Friday, January 22, 2010

16 Months

I am still only doing letters every 3 months now, but wanted to post some cute pictures.
You are walking/running now, and it's so cute, and soooo much easier on Mommy!!! You insist on carrying something at all times when you are walking, must help with your balance (or at least you think it helps).



Thursday, January 21, 2010

15/16 Month Check up

Macie had her 15 month check up today (really ended up being at 16 months due to us just having her there not too long ago for illness).

Her stats:

Weight: 26 pounds (90th percentile)
Height: 31 inches (95th percentile)
Head: 19 1/2 inches (95th percentile)

Diagnosis: Healthy, tall, and super smart!!! At least that's Mommy's diagnosis.

Seems our "healthy, tall, and super smart" kid has some stinky pits. We've tried different things to help with it, but nothing is working. The Dr. is going to call an Endocrinologist tomorrow to see what/if he recommends anything. Probably do some blood work to rule out diabetes, thyroid issues, and metabolic problems. We'll know more soon. Yes, we have a stinky kid.....poor thing.

Today was the day of Dr.'s appointments. I had my first NST today. Seems everything went good since the baby was reacting appropriately to stimuli, and just normal movement. I also had an appt. with my OB- blood pressure was good, baby's heartrate was 130 and I am measuring 34 weeks. Not much to report....a good thing!

Monday, January 18, 2010

34 Weeks

Had my first of two 34 week appointments today. My blood pressure was nice and low this time. I am still spilling protein in my urine unfortunately. I will now go in for a weekly Non Stress Test until I deliver. I am waiting for a call back from the Maternal Fetal Specialist to see what day this week they can do my first one.
How is one supposed to rest with the following orders:
1- Drink tons of water. I spend most of my time trying to get my tank ass off the couch to go pee 500x a day.
2- You will have two appointments every week with the OB office, and now 1 appointment weekly with the Maternal Fetal Specialist. That requires me to get ready and get out of the house 3 days a week. Granted, it's not strenuous, but it's not RESTING!

That's all for now, sorry about the bitching. I just want to be "normal" again....whatever that is.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Update

I went over to the hospital yesterday to turn in my "jug o' pee" and to have some blood work done. Today was my follow up appointment for blood pressure and the test results.
My blood pressure was still elevated, no shock there. I also am spilling a fairly large amount of protein in my urine. This is an indicator of the beginning stages of preeclampsia. Here is some info. I found. Much better than me trying to explain it.
What Is Preeclampsia?
Also referred to as toxemia, preeclampsia is a condition that pregnant women can get. It is marked by high blood pressure accompanied with a high level of protein in the urine. Women with preeclampsia will often also have swelling in the feet, legs, and hands. Preeclampsia, when present, usually appears during the second half of pregnancy, generally in the latter part of the second or in the third trimesters, although it can occur earlier.

How Can Preeclampsia Affect My Baby?
Preeclampsia can prevent the placenta from receiving enough blood, which can cause your baby to be born very small. It is also one of the leading causes of premature births and the difficulties that can accompany them, including learning disabilities, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and hearing and vision problems.

What Is the Treatment for Preeclampsia and Eclampsia?The only real cure for preeclampsia and eclampsia is the birth of the baby.

Mild preeclampsia (blood pressure greater than 140/90 that occurs after 20 weeks of gestation in a woman who did not have hypertension before; and/or having a small amount of protein in the urine can be managed with careful hospital or in-home observation along with activity restriction.

If the baby is pre-term, the condition can be managed until your baby can be safely delivered. Your health care provider may prescribe bed rest, hospitalization, or medication to prolong the pregnancy and increase your unborn baby's chances of survival. If your baby is close to term, labor may be induced.

The treatment for more severe preeclampsia (having vision problems, lung problems, abdominal pain, fetal distress, or other signs and symptoms) may require more emergent treatment -- delivery of the baby -- irrespective of the baby's age.


So, what does this mean for me and the baby? I have been instructed to "not do much of anything". I am to lay on my left side most of the time, drink lots of water, and relax. Oh yeah....and not lift Macie. I did explain to the Dr. that that was nearly impossible. I understand why they don't want me to do it, and I understand the instructions but they also understand that I am going to have to lift her from time to time. Phil has been awesome in helping me with a lot. He brings her up for her naps, brings her down, puts her in the highchair, gives her baths,etc. Unfortunately, he can not be here all the time...one of us has to work!!! My parents have been a huge help too and have been taking her for a few hours and/or days if I need to go to the Dr., or just need to "rest". I can't express enough how grateful I am to all of them for their help. I also am very grateful that Macie is walking now. That makes things a bit better in the lifting department.
I got a little off track there. I go back to to the Dr. on Monday and I will be scheduled for a Non Stress Test. They hook me up to the monitors for about an hour and record the baby's heart rate and my contractions. They want to make sure that the baby's heart rate is reacting properly to stimuli and movement. It helps them determine if the baby is getting enough oxygen, or if the baby is under any stress.
So...more waiting, and worrying, and wondering. I'm not good at any of those, and can't imagine it's good in this situation. Obviously the main goal is to keep all this under control so that she can bake a little bit longer.
I am so bummed, frustrated, nervous, etc. This pregnancy was going along very well, and so much different than with Macie and then all this came about! I don't have the swelling and rapid weight gain that I had with her, but I am told to keep an eye out for it so it must be in my future.
That's all for now...I am off to go lay on my left side. I have so much to do with the nursery, etc. Guess it can wait!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

