On the Rise

I went to the doctor today for my 16 week pregnancy appointment. My blood pressure has dramatically increased, swelling has begun, and headaches along with all of that. So the close monitoring begins. I have to lay down on my left side for an hour a day in the middle of the day and pelvic rest begins (no lifting for example). I had the base line lab work done today for the protein and the creatine. I go back again next week to see my doctor and the week after as well for more appointments. I will begin going to Maternal Fetal Medicine next month. I made it to week 19 with Seery before any modified bed rest, ordered much sooner than with Aidan, so I guess it shouldn't surprise me that all of this is setting in earlier than it did with Seery. It seems that PIH will start sooner every time. So here we go with it all....again!

Ultrasound Pictures

Here are my two favorite ultrasound pictures from last Saturday.

Cheating???

This past Saturday our power went out for a couple of hours. Being pregnant, I always feel hot. Not knowing how long it would take to repair I said that we should go out to dinner. So we all went to IHOP. Aidan and Seery love it there, it's the only restaurant that they will both remain seated for the duration of the meal and where they will both finish all the food on their plates. As we were sitting there I kept thinking about how the mall in Sandy has a Fetal Studio. Never heard of it? It's a place actually run by a doctor and ultrasound techs, where they obviously perform ultrasounds so you can connect with your little one. I was overcome with the temptation to go and see this baby, mainly because of past experiences I tend to worry that the baby really is alright. So David and the kids came with me. Once I mentioned it, David said, "Let's go!". They had chairs set up with 4 big screen televisions to watch. We were all transfixed. There on the screen was our little one. The heartbeat was strong at 158, and measured about 3 days ahead of the due date. Now before we had gone in we had wanted to be surprised at delivery as to the sex of out baby since we already have 1 boy and 1 girl. However as the lady scanned my belly there was no mistaking to anyone that our baby is a BOY!!! He was so cute. We all watched as he scratched his head, put both arms behind his head, crossed his legs, kicked, flipped around, and it looked like he was swallowing amniotic fluid. The tech printed out pictures for us and also put them on a CD. It was totally worth it, just for the peace of mind. I feel as though I cheated... having this ultrasound done, since I am due to have the real medical ultrasound done in the next three weeks (which of course I will still get). I have never done this before. I mean I love to surprised... I never peek at Christmas presents before the 25th. Somehow I feel silly for having "peeked" at this bundle of joy a few weeks earlier than the standard ultrasound. But in the end it was really fun, and I'm glad David and the kids were there to share the moment of what a perfect miracle this baby really is in our lives.

Bunco

I'm so excited about a new group we have in our neighborhood. There is a group of 12 women who will get together once a month to play Bunco (a dice game). Our first time playing was last week and I had so much fun! We all brought food and a gift to win/pick at the end, and we will all take turns hosting the game each month. The best part about it was just being able to socialize and get to know one another better. It was a really fun and easy game. I'm glad I get to be a part of this, it truly is an entertaining group of women!

The Value of a Dollar

A couple of weeks ago the kids and myself went to visit my mom. She had a few out-of-town guests staying with her, long time family friends, with kids my kids love to play with. Sometime during their playtime outside the 7 year old thought it would be fun to do some yard cleanup with the three younger children. So they busily went about sweeping the patio, raking the yard, and picking up anything out of place. My mom was so impressed that she decided to pay all 4 kids for their impromptu service, giving the 3 youngest just a dollar each. My kids were so excited. Aidan said, "A dollar?! That's like a million dollars!". So Aidan and Seery each put their dollar in their piggy banks. Well by the time Saturday rolled around they were ready to spend that very dollar. So I said that I would take them to the Dollar Store. Since it was their dollar they walked up and down every aisle, carefully deciding what to buy. The results surprised me. Seery decided nothing was worth spending her dollar on. Aidan finally picked out a pirate toy. As we waited in line to pay I told him to count out 7 cents from his bag of money to pay for tax. He said, "No. This is called the dollar store, they get a dollar, I'm not giving anymore.". I was impressed he even made that connection, and that he cared about 7 cents. So the cashier tried to explain to him about tax. He refused and said it was a dollar store and that everything is $1, and that's that. So I thought I had quietly given her the change. But I guess not. Aidan noticed and said, "You didn't giver her my pennies did you?", I said no, they were actually mine, and he said, "Good". Yeah, I guess money is not so easy to spend when it's your own! It was a good lesson for them both. They have not asked me to buy them anything for the last 2 weeks. They also ask when we go places if it will cost me money. They finally have connected the dots and realized that people have to work hard to earn money, and therefore there is a lot of value to even just one dollar.

