Apples To Apples

Just to quickly compare, this is today's scan of brother at 23wks...







...and this is Maddie's scan at roughly the same age.

Week No.23

Brother's face is on the left side. Peek-A-Boo!! He's looking at you!!

Brother's profile, looking a lot like Maddie did with his hand up next to his head.

Very much a BOY! :)

Today was my 23-week exam and everything went great! Brother's heart rate was 151 and he kept scooting away from the doppler. I've only gained 3lbs this month, which is a whole pound less than what I should have gained so YAY! I let Dr. Le know that a. Dr. Gei's tech gave me really bad ultrasound photos so I am going to get a private scan done and, b. his own office staff never called me back to get my H1N1 vaccine, so I had to get it on my own and pay out-of-pocket for it. Those two minor complaints earned me an ultrasound (hence the above photos). Brother looks great and was on the move. It is hard to capture it on 2-dimensional photos, but his little cheeks are already chubby. I'm going on February 8th to get a 3D/4D scan done, so it will be clear to see. The 3D scan gives you 3-dimensional pictures and the 4D (or 'real-time') part is actually video of baby's movements. Anyhow, the session is on special for the month ~ it was $179 and is now $99 ~ so I'd like to have it done. Especially after the poo-poo pictures that I got at Dr. Gei's office. My next check up is on February 25th, when I get to endure my GTT. Glucola is disgusting, guys. It is especially nasty while fasting.

The best part of the visit is that I am scheduled for my c-section! I know when Brother's birthday will be! How crazy is that?? Unless, of course, he decides that he wants to come sooner. For now, his birth is scheduled for:

May 19th, 2010 at 12:30pm.

22wks 1day

Twenty-two weeks down, seventeen more to go. I'll be full term in sixteen. In six weeks, if Brother were to come that early, he would almost certainly survive. He's grown so much, yet is still so tiny. He seems to be a good sleeper, but we'll see if that's still the case when he arrives. His kicks and movements are powerful enough that sometimes you can feel and see it through my shirt. Unless daddy tries to feel. Then Brother plays possum. He seems to enjoy kicking big sister, though...he must know that she's already playing with his toys. She's pinched at my belly a few times, asking, "Dat baby come out now?" No, sweetheart. You still have us all to yourself for a little while longer. Yesterday, I put the double stroller together (it is the size of a Mack truck, y'all) and she ran up and said, "Whoa! Dat's a cool stroller, mommy!". Then, she put her stuffed-animal chickens in the baby seat and she hopped in front ~ perfectly content to be in the big-kid part of the baby carriage. Fun. And crazy. I keep having trouble imagining myself as a mommy to two kids. Even with all the kicks and the absence of a waistline, it still seems pretty surreal to me.

My next check up is Thursday, the 28th, and I should be getting on the schedule for the May c-section. Dr. Le said it would be May 19th or 20th, but having the date put in writing will make me feel better. I think we were supposed to do it at my last visit, but we were all having so much fun trying to figure out the baby's gender that I guess we all just forgot about it. It seems to be coming so soon ~ it's almost February for Pete's sake! ~ but it's dragging at the same time. You'd think that a toddler and all this cleaning would keep me busy, but no...tick tock, tick tock.

Hospital Vacation?

Is she sick? Or are the hospital pancakes really that bad?

RSV stinks, but I'll take that over the possible bacterial infection the doctors thought she had. Looking back over the days prior to our ER visit, there were signs that she was getting sick: not sleeping as she normally does, not wanting to eat or drink much, rosey cheeks when she'd wake up, being what we call "extra special" ~ which means she hasn't been very nice...then, the fever started and wouldn't go away. 103...103.8...104...it spiked at 105.6 the first night after we were admitted. Thankfully I wasn't sleeping and decided to feel her forehead ~ the nurses were only checking her temperature every 5-8 hours. The worst part for her was being stuck in the same room. And the I.V. And that every staff member that came in had to wear gowns and masks, which I imagine is pretty scary to a two year old. For us, the worst part was the fevers. And watching her not eat or drink. And knowing that she needed to rest, even though she refused to sleep until her little body would just give in and pass out at 2am. Or 4am. Whenever she'd finally fall asleep, someone would inevitably come in to take vitals or clean or room service would call and wake her. It was hard to keep telling her that we couldn't go look at the fishie aquarium or go into the playroom; how do you explain to a youngster that we aren't allowed to come into contact with anything that might infect someone else? You can't. She just thinks you're being mean.

Oh, but it's wonderful to be home now. She's feeling more like herself this morning and, despite having a hard time getting to sleep last night, is better rested ~ which you all know makes a huge difference in the way you feel. I am glad she is feeling better and acting like her usually silly self. I am glad for good, non-hospital coffee and for eight beautiful hours of uninterrupted sleep. I am also glad for insurance, although the $500 deductible hurt quite a bit.