33 Week- Headless belly shot

I haven't done a belly shot in a while. I am HUGE!!! It's a 20lb baby in there you know.....

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Now that I am off work.....

I should probably be doing all that laundry I have been putting off for so long.





Say CHEESE!!!!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Follow up appointment- 33 weeks

Where to start? How about the good news? Only gained 1 pound.....that's all I got for good news.
When I got home from work on Friday my back was killing me, but I didn't think much of it since my back hurts even when I am not working. I decided to come home and take it easy for a little bit. While I was laying down I decided to check my blood pressure and it was 150/100- yikes! Shortly after that I started cramping and the back pain was awful, and I was noticing somewhat of a pattern. I was having contractions about 6 minutes apart...oh crap. I finally broke down and called the Dr. He told me to take two Tylenol, drink a bunch of water and lay down for 2 hours. The contractions went to 12, 15, 20 min. etc., and then went away.....phew!!!
I went in today for a follow up on my elevated BP last Tuesday. It was elevated again today, but I got the added bonus of having protein in my urine. This didn't happen when I was pregnant with Macie until the day I was induced with her. Needless to say, I was a little surprised since this pregnancy has been so different. I have minimal swelling, minimal headaches. There really hasn't been much going on to concern me. After the physician's assistant did all her "stuff" she said "I am going to go talk to the Dr.". That can't be good....I don't see him very often right now. He came in and proceeds to tell me that he's concerned about the protein and I am to stop working ASAP. Say what??? I tried to bargain with him for a bit, but he wasn't going to change his mind. I only work two days a week for crying out loud! I am supposed to "rest"....HA....he doesn't know me.
Anyway, now I have to pee in a jug for 24 hours and go to the hospital Thursday for some tests. And I also get to go to the Dr. two times a week now. So, guess it's the waiting game now to see what the results tell us.
BUMMER....big, big bummer. We need this baby to bake longer!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

I think we can finally say.....

Macie is a walker. I've been trying for a week to get her on video and this is the best one I have.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

32 Week appointment and a HUGE thanks.

Had my 32 week appointment today. This is the part where I say "all is well". Yeah, not this time. Nothing horrible, just not as "well" as the other appointments have gone to this point. My blood pressure was high- 140/90. We are hoping it has something to do with the HORRIBLE cold I have right now that was passed on to me from my little sweetie. I haven't felt this crappy in a very long time, and not being able to medicate myself is making it very difficult to cope with. Poor me.....So, now I go back in a week instead of two to check the BP again.
Baby's heart rate was 135, I gained one pound in two weeks....REALLY? With everything I ate over the holidays???? I LOVE the scale at the Dr.'s office.
I want to send out a HUGE thank you to my parents and my brother. My Dad and brother came this morning and picked Macie up and watched her all day so that I could rest. It took some persistence on my moms part to convince me it was a good idea, and I am so glad she did. I got a nap in and some serious couch time. Thanks Mom, Dad and Mark for helping out the crabby, sick, pregnant chick.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Happy New Year!!

We went out for a very nice dinner with Susie, Nelson and Jaden this year for New Years Eve and to celebrate Phil's birthday. Thanks for celebrating with us!!! I didn't get any pictures since it didn't really seem appropriate at the restaurant. We were home pretty early since Macie has been fighting a cold for a few days, and we sadly didn't even make it until midnight....god we are old!!!

Macie is now ringing in the new year with a nasty cold. I did manage to get a picture of her looking rather pathetic, it's so sad. My poor baby!

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy Birthday Phil!

Macie and I just wanted to wish the best Daddy and Husband a very happy 36th birthday today. We love you so much!!!

Monday, December 28, 2009

A Christmas Miracle

Well almost....
Macie is pretty much walking now. For about 2 weeks she has been walking the perimeter of whatever room she is in, and just kind of holding on to the wall for stability. On Saturday at Phil's parents house she was letting go and walking from point A to point B. I give it a couple days before she is full out running!!! I was afraid it was never going to happen. She just needs a bit more confidence and she'll be on the go.
Hoping to get a video of it soon.

