation about the AFP and was unwilling to fax me the script before talking to her. I was told I needed to get the test done yesterday or not take it at all, but, of course, they did not fax me the prescription. Now it is officially too late for me to have that test done.
Today we had our ultrasound – the full anatomy scan. Twoey was EXTREMELY uncooperative (perhaps I should not have eaten that cookie for breakfast…), so unfortunately the pictures we did get were awful. She spent much of the time turning away from the ultrasound and it took the tech about 30 minutes to get all the pictures of her heart. The doctor had to come back for a second look to see her aorta. They checked her brain, her kidneys, her bladder, her stomach, her heart and all of her limbs. She IS still a girl, and everything looks perfect. She is 12 ounces and measuring at 20 weeks and 2 days. Her spine was perfect, too, and when we asked about the AFP, the maternal fetal medicine specialist felt that the results of the ultrasound were clear, and the only other thing the AFP could indicate is an issue with the placenta. He said that if the test came back elevated, the “prescription” for that would be monthly ultrasounds, which I am getting anyway. In other words, the doctor felt it was no big deal that we could not get the AFP done, so I feel relieved about that. They also measured Frank and Fiona, who seem to be holding steady at 4 and 3 cms, respectively.
Profile – tushy up in the air:


Hands over head:

Hands crossed over face:



Skeleton face:

Finally, they did measure my cervical length. It dropped to 3.5 cms, which is still considered “safe” at this point in the pregnancy, however, it is unusual to lose about 1 cm of cervical length over the course of a month at only 20 weeks. After I had my initial bout of early labor with Micah at 28 weeks, my cervix shrunk from 4.6 down to 3.8 cms at 28 weeks, and they were concerned then. I think the biggest worry at this point is that I’m losing the “cushion” – if I develop contractions again, my cervix is already shrinking and it may be harder to stave off labor and keep me pregnant. I have to go back in 2 weeks for a cervical length check. If it continues to shrink, we may have to get a bit more aggressive with either medications or bedrest. As long as my cervix stays above 2.6 for now, they will keep me up and moving around, so for right now, everything is okay.

Last night, Micah used a fork for the first time!! We were at my parents’ house for another night of shiva, eating dinner. Micah was not particularly interested in the cheese or the bagels or the tuna fish, so I made him a veggie burger. He spotted my fork, and he made it quite clear he wanted it. I tried stabbing a piece of veggie burger with the fork and feeding it to him. He quickly stole the fork from me…and went about feeding himself with a fork! I was amazed that he could handle it so well – it never dawned on me to give it a try. He needed a bit of help getting the pieces onto the fork, but he ate the entire veggie burger that way. Once again, tonight at dinner, Micah wanted a fork. He ate two small turkey burgers with his fork – and this time, he was even able to stab the meat himself. Apparently, Micah loves to use a fork (something I find particularly humorous as his Uncle Jeremy STILL rarely uses a fork!

I am definitely due for a picture post – I have a ton of pictures and video of Micah to add to the blog – I’ll have to get to that this weekend while we are snowed in!

Twoey’s 16 week OB visit and ultrasound

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On Wednesday, we had our 16 week appointment. Unfortunately, DH was unable to join us due to a work conflict, and I wasn’t able to record the heartbeat this time. The appointment went well – I was measuring right on target, I lost 2 more pounds, and I’m probably just stuck with the morning sickness. I have to get more bloodwork done, but they didn’t manage to get me the bloodwork requests before I left. Frankly, I hate getting the bloodwork done anyway, so I just couldn’t be bothered fighting!

Today was Twoey’s 16 week ultrasound! We hoped they would be able to tell us the gender, and we needed to meet with the doctor about my contractions and pain. Naturally, they were late getting started. They started out doing a cervical length check, and it did appear there was some shrinkage (not such good news) but it was still at least 3.5 cms, which is a decent measurement, just shorter than last month.

Then, the tech got to it and started checking the baby. Everything looked great with Twoey! Baby was measuring about 3 days ahead (Micah was measuring ahead at this point, too). Arms/legs/head all looked perfect, and the little heart was pumping away, with a heart rate of 155 bpm. We got to see the kidneys and spine, and cute little hands and face. Best of all, Twoey decide to cooperate and show us the “goods”! Here are the photos we got:




Isn’t SHE beautiful? Yes, we are having a little girl!

In other news, the fibroid is hiding well up against the placenta, but the doctor feels that it will continue to give me some problems. I was given a prescription of Indocin to take for the pain and contractions, but not more than 48 hours worth of medicine in any one week period. Hopefully, that will do the trick! For right now, everything is going asexpected, and our next ultrasound is scheduled for February 4.

Update on Twoey

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Morning sickness has been a constant for me – as long as I remember to take 2 Zofran every 8 hours, though, I can function. I hope this lets up soon! In the meantime, I am not exactly certain when I took this test, but we decided to do Intelligender again. From what I have read, it is about as accurate as flipping a coin, but hey, it’s fun, right? So, the results, once again….



Yup, it says Twoey is a boy. I can’t help but think Twoey is a girl, but it could be wishful thinking :). I’ve always thought the “perfect” family is one boy and one girl, so it probably means I’ll be a mom to 2 boys instead. As long as he/she is healthy and happy, right? We have to go back for another ultrasound on January 8. My fibroid is growing at a nice rapid rate, so I definitely need to be monitored again. At the NT scan a few weeks ago, the fibroid was still bigger than Twoey. So, we’ll be going back on January 8, and there is a good chance they’ll be able to tell us the gender at that point!

I’ve been feeling some movement from Twoey for a while now. It is very different this time around. With Micah, it started very softly, almost like bubbles or a flutter. I think I started to become aware of it around 13 or 14 weeks. With Twoey, the movement feels stronger, but I’ve almost been second guessing it because it seems too strong a feeling for so early. I guess we’ll see what happens with time!