What a hard few days we had. Thank you to everyone for your prayers and well wishes.

A Few Of My Favorite Things...

A Fairy Princess in an enchanted pink Princess room.

Cozying up on little brother's rocking chair, singing, "Rockie, roooockie".

Elephant-picking?

This is her favorite thing lately: invading her little brother's room and pulling all of his stuffed animals onto the floor. As soon as she gets out of bed, she runs right into the "Blue Room" and starts making a mess. Yesterday, she hid in his closet; I found her sitting in the baby's bath tub. Simple curiosity ~ or early onset sibling rivalry?? We shall see...

Little Boy

Profile, turning away from the ultrasound

He looks perfect ~ no problems that they could find. The lady didn't give me many photos, just five or six of the same angle (boooo!). I got to see his tiny face when she checked him for a cleft lip and he was absolutely precious. I wish she would have taken a picture since this is most likely the last time I'll see him until he's born. My c-section will be about 18wks from now; not long at all! At least I got to see the "not-a-doubt-in-my-mind-it's-a-BOY" parts. He measures 21wks 1day and weighs about 11oz so he's a little big, in the 64th percentile. He was so cute, y'all. I can hardly wait to meet him!

Growing Up

I just wanted to take a second to announce that Madelyn Grace pee-peed in her potty for the first time! She got out of the bath and asked to sit on her potty and ~ voila!!! I am so excited, y'all. It's the second time today that she wanted to sit on it and I'm hoping this means that she's finally ready to really start potty training. Anyhow, I want to scream it from the mountain tops! Ahhh, being a parent makes you get excited about really weird stuff, huh?

You go, girl!!

Workin' Hard

A Chunky Little Monkey

After hearing several comments about how, err, thick Maddie is, we've decided to go ahead and really nip this weight issue in the bud. She was off the charts in weight at her two-year check up, she wears a 3T in clothes (plus I have to buy boy's pants since the girl's pants are cut so slim), and everyone always makes some remark about how she looks like she eats well. None of that really hit me until looking at photos with her standing side by side with other girls her age. I guess you really don't notice how chubby your child is when you see them every day. I don't want her to be like me, where every day is a battle with food and self-image and such. And I don't even want to think about the prospect of juvenile diabetes, God forbid. So, today was the first day of implementing a new routine and a new way of living.

The day started off great, which makes me proud. After switching her from formula when she turned one, we were supposed to start her on whole milk ~ easy enough, right? Wrong! She didn't want to have any part of plain old milk, so her pediatrician suggested adding chocolate syrup. I figured that maybe Ovaltine would be better, since it has vitamins and such. Only problem is that it's also loaded with extra calories (even though I only put about 1/2 of the recommended serving). Well, this morning was the first time she actually drank regular milk! She asked for chocolate a couple times, as well as for what we call "sweet milk" (which is just PediaSure, for when she refuses to eat...it's like EnSure or Carnation drinks). It took her a while, but she did it. Then, instead of just sitting all morning playing with Lego's, the two of us did a Kid Yoga program. She jumped like a frog. Like a donkey. And then finished up with yoga-style jumping Jacks! I'm also trying to show her how to pedal her tricycle, but she still prefers that we push her around. I wish we didn't have to coexist with fire ants; I hate to let her run around outside, but I have to. In our yard, we have the pest control guys get rid of them, but in the parks here, you're on your own and those darn ants are everywhere! Hopefully just a little exercise, coupled with better eating, will help my poor Chunky Monkey. And it isn't just sweets that are an issue. It's breaded chicken and butter on her veggies. That's the only thing that I can figure, because she really doesn't seem to eat that much. Every meal is a battle it seems, but apparently I am doing something wrong. Thankfully she is a fan of beans (all kinds) and broccoli and most fruits. The protein part of her diet is tricky. Any suggestions would be really helpful, if anyone knows of any good healthy recipes or knows someone who might. I just want to make activity and good eating habits a part of how we live; I never want my little girl to suffer the consequences of being over weight; the teasing, the low self esteem, just all the misery that goes along with it. Oh, it makes my heart just ache thinking about her enduring those things.

On another note, my big scan is (finally) tomorrow. Grandpa is coming to stay with Maddie while I go get this other little rascal checked out. I had a dream last night that the doctor told me it was a girl, but then another person scanned me and said it was a boy (of course, being a pregnant dream, it was very weird and more in depth than that, but that is the gist). I'm trying not to worry about any problems (this big scan was how we found out about Maddie's kidney problem) and just have fun. Baby Boy has been kicking harder and even woke me up in the middle of the night last night with a good case of the hiccups. I've already noticed a sleeping pattern, which is pretty neat. I've also been able to tell that he is a lot more laid back than Maddie was ~ and is. We've been considering names now, which has been rather trying (to put it nicely). John wants a John Patrick II, but I'm dead-set against it. Calum Patrick is the top contender, but I decided to let John decide. After all, you only have a first-born son ~ well, once! So, instead of just giving him a flat-out "No way", I told him that if he really wants to, then he can give his name to the baby. I really love Calum, though. Its meaning is Peace, gentleness, purity ~ the Dove. It's a Scottish-Gaelic name. Patrick means Noble, and I think that the names and their meanings are beautiful together.

Anyhow, we will let you all know, of course. And I will, of course, have updates and pictures after tomorrow's appointment!

That's More Like It!

Alright! Being the 2nd class, Maddie was much more involved and she LISTENED to the instructor! I am so proud of her (hence the zillions of pictures. I've got a mere 10 posted here, but 194 total from this morning). She was alert and outgoing and followed directions. Is that really my baby?

Warm-up time

Waiting turns

...still waiting turns

Star hopping.

Maybe our $55/month will help them invest in some new, less raggedy stars?


Look at her waiting so patiently! *sniffle-sniffle*


Time to move to the groove! The song they're groovin' to? The "Cinderelli" song that the mice sing in Disney's Cinderella!

Doing her own thing

Sticker time!

Nothing but cuteness here, folks.

(Just a quick clip of how adorable Maddie is)

Choo-Choo

Animal Choo-Choo

16"x20"

Acrylic on Canvas

(The camera is making all the blue areas appear gray and the red looks really orange)

For some reason (lighting, I'm sure), the blue tones are showing up gray in these photos and the red looks orange. The top photo with both paintings is the most accurate (it really bothers me that these aren't true to the colors!). I can't decide if these are finished or not, but it seems that the more I want to fiddle with them, the more likely I will mess them up. Anyhow, they were fun to make and I'm semi-pleased with how they turned out. Maddie likes them very much and was excited that the last little fellow I added was the dog ~ complete with a conductor's hat!

Pretty In Pink

Waiting for everyone to show up! There are four other girls in her class, but two of them refused to even go into the studio.



Learning new ways to move and stretch using pinwheels!

Flexing feet and wiggling toes!

Dancing!

Learning to take turns jumping down the Star Path.

...and not waiting her turn...

Helping Ms. Mary put the stars away.

Running with Boogie, the owner's three year old son.

Good job, everyone! Sticker time.

I'll bring my good camera to Saturday class.

She really liked it and fussed a little when it was time to leave. She had a bit of trouble listening to the teacher, but overall did great. I think I did pretty well, too ~ notice that there's a glass between my tiny ballerina and myself. I let her go in by herself and didn't hover over her, much to my surprise (and yours, I'm sure). It was a good evening.

Ballerina and the Belly

Dance attire. She makes this look gooooood...

19wks 4days ~ 18wks left to grow??

Maddie's Well Check

Window shopping at Town Center

Today was Maddie's two-year check up with the doctor and she is doing great! The visit itself was a little hairy, but that's what I've come to expect. She's fine in the waiting room, but starts crying when the nurse calls her name. As soon as the nurse left and I got her calm, the nurse Practitioner came in (our usual doctor is on maternity leave). Mrs. Amanda said, "Hi, Maddie!" and Maddie started screaming, "ByeByeByeBye..." over and over. The only nice part for her was the Snow White sticker she got at the end.

She is 35 inches and 35lbs ~ a whole 8lbs heavier than at her 18 month check up. Mrs. Amanda suggested really keeping an eye on what she eats and how much; our little princess is overweight. She said to start working with her on potty training, which she has very little interest in. We also get to schedule her first dental check up soon.

I can't believe our tiny girl is two already. So big, yet so little. She's earned the official title of "Preschooler", but I'm not ready to refer to her that way ~ yet. She is excited to start dance classes this week; we're going this afternoon to check the place out. Lots of new things going on for her.

Anyhow, wish us lots of luck with potty training/dental visits/dance instructors/weight management!

Big Girls and Baby Things

Maddie's 'Big Girl Room' is almost finished and she really likes it. She naps pretty well during the day, but has woken up with nightmares every night. The night light doesn't help and I'm not sure what's going on; hopefully it's just her overactive imagination and a phase that she will (soon) outgrow.

As you walk in:

Looking toward the entry:

From the reading chair:

Cutest bed and dress-up play area:

This is what has been done so far in the nursery. It's mostly finished, save for some art that I want to do (but am nervous to start!).

As you walk in:

The crib:

Changing area and rocker/recliner:

Cute animals!: