25 Week Appointment and Alphabet Kid!!!

As many of you know this has not been the "smoothest" pregnancy for me. Because of the bad cramping I had on Wednesday, I got my appointment moved up to today from Wednesday.

Some good parts of the appointment:

* I did not gain any weight from last month! (Gained 6 pounds total so far!)
* Blood pressure was good!
* Baby's heartbeat was strong and loud at 137 bpm!

Some REALLY good parts of the appointment:

* Amniotic fluid level is no longer an issue!!!! :)
* Baby is now measuring in the 53rd percentile!!!! :)

One not so good part of the appointment:

* Placenta Previa is still a concern


The doctor did reassure me that 95% of all women that start out with some sort of previa will no longer have it at 32 weeks. With that being said.... I am going for a repeat ultrasound at 32 weeks to determine the location of the placenta. IF the placenta is still too close to the cervix, we will have to schedule a C-Section at that point. She said by 32 weeks, the placenta will not have a chance of migrating far enough up the uterine wall to have a vaginal delivery. Please keep your fingers crossed for good news at 32 weeks!

As for the cramping.... The doctor did check me and said that my cervix is still very closed and very thick; both very good signs. Just to be sure, she cultured the area down there and had me drop it off at the hospital lab right after my appointment. She said if I were at risk for pre term labor within the next few weeks, this test would come back positive and I would know the results by tonight. Well, it is 8:30 pm and I have not gotten a call from the hospital, so I would say that's great news!!

She said the cramping most likely is due to how the baby is positioned at the the time. She also said that majority of her patients that have had multiple pregnancies say that all of their pregnancies after the first have been MUCH more uncomfortable, like the baby was just going to fall out, and that they were much more achy in the pelvic region. I remember with Macy this being the greatest time of the pregnancy! I felt SOO good, so comfortable, and like I wasn't even pregnant at all. Darn you 2nd pregnancy and my weakened female parts!

All-in-all, this appointment was great! I left feeling so good that the baby is measuring right on track and the amniotic fluid levels are no longer a concern. We are just keeping our eye on this placenta of mine..... 95% chance that it will fix itself is a pretty good bet to me!


Now onto my little alphabet master......



About 2 weeks ago she started displaying an interest in letters. She would point to them in her books, one-by-one, and even little sayings I have around the house. I decided to download some alphabet apps onto my droid. She LOVES them!!! She can repeat many letters and even name them without hearing them first! Her favorite letters to say are: I, M, R, V, K, L, H, S, C, O, P and B. Haha, sorry for the randomness of the letters, but that is just how they came to me. :) She is also starting to really take off on her vocabulary and repeat a lot of what Chuck and I say to her. She has been a late bloomer with the talking, but I think she is finally coming around!!! She is also very fond of the "colors" flash card app I downloaded. Who said technology is a bad thing for kids?

Name Change

Not so much a name change as a name modification.... Chuck and I were talking last night about our newest little lady that will be joining us in May. It was hard not to talk about her, because she had me in tears most of the evening with extreme cramping. I don't know what it is about this little one that enjoys making me miserable so early on..... lol. Anyways, we were playing with Macy on her magna-doodle and were writing out the baby's name, Adilynn. We then were playing around with the spelling. After a few minutes of thought, we decided that we like the spelling "Addilyn" a lot better! So now, her new, modified name is Addilyn Mae. Just thought you all would like to know. Haha.

Update...UGH!

I have been trying to keep a very positive attitude about the challenges I have had with this pregnancy. Anyone who knows me, knows I am quite the worry wart; a fault of mine that does much more harm than good. So, yesterday I was quite excited to go to this ultrasound to hear some good news! I get there and the technician was quite pleasant; she talked small talk, and actually seemed interested in the details of this pregnancy so far.

She kept asking what I was told my due date was. She must have asked this like 3 times which raised somewhat of a red flag to me. I just came out and asked her what my fluid levels were measuring at (what percentile) and what percentile is the baby currently at for her growth. She told me she doesn't have the "chart" that gives percentages, and that I would have to get that from my doctor. UGH!!!! This is what I ave been waiting to hear! She did say that she measured 11-12 cm of fluid, which when I got home I researched myself to find out that it is within the "normal" range. It is not quite at the median (50%) level, but not in the danger zone. She then said that she was measuring my due date as May 15th-ish. The previous ultrasound technician said she was getting May 9th. This was a little over 2 weeks ago... I don't know what to think of this. It's not a HUGE difference, but enough to make me a little uncomfortable. I wish it would have been closer to the May 9th due date. She did say however that my placenta is very close to my cervix. She said she could even measure any distance between the two. As of now, it is unsure whether is is just considered to be a low-lying placenta or a partial previa. This is news I definitely did not want to hear: 1. I am terrified to have a C-Section and 2. Some of my daily habits would have to change such as picking p Macy and playing with her the way I do. Ugh. I am trying not to think to much about this because it is a worse-case scenario. My doctor told me 4 weeks ago that 90% of the time a placenta will migrate on its own to a safe place where a natural delivery can occur. I just have to keep my fingers crossed that I am in the 90%.

After all the medical measurements and observations had been made, the technician let me actually see and watch the bay for a little bit. This is something that I have yet do do because all of the ultrasounds thus far have been so medical and complications had been found. This was a definite bright spot in the appointment. I asked if she could confirm that the baby was actually a girl just because I am further a long now and things should be more obvious. Well, just as my luck would have it....she was not cooperating and the tech could not see anything because of how she was positioned. I am still quite sure that our little Adilynn Mae is in there though.

The technician told me that she would be sending my report to the doctor right away and to call their office sometime after noon today to find out the actual results. I called today at 11:45 and the nurse said they have received my report, but that the doctor has yet to read it and they would call as soon as it is read. Needless to say... I did NOT receive a phone call today. UGH! I am taking this as somewhat of a good sign that nothing extremely worrisome is wrong. I guess I will find out the detailed report a week from tomorrow when I have my OB appointment and hear the results directly from the doctor's mouth. Until then, let the waiting begin....

In other news... Macy has finally figured out how to open her bedroom door. I was woken up two mornings ago to the sound of her walking into a rattle toy in the great room, and the shadow of footprints beneath my bedroom door. It's the little things like that, that make me smile :)

Nesting

I did NOT go through this with Macy. Sure, I was excited to decorate her nursery, but I did not have to have the house spotless or crazy organized before she got here. WELL..... I have already started going crazy with feeling my house is not clean or organized enough. Yesterday I organized all of my kitchen cabinets and drawers. I still dont feel like they are good enough. Everywhere I look, something is bothering me about my house.... I am totally paying for it today though. I am exhausted and so crampy. :( This pregnancy again, has been different in every way from Macy's. If I felt like I do with this pregnancy (discomfort and fatigue), I would have gone mad teaching, just mad. I never had ANY complaints about my pregnancy with Macy until I starting swelling like crazy around 34 weeks. Even then, it wasn't like I was uncomfortable, just disgusted. lol.

I go Monday for my ultrasound to remeasure the baby and recheck my amniotic fluid levels. I am a little nervous, but really feel that all will be okay. I have been feeling her a lot lately (VERY low) wich again, different from Macy. Hopefully I will get some answers Monday from the ultrasound tech or the doctor herself. If not, it may be January 25th until I hear actual results (my next appointment). Knowing me, I will not be able to wait that long and will be calling the doctor's office on Tuesday if need be just to ease my mind. I will update as soon as I know something!

On another note, Macy has been staying either on her main mattress or the secondary mattress of her bed lately! I hated seeing her sleeping on the floor. Baby steps...baby steps! Yay!

We Have Our Napper Back and My Current Thoughts on the New Nursery!

Macy has been in her big girl bed since December 30th and every time I have tried to put her down for a nap; she has napped!!! It has only taken me about 10 minutes to get her down with NO FUSSING!!! This is a huge change from when she was refusing naps in her crib, having tantrums that would result in bruises on her head and a pain in my heart. I do have to pat her back, but I will take the sitting in the for 10 minutes and comforting her rather than listening to her scream and worrying that she is going to flip out of her crib. My sanity is much more important, as is hers. So yes, we have our napper back!!! :) She does go to bed a bit later though, but she is a MUCH happier toddler during the afternoon and evening. I will gladly take it!

As for other news.... I finally have my vision of what Addy's nursery will look like. We will be painting the one wall where the crib will be only. The other walls with stay the tan color they are currently. The color we chose was




It is quite a bold color, but with the other walls being a lighter tan color, the room needed a little boost. Above the crib we are going to put this decal .....





