A baby update

So many people have emailed me to ask me how I've been doing...how I'm feeling...if we have news. I haven't gotten back to any of you and I'm sorry! If you've been thinking of us and praying for us-thank you so very much. Knowing how loved we are right now means the world to us. And, the power of prayer seems to be helping and I am doing so much better than I was just a few weeks ago.

I keep this blog not only to share with our friends and family but as a way to document things for myself and for our children. If I keep it around long enough, they may be able to read it someday! It is for that reason that I am going to give a brief summary of what we have done/found out so far and where we stand now.

10 weeks pregnant: I found out that I have one variant of the MTHFR genetic mutation. This means my blood clots more than it should. It's hereditary but have had NO problems because of it in the past. My OB/GYN wants me to see a maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) specialist to deal with this.

12 weeks pregnant: I see the MFM specialist and never once think anything could be wrong with the baby. We get our first ultrasound and find out that the baby's Nuchal Translucency or Nuchal Fold at the back of the neck is measuring large. Normal is 1.5-2.5 and ours is at 6. It could be nothing or it could be a problem. MFM wants me to have sequential screening done with my OB/GYN the following week. I am scheduled for another ultrasound with MFM at 17 weeks. In the meantime he puts me on extra vitamins and other medications to make sure my blood won't clot on me.

13 weeks: go in for my 12 week visit and to have the screening done. Blood is drawn and another ultrasound. Baby looks good and the neck is now measuring at 3.6...still above normal but not what it was. Doctor seems positive and we discuss how I am a great candidate for a VBAC! Yay!!!
I leave feeling so much better.

14 weeks: I get a phone call from my doctor...like from him personally, not one of the nurses. This can't be good. Bloowork came back and it was also too high. I am told we have a 1 in 23 chance the baby will have down syndrome. It's tough to deal with all of this at this point and we decide to share with everyone what is going on. As long as I don't think about it, I'm great and everything feels 'normal'.

17 weeks: we go for second ultarsound and it is very upsetting. Baby is not cooperating and it is hard to see everything they need to see. They find a hole in the baby's heart. This can be normal and if it doesn't correct itself we can fix it after birth with surgery. But, children with Downs have a higher rate of having this so for us we have to take it as another marker. The baby also 'may have' (couldn't get a good shot) a club foot. Again, fixable with surgery but for us...another bad sign. Baby wouldn't open it's hands so they couldn't see how they were developing...Downs hands are different evidently. Baby's neck measurement is still higher than it should be but we are not surprised. Can't get many of the other looks we need to check on things. Heartrate, however is great. MFM doc wants to do an amnio to find out for sure. I don't want to yet. He asks me to have the second round of sequential bloodtests done and I agree. We leave feeling so upset and hurting so much. All I do is cry and pray for my baby's safety. We go back in two weeks to have another look.

19 weeks: Back to MFM for another ultrasound. FINALLY an appointment that is good! Baby is still not cooperating (I swear we are there for an hour doing the ultrasounds!) but we get some better views. Still can't tell what the feet look like but we are fine with that. The neck measurement is EXACTLY where is shoud be for this point in time!!! Can't get a look at the fourth chamber of the heart but they think the hole 'may have' closed but I have to see a pediatric cardiologist for it anyway. Just as a precaution. Hands are OPEN and looking great! Baby definitely has a nasal bone! Find out from my second set of blood work that I am now up to 1 in 27 chance of Downs Syndrome and the chances of other chromosomal problems or neural tube defects are 1 in the 1o's of thousands! MFM doc offers another amnio for our sake and again we decline. We are so happy with all of the good news and feel so much better and positive. We are coping and dealing with this much better now :) Even the doctor admitted that from our first visit to now, he never would have expected things to look like this!

The power of prayer works!

I have to go in and see the MFM doctor every four weeks from now (on top of my regular OB/GYN appointments) on for another ultrasound to watch the baby's growth. I am going to see the pedi. cardiologist next week and praying that all goes well. That's all we have for now!

Again, thank you for thinking of us and for praying for us. Please know that it is working and it is helping us :) Keep up the good work! We are more than halfway there now!

Poop happens

Hey, you all know how much I love poop.

I have several blog posts devoted to the subject actually. But, today I actually am excited to talk about it! It may just be a fluke but this morning my not so little girl put something in her Elmo potty seat!

That's right, my 17 month old is a bathroom GENIUS!

I don't expect it to happen again anytime soon but this is huge to me :)

A few weeks ago we noticed she was very interested in her cousins going potty at our house. Like the toothbrushing thing we though maybe this would work to our advantage. After both Ania and Abby were done on the toilet she made my sister put her up there too and hold on to her. Nothing happened but we took it as a sign. So, we went out and purchased a potty chair...one that can eventually have the seat put on the big toilet for easy transition. It has Elmo on it and he even talks to you when you hive five his big hand. Not annoying at all :)

We haven't really been trying per se but she does sit on it and we have taken her diaper off and sat her on it while explaining to her what she was supposed to put in there. She thought it was a great novelty, of course.

But, this morning I was on the phone with my mom and about a minute into the conversation she started to walk out of the living room. I stopped her and asked where she was going. She turned and said 'poop' and kept walking. I stayed on the phone and followed her and sure enought she went and pounded on the bathroom door. Upon me opening the door she walked to Elmo and tried to take her pants off on her own! I helped and sat her down and about 10 minutes and all of her bath toys and books taken out sure enough there was a tiny lil ball of it in the potty!

We cheered! We clapped! We gave Elmo a high five! Mommy cried! Busia yelled praise on the phone! I took a picture to send to daddy later! (I'll spare you that viewing :) )

It was a magical bathroom party! I don't know if it will happen again anytime soon but I am enjoying it for today. I have plans to visit the mall today with a friend and you can bet someone will be getting a good 'potty prize'.

Way to 'go', Caroline! Mommy (and Elmo!) is so proud of you!

My little sponge

I am trying to think of all the 'new' things Caroline is doing lately. I used to worry and still do sometimes that I won't be a good 'teacher' to my children. That I wouldn't be able to teach them anything before they went to school. Turns out I don't have much to worry about...she picks stuff up on her own just from being around me and mimicking anything she sees or hears. I have done my share of 'teaching' her some things but I can't believe what she knows and I go 'how did she learn that?'.

Genius, my friends. I tell you, she is a genius.

She now knows FIVE animal sounds. In addition to the dog and monkey she already knew I have taught her cow, kitty cat and duck. She's her own Ol' McDonald :)

She now puts down her fork or spoon when Brad and I begin to pray before meals. She stops what she is doing and puts her hands together with the biggest smile and then claps when we say AMEN. I hadn't even started working on that with her!

She also knows who Jesus is and can identify pictures/statues of him when I ask. She is more vocal and rambunctious in church now so I usually ask where Jesus is and she looks to our big crucifix and points and is quiet and transfixed for at least a few minutes :)

She knows her please's and thank you's....I am so proud of this one! Alhtough, she thinks as long as she says please she gets what she asked for. Gotta work on that one.

We have alwasy played the 'stinky feet' game with her where we smell her piggles and then make a big fuss of them being smelly. They aren't but she LOVES it. This past weekend she started smelling her own feet (or ours) and then waving her hand under her nose going 'eeew'...cracked us up the first time she did it!

She now pushes her own nose and makes a honk-honk noise and then pushes ours and giggles at whatever noise we decide to make.

She knows where the baby is and will come over, lift my shirt, hit my tummy and say 'baby!' and then air kiss my stomach....awwww! She also thinks there is a baby in her belly AND in Brad's though :)

I know there is so much more she does because she changes everyday but I can't think of it all!

One of the biggest things she is doing now is brushing her teeth! We had given up on trying to do this long ago and I was so worried all her teeth would fall out soon. We used to have to pry her mouth open and listen to her scream while we did a quick once over. After my sister's family spent a weekend with us and she saw her cousins doing it, she wanted to participate. So, we went and got her a fun toothbrush with Cookie Monster on it (although she calls him 'Cook') and some training toothpaste. Now, the only screams come when we literally have to pry the toothbrush out of her fingers :)

Long time, no blog...

I have good reasons though. We've been busy growing and taking care of this little slice of heaven :)

I guess I have gotten into that mindset of "no one is going to want to read about the boring things we have going on" or I am too busy with the few 'big events' we have going on that I let my blog fall to the wayside.

If you still even read this blog (does anybody, really? let me know...) I am sorry!

We've had THREE ultrasounds already so we've seen lots of 'Santa Baby' as my nieces have nicknamed him. Yes, they tell me it's a boy this time! Abby and Ania have all sorts of reasons and explanations about why I am having a 'boy baby' this time and since Abby was the ONLY one in the family to be correct right from the get go with Caroline...I have to wonder this time!

All we want is a healthy baby and if you are close enough to us to know our struggle right now, you know that we aren't just being 'cliche' or anything.

I am through the first trimester but I can't seem to find any energy still. I was doing SO well with everything until about week 10...I swear I barely 'felt' pregnant until then. After that I was nauseated all the time and if I didn't take a nap I was sleeping on the couch anytime after 4 pm. I am starting to show off a bit more of a bump than I expected and I THINK I feel movement every now and then!

I only have pictures of our second ultrasound on my computer and those ones are actually the best ones. The first ultrasound was just two weeks before this and all we had was a blob. I mean, I thought the baby's head was it's butt. I'm going for mother of the year. But, the next time we looked the baby was super cooperative and kicking and fidgeting and we could make out so much. I don't know if this was because we were seeing a specialist and their machine/tech is better but it was amazing! I can't wait for the next two weeks to pass by...we get to check out our little one again and take some more measurements and hopefully get some good news.