Too Funny

Yesterday we were going to visit some family in Sandy. Right after we got off the freeway exit we got stuck at a red light and this is what Aidan said,

"Dad, that girl doesn't have a top on!"

(We're thinking what???)

Translation: That girl is driving a convertible. (Boy, did that sound a lot different than what he meant!)

ABC Tag

A. Attached or Single: Attached
B. Best Friend: Hmmm, my husband, he sure is attentive and funny!
C. Cake or Pie: Cake for sure! My favorite is the chocolate cake from the Macaroni Grill (you know what I'm talking about Kristin)
D. Day of Choice: Fridays have always been my favorite-- the excitement of a whole weekend ahead of you!
E. Essential Item: Purell hand sanitizer
F.Flavor of Ice Cream: Chocolate with brownie chunks and carmel from Cold Stone, in a waffle cone!
G. Gummy Bears or Worms: Gummy Bears, they totally remind me of being a kid and visiting my grandmother.
H. Hometown: Oakley, CA
I. Indulgences: Bubble baths with lavender & vanilla aromatherapy bubble bath from Bath & Body Works.
J. January or July: January, I love New Year's Day, and eating soup while watching snow fall, plus the feeling of a fresh start-- a whole new year with new goals!
K. Kids: 1 boy and 1 girl, with another on the way, wonder what it will be.
L. Last movie I saw in a theater: Don't Mess with the Zohan
M. Musician: I play the flute and the piano (although I am a little rusty with the piano since I don't currently own one)
N. Number of siblings: 2 brothers & 2 sisters
O. Oranges or Apples: Really good and juicy oranges are my favorite
P. Phobias or Fears: Driving on I-15, but I do it anyways there's no way around it!
Q. Quote: "The two most important days in a woman's life are the day she is born and the day she finally realizes why."
R. Reasons to smile: We just went on vacation for a week and the 4th of July will be here soon.
S. Season: Fall is the best, I love the colors, and the temperature is just right, and the major holidays are around the corner.
T. Tag 4: Whoever feels so inclined
U. Unknown fact about me: My feet actually grew a 1/2 size when I was pregnant with Aidan.
V. Vegetarian or oppressor of Animals: I do eat meat, but not a lot of it or too often.
W. Worst Habit: Staying up late, always has been a problem, and I think it always will be.
X. X-rays or Ultrasounds: Whatever the doctor feels is necessary for the situation.
Y. Your favorite Food: Right now Chicken Parmigiana from the Olive Garden, but I love chips and salsa (my major craving)
Z. There wasn't anything listed for the letter Z. So I'll go with zoo. We just went to the zoo in St. Louis and it was beautiful and big with something like 22, 000 animals.

Announcing....

Well I feel like I can finally announce that we are expecting baby #3! Now beginning the fourth month, and out of the first trimester, I feel a little more confident with finally making this announcement. Things have been going pretty well this time around. The official due date is December 14, however I have never been able to stay pregnant longer than 37 weeks. So more than likely this baby will be born before, or during Thanksgiving time. Chances are almost certain that I will have pre-ecclampsia again. I have been asked to participate in a study for pre-ecclampsia being funded by Johnson & Johnson. They have only asked a couple hundred people in the U.S. and Canada to participate in this study, since there are people who don't fall into the likely categories of people to get this during pregnancy. The theory is that there is a factor in your blood that may determine if you will get this, and then if that were the case maybe it could be prevented. Anyways, for something like that I don't mind giving 4 samples of blood. The Rhogham shot was a big deal when it came out in the 1970's, who knows this could be the next big thing! Maybe my daughter will never have to worry about this. Keep your fingers crossed for us that this pregnancy goes well. I tend to worry more than I should after the last two failed pregnancies. And hopefully I can make it past week 19 without having to go on strict bed rest!!!

Back to School

Well, it's official...David is headed back to school! He will be getting a masters degree in business! Classes begin June 30 and he will go straight through and finish in a year. The best part about it is that his company is paying for everything, classes and books all up front. It's hard to believe, but he will have an MBA at no cost to us. It's so exciting to know that we don't have to take out student loans this time around!

Relief

We leave tomorrow afternoon for vacation and as I was driving home late last night a thought hit me. Aidan is allergic to peanuts and soy. I thought... we are going to be on a plane for 3 hours potentially surrounded by peanuts in a confined space. So I called the airline and told them of his food allergies and was told that no peanuts will be served on our flight to anyone!!! They also notated on the records that we would be allowed to bring our own EpiPens just in case he does react since previous flights may have served peanuts. I was so relieved. I was wondering why they even serve peanuts at all these days because it is probably the most common food allergy. I thought I would put this info out there in case it applies to anyone else. All you have to do is call and they cannot serve food to anyone that includes those ingredients that cause allergic reactions!