Oh Baby! (20 weeks)

Yesterday marked the half-way point in my pregnancy. Yay! Today, however, marked a scare that I wasn't prepared for. Last night I slept miserably. Does this matter to my story? No, not really. But for the record, I seem to struggle sleeping through the night. I often wake up to go to the bathroom, or just to toss and turn in general. Frequently when this occurs, it is very difficult for me to fall back to sleep - even if I am exhausted. I took Unisom for three nights in a row (which helped tremendously), but decided that I should try to sleep without it. Last night I tossed and turned for an hour and a half from about 3 - 4:30 AM. I finally decided to get up and read. Around 5:30 AM after reading for an hour, I thought I'd try to go back to sleep. I was finally starting to doze off, when Miles's alarm went off and he hit the snooze. Repeat scenario 3 times. Ugh. I think I finally got to sleep around 6:30 or 7 AM when he left for work.


Back to my story. So I was exhausted this morning when Owen woke me up at 10 AM. Thank goodness my sweet baby slept in and played in his crib so late! I got up, played with him for a bit and read him some stories in the big chair. While sitting there, I sneezed a couple of times. As I did, I thought, "Great. I think I just peed." (Thank you weak muscles due to child birth). We then went into the kitchen to get some breakfast. I thought I seemed especially wet, so I thought I would check. I was shocked to find a decent amount of blood in my underwear. I tried not to freak out and remain calm while I called the doctor's office.


I spoke with the nurse who told me that spotting can be normal, especially with placenta previa. I knew this, but didn't really feel that what I had merely constituted spotting. She talked with the doctor and said they wanted me to come in today just to make sure everything was ok. I again tried to remain calm when I called Miles and told him what was going on. I also called my Mom (who didn't answer) and my sister Kim, who gave me good words of encouragement.


I ate an orange and cereal to see if I could get baby girl to move, but didn't notice any movements. I got Owen and I ready and went to the office. We saw Lisa Stubbs. We talked it all