Santa is bringing us something special....

I figure since I made a big announcement for Caroline, the next one deserved the same. The Easter bunny and Santa Claus must have been working together this year. Right before Easter we found out we had a Christmas package on the way. I am hoping to be able to 'open' this package before Christmas but we'll see :) All is going well and we are aiming for December 17. I see the nurse again tomorrow and the doctor in a few weeks. I don't know what it is with the months of December and January but we seem to want to cram everything into those two :)

Caroline wore her shirt to tell both of the families and my mom noticed right away and froze. I think she walked around in it for over five minutes with Brad's family before anyone realized it! And, it was Brad's sister who just walked in the house who realized it first and thought she missed the big announcement :) I even had to look at the digital test twice to make sure the 'not' wasn't in front of 'pregnant'...nope just one word! I am so thankful for this gift as it did take some more time and effort than we had previously gone through and I also had a 'female issue' pop up right around my birthday that made me even more worried. But, God is in control and I am so happy to be pregnant again and pray that everything continues to go well. Please pray for us all also and we'll keep you updated!

God Bless my mother

Mother's day is this weekend. I think I have a pretty great mom and even though I won't be with her on Sunday :( :( I am thankful for her everyday so that makes up for it.

This will be my second Mother's day. On my mom's second mother's day she already had two babies. I came along a mere 15 months after my sister. Caroline is now 15 months old herself.

I have NO idea how my mom did it! Maybe it's because by this time next year I will have two babies that my energy is a bit more zapped than normal or the fact that Caroline has about 10 times the energy that I normally have! She is at such a FUN age and I love spending my days with her.

She has a HUGE vocabulary now and we carry on 'conversations' and she understands so much of what I say.
She is a little stinker and knows how to push my buttons or do something she is not supposed to do. She has the most adorable smile when doing it all though so it's ok :)
She loves to dance and does this stomp thing with her foot...I have no idea where she learned it.
She still has the temper and lots of her own ideas and a strong will to get her way. She definitely has a mind of her own.
She LOVES to be outside. Brad will usually be the one to take her outside and when we bring her in she screams like someone just slapped her in the face. She loves going out and hates coming in.
If you walk around my house you will see lots of piles of rocks. She loves piling rocks together and carrying them around-one in each hand. If she doesn't have a rock in her hand that's because she has a stick in it instead. My girly girl loves the outdoors :)
She eats anything and everything. Seriously. If it is on my plate it is even more appetizing to her. If she is close enough she won't even ask but just grab it right off the plate! Obviously she hasn't inherited my picky eating habits.

Our days are spent between singing, dancing, listening to music, watching some Sesame and Micky Mouse, eating, snacking, reading books (OMG she loves this part), making messes, taking ONE nap (we both usually do this these days!), throwing a fit or two, following me EVERYWHERE and she has even learned to help me put laundry in the washer and dust the living room-just from watching me do it!

Again, I don't know how my mom handled all of this with a brand new baby. I can't imagine having a brand new baby with Caroline being this age. I never thought I would have two kids under two but by Christmas we'll be there :) Granted Caroline will turn 2 a month later but I am sure we are in for an adventure. I hope she takes to it well and I am as awesome of a mom as I think I'll be to both of them. After all, I do have a pretty awesome mom myself so I hope I got some of her goodness.

Happy Mother's Day all you moms. We ROCK!

Olive Juice, mom :)

I'm noticing a pattern

Yesterday we actually had plans. Places to be. People to see :) This doesn't happen often-we would actually get out of the house!! Yay! This doesn't happen much until the weather gets nicer and warmer. Somehow when that happens, I get much more energy :)

Caroline of course woke up way too early...before I did even. Which meant I had to do everything-choose our clothes, start the daily chores, wash my face and brush my teeth, do my hair and makeup-EVERYTHING with her underfoot. Oy. She can really get into stuff within a short span of seconds. I was beyond frustrated with her and was only half dressed myself while she was still in pj's. We had barely started and already mommy was crying. Ok, so I was crying AFTER spending 5 minutes with a flashlight on the floor looking for my wedding ring. Guess who can reach up on mommy's nightstand? Guess what mommy doesn't leave on her nightstand anymore? It was found don't worry.

I do leave her bedroom open while I get ready so she can terrorize that but my bathroom/bedroom has better toys evidently. I called my mom after I found the ring and got my heart to start beating again just to talk myself down again. While on the phone my little angel came out of her room (yes, after she lost it, she left me alone to look for it!) with her church coat. As I talked I kept an eye on her as she walked to the kitchen and made her way to the laundry room. When I caught up with her I saw a similar sight to my last post.

She even managed to put one arm on....the wrong arm but she did it all on her own!

Either she REALLY likes to be outside or she doesn't like being here:) I think its the first one...I hope!