Here are my other inspirations for the room.....













I am planning on making a few of these things myself and purchasing others. This is just a little taste. I am also very excited to be making my own bed skirt for her. When the fabric has been bought, I will post that as well! The crib will be a cherry wood tone. I love decorating; especially baby rooms!!! :)

Macy's Big Girl Bed!

Macy's Bed



Macy's Bed When She Goes to Sleep




My Pumpkin.....

Just Found Out....

I am going to be an Auntie to TWO babies!!! Yes, my sister Katie and her husband Pat are expecting twins this fall! How exciting! They are in for a real treat. Having kids is such a blessing and miracle in itself, but especially for them with having to go through IVF. I also known Macy and Adilynn are excited to have some cousins coming! Congrats Katie and Pat!

Toddler Bed Update

So tonight was night 6 for the toddler bed. So far, I really cannot complain about this transition. It was one I was DREADING.... let me tell you! Macy did crib-a-robics while she was sleeping. She would move constantly and always wake up on the opposite side of the crib I would put her on; she is also a complete busy-body during the day (remember her nickname...tornado). Needless to say, the thought of her being free was not a comforting feeling for my usual getting to sleep-through-the-night self. We opted to not use any kind of rail because I know she would flip over any rail no matter how low to the ground, and that still scares me. So mattress as low to the ground as it gets; sounds good to me! We also bought the new babies crib mattress already and put that right up against her mattress after she falls asleep so she has a little more room to roll before she lands on the floor. Most night, she does end up on her shaggy rug, but we don't hear a peep.

Every night, except for the first night she has fallen asleep within 10 minutes of me setting her down in there. I stay in there and pat her back until she falls asleep. She doesn't even fuss! It was only the first night and that is because we went cold turkey and tried letting her "cry-it-out" the first night. Not a good idea on our part. We should have known we needed a smoother transition and that this would be new to her. She has woken up only twice so far in the middle of the night. One night was New Years Eve, that was a rough night because she never fussed but just wouldn't fall back asleep. She just would lay there and as soon as I stopped patting her back, she would reach for me. Needless to say, that night I slept on the floor next to her. Last night was also a night similar to New Years Eve, she slept a good 7 hours without even budging from the spot I left her in, but once she woke up she would NOT fall back asleep. She woke up very congested yesterday morning, and I think that is why she woke up. She was having a hard time breathing to her nose. She again laid right back down on her big girl bed, but every time I stopped patting her back, she would reach for me. I then resorted to rocking her, thinking some elevation would be good for her and her congestion. This worked for her, she slept like a charm....I on the other hand, did not. Oh well, that's the job of a Mommy, right?

All-in-all, I am EXTREMELY pleased with how this transition has been going. I thought getting her to go down initially would be the hardest part; it has been a slice (knock on wood)! I wish I would have done this sooner. Hopefully by the time Adilynn gets here, she will just let me put her in bed and fall right to sleep on her own. I have 4 more months! We can do it!!!

It Has Been Quite A While....

Gosh.... I haven't written a blog post since a month BEFORE Macy was born! I apologize. Things, as you could imagine, had gotten quite hectic at the end of the pregnancy and have not calmed down since. I have truly missed blogging, so here I am. I feel this will be a good outlet to update people on my current pregnancy and all the craziness that is now my life with a 21 month old running around.

First an update on my little princess, Macy. She has been the greatest gift to me. Everyday is such an adventure and challenge. It's amazing how motherhood changes a woman. Things that used to be so important, just aren't anymore. I can have the worst day; Macy could have been a complete beast, and at the end of the day I find myself in bed with Chuck telling him how precious she is and all the funny thing she did that day, and how I miss her now that she is asleep. It is that feeling of unconditional love that never gets old to me. I love being a mommy and feel so fortunate I get to spend every moment with her, not missing a thing (good or bad). She recently (within the past month and a half) has been refusing naps. She used to be the greatest of sleepers, for nap and bed. It got to the point where she would get so upset in her crib, that she would throw herself around and bruise her head and face. Recently, she flipped out of her crib before I could walk out the door. That was the last straw! Tonight is night 4 in her toddler bed and so far it hasn't been too bad. Only one night was horrible, so I can't complain yet. I just feel so much better that she is safer and can't significantly hurt herself anymore. She has been done with naps now completely for like the last 2 weeks or so. It took me a good while to accept this, but I am okay with it now. We have some cranky afternoons sometimes, but she goes to bed like a dream! Her usual wake up time is 8am and falls asleep around 8pm. Not too shabby :) She loves to throw all of her food on the floor (Frank is one happy pup) and loves to dump all of her toys. We call her the "Tornado." My life is crazy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Chuck is at Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago getting his MBA degree. He began the program when Macy was about 5 and a half moths old and is half way through. He will be done completely when Macy is 3 and the new baby is 1. We felt this would be the best time for us, so he can spend the years the kids will remember completely with them. He only has class 2 nights a week, getting home around 10pm, but there are days where he will not see Macy at all. It is just a sacrifice we have to make now to offer a better life for all of us. He is really enjoying his program there and the challenges it offers. I will be happy when he is done. :)

As for our most recent news.... we are expecting again! I am 22 weeks along, so we have known this for a while as I am sure most of you reading this do as well. We tried for 7 months to get pregnant; it took a little longer than I had anticipated, but I think the timing will actually work out really well. This baby is due Early May (May 6th to be exact), but with Macy coming a week early...who knows? I feel the timing is good because Macy will have just urned 2 years old and will be a little more aware of what is actually going on (I hope), I could not even imagine our little one being here already with the craziness I live everyday with Macy. lol. This pregnancy started out really smooth.... I had hardly any morning sickness to speak of and just felt wonderful except for being cold all of the time and having no appetite what-so-ever. This is an extreme difference from my pregnancy with Macy. We had our 20 week anatomy scan on December 17th and found out we are most likely having another little GIRL :) It took me a while to grasp this only because I could not imagine calling another baby my Princess or Bug-a-Loo like I call Macy. It's hard to explain, but I almost felt as if I was replacing her, and that is the LAST thing I would ever want to do. I have finally become extremely excited that Macy is going to have a little sister and Chuck will have another little Daddy's girl. He is such a natural with little girls; melts my heart. We are NOT keeping the name a secret this time. Her name will be Adilynn (Addy) Mae. At our 20 week ultrasound we also found out that I had an extremely low amount of amniotic fluid (below the 2nd percentile) and that my placenta was partially covering my cervix. I was surprised about the partial placenta previa because I had not experienced bleeding of any kind. The low amniotic fluid didn't surprise me as much because I know I have not been drinking as much as I should with this pregnancy, but I didn't think I was THAT bad.... My doctor told me she wasn't really worried about the placenta location; that it will more than likely migrate throughout the pregnancy, but she was concerned about my low amniotic fluid level. She told me to REALLy push the liquids and get a repeat ultrasound ASAP to recheck the fluid. I did so much of my own research on low amniotic fluid which was the WORST thing I could have done... I always do that to myself. Anyways..... 6 days later my fluid had gone up from being in the 2nd percentile to the 45th-ish percentile which is awesome! It is well within the normal range. My doctor suspects that there was a measurement error during the first U/S because the change was just so great. Granted I was drinking a gallon of water every day..... Also, that ultrasound confirmed that my placenta had already migrated out of the danger zone and was no longer at risk for placenta previa! At my last appointment, the doctor said she was really pleased with the results and that she still wants me to go in for another U/S to re-check my fluid levels agin, but this time she wants me to scale back my liquid consumption to a normal range (48-64) ounces to make sure my body is doing what it needs to and it's not just all this extra fluid I am consuming. She also want to remeasure the baby because on Decemeber 17th, the baby was measuring in the 18th percentile (while is small, but not dangerously small). She again thinks there may have been some error of the technician. We are going to another ultrasound facility on the 16th of January to get all of this taken care of. I'm not sure if I will know results that day, or if it will have to wait to my next appointment on the 25th. I'm sure of there is a problem, I will know that day as I did with the low level of amniotic fluid. So, all in all, this pregnancy started out VERY smooth, but has quickly taken a turn. lol. Not that things are terribly rough, but I didn't have worries like this with Macy until I was about 34 weeks or so along with my blood pressure. I have also been getting extremely bad cramps with this pregnancy. They come and go, so I think it has to do with how the baby is positioned at that time. This little Adilynn Mae is already giving me quite the run for my money. What am I in for this May?!?!?!

This has been my recent life in a nutshell. I will keep this updated as I have some free time on my hands while Chuck is at school and whatnot. More to come soon... :)