The day after Christmas

The day after Christmas we went to Phil's parents house and had our Christmas celebration with his mom and dad, his brother, sister in law, and Macie's cousin Joey. It was an awful drive with the massive snow storm, but was worth it!!! I was worried that Macie was going to be burnt out from the long weekend, but she still had a lot left in her. She played with her cousin Joey, and they opened gifts together. Phil's mom and dad also outdid themselves with all the presents and food!!! Thank you to Grandma and Papa, Joe, Sam, Joey, Kim, Mike, Kayla, Dean and David for all the wonderful gifts!! We stayed overnight and drove home the next day....we were all beat (I'm sure you can tell from the last picture that Macie was exhausted from all the excitement).




Christmas Day

Christmas Day we headed over to my parents house to open gifts and have dinner. Once again, my parents outdid themselves with the presents and the food. Macie is now in that stage where she doesn't like taking a nap if she is having too much fun. This was the case over the entire weekend. She was having such a good time with her cousins that she fought taking a nap, but finally did and we are all so glad she did. Thanks Grandma and Papa for all presents and the yummy grub. My mom had a 25lb. turkey and I think Macie ate about 20lbs of it. Also, thanks to Uncle Mark, Auntie Gayle, Katie and Ryan for all the great gifts!





Christmas Eve 2009

This year we spent Christmas Eve with my side of the family. We headed over to Mike and Jackie's house for the festivities. Macie had so much fun, and she got some really great gifts!!! Thank you for having us Mike and Jackie! Thanks to everyone for all the nice gifts. I have tons of pictures, here are just a few.



Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Macie was not happy with the sales this week!

First experience in snow.

We took Macie outside today for her first time actually playing in the snow. You can pretty much see from the pictures that she wasn't a big fan. Actually....I should say that she enjoyed touching the snow and eating it. She absolutely HATES having a coat and/or mittens on. She gets upset whenever we go somewhere and have to put a coat on her. She didn't like being swaddled either, she's just like her mommy- hates to feel confined. Once Phil took one of her mittens off and she could feel the snow and play with it, she was fine. Maybe we'll try gloves!!!
Here are some pictures from today.
Thank you again Mom and Dad for the new camera.....what a difference! Our old camera sucked!





30 Week Appointment

Went today for my 30 week check-up and everything is great. I passed my Glucose test- thank god! Baby's heart rate is 145, my blood pressure was 102/60 (really low for me), I am measuring at 30 weeks and no weight gain in the past two weeks (I think their scale is broken since my clothes are telling me otherwise).
Not much to report, and that's a good thing.

I am loving all the Christmas Cards we are getting....keep them coming!

Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Long overdue announcement....

I am a terrible wife. Phil found a job THREE WEEKS after being laid off!!! I am so proud of him. He worked his butt off getting his resume out there and networking through friends and previous co-workers. He got an amazing offer with a company called Barnes Distribution, and it's exactly what he's been looking for!!! He will have a home office and just be traveling locally (except for his trip to Clevelend at the end of Jan.). They made him a very generous offer (hard to find in this crap economy) and he is worth EVERY penny. It's about time someone compensated him for his talent and hard work.
I'm so proud of you Phil, and I feel really good about this opportunity for you.
I really enjoyed the 5 weeks that you had off recently. We definitely spent some much needed, quality, family time together! Macie was ecstatic to have Daddy home. Hated to see you leave today and get back to the grind, but know that it's necessary.
Thank you for all your hard work- I love you!!!
Congratulations on your new job!!!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

15 Months

Macie Face-

I can't hardly believe you are 15 months old already. Time is just flying by right now. You grow and change everyday, and I wake up everyday wondering what you are going to do, or learn. You are funny, cute, charming, witty, stubborn, determined, quick tempered, independent, happy, sweet....I could go on and on. You demonstrate all these traits, and more every single day. Some of the traits make me sad because you are growing so incredibly fast, but the others make me look forward to you growing even more. Just don't do it too fast!!!
These are the things you have said/done/learned over the past three months:
*You wave bye bye and say "buh bye" while waving
*You blow kisses and make a smacking noise while doing it
*You give kisses (mostly just at bedtime and will only give them to me), it's so sweet.
*You have taken a few steps on your own, but don't think you are ever going to walk.
*You drink water out of a water bottle like you've been doing it for years. You never used a sippy (well maybe once for a few seconds, but that was it). You will ONLY drink water from a water bottle and milk from a bottle.
*You have tried every food that Mommy and Daddy eat. You love grilled cheese, pizza, peas, broccoli, apples, oranges, cookies (the organic ones are your fav.- I tried them and don't see the appeal), chicken, etc.
*You say "ki ki" (kitty kitty)
*You say "dog dog"
*You clap when you are done eating, and you remove your bib yourself. You sometimes say "all done"
*You give high fives
*You do "so big", but only when we say "how big is the Face".
*You give hugs, but only to Daddy. You crawl to him and wrap your arms around his neck/back and pat him on the shoulder, it's very cute and Daddy LOVES it!!!

Daddy has been home for the past month and you are loving it. He goes back to work on Monday and I think it's going to be hard on both of us. It's been fun having him around!!! You adore your Daddy, but between you and me....I think he's going to be more sad going back to work than you are!!!

You amaze us every single day! I can't imagine my life without you! You bring so much joy to my life and everyone around you.

I love you!!!

Mommy





Thursday, December 10, 2009

28 Week appointment- Glucose Test

All is well. Had my glucose test today- yuck. They gave me the sugary drink and it was Fruit Punch flavor. It's not bad enough, but I HATE HATE HATE fruit punch. I won't have the results for a week since our insurance goes through a lab that is out of state! I am measuring right on the 28 week mark. Gained 2 lbs. in 3 weeks- not too bad, just hate seeing the scale go up! I'll attribute it to the fact that they weighed me before I got to pee, and I had 10 lbs. of clothes and boots on. Her heart rate was 146 and she was practicing her Karate moves during the exam thanks to the Fruit Punch flavored sugar drink. Blood pressure was good. I start going every two weeks now for check-ups. Getting closer.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Wagon Fun!!!

It's another dark video, but still funny to listen to. She loves cruisin around with Daddy in her wagon. Although, not sure which is more amusing: listening to Phil, or Macie!

Katie's Ballet/Tap Recital

We were invited to see my niece's ballet/tap recital on Monday night. It was so cute, and she did a really great job! Macie loved watching the teacher dance around next to her!!!
I have some cute videos from the recital too, but blogger won't let me download videos right now! I have been trying to process one for about 2 hours now. Will try to share those later.



Would someone please tell Macie........

That no one is going to take her food away from her? She doesn't seem to know this.

28 Weeks- The Final Stretch.....literally.

I am officially in the third trimester....wow! Not much to report except I feel soooo much larger this time around than I did with Macie. I have gained 1/2 the amount of weight compared to last time, but feel like it's double. Weird. Still feeling pretty good, just the aches and pains that go with pregnancy. My hips have really started bothering me in the middle of the night, it's hard to get comfortable. I am thankful that I am not experiencing the swelling I did with Macie....at least not yet! 82 days to go, can't believe it.
Have my glucose test tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed that I pass this time! I was over by 1 point last time and had to do the 3 hour test.
And, I am pretty sure that the following picture is the only one that includes my head. I absolutely hate it, but what can ya do. I'm pregnant and huge- just have to work really hard after I have her, right?

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Congratulations to the Nixon's!!! And a belated Congrats to the Weldon's!!

John and Kari Nixon welcomed Baby Boy Mason this morning around 1:45am.
He was 8 lbs. 6 oz. and 20 inches long.




Congratulations to Matt and Jessica Weldon, they are expecting sometime in June!

Monday, November 30, 2009

Thanksgiving Weekend

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.
We had a very nice Thanksgiving and a very busy weekend. We spent Thanksgiving with Phil's family at his parents house. They cooked enough food for 10 families and everything was so good!!! Unfortunately I didn't get one single picture while we were there. We were busy visiting and watching the kids play.
Friday we just relaxed at home and ate leftovers...yum!
Saturday we joined in a new family tradition of going to cut down a Christmas Tree. My family has done it before so we decided to join in. We went to a place in Wilmington that had acres of trees to choose from. We met my brother, sister in law, niece, nephew and my mom and dad there. You pull in and they give you a saw and a map that tells you where the different kinds of trees are. We found a spot and started our hunt. My parents found one right away, but not us!!! I kept thinking I found the perfect one, Phil would get ready to cut it down and I would change my mind. It was hard to navigate the stroller through the tress, but we managed and Macie seemed to enjoy it, she loves being outside!





Sunday we went to the Downers Grove Santa parade. This is our third year going, 2nd year with Macie. Last year the weather was miserable and we didn't last long enough to actually see the parade. This year we stayed for the whole thing. Macie seemed pretty interested in most of it. She like the high school bands playing and all the commotion.




Afterwards, my parents treated us to lunch and then we went home to decorate our tree.
It was a really great weekend filled with family and fun!!! Thanks everyone.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Congratulations to the Meggetts

They welcomed baby girl Abigail Paige Meggett today, 7lbs 9 oz, and 20" long.
We can't wait to see pictures.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Macie and her Cousin Joey




They are so cute together!!!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Oh my gosh......

The 100 day countdown. We are so much less prepared this time around. The room still needs painting, crib needs assembling, need new cushions for the glider, and the room is loaded with crap that we need to find a home for. I think panic mode is setting in!!!
YIKES!!!
I can't help but keep thinking if I have her the same time I had Macie, that means about 80 days left, not 100!!!
I need to stop thinking and go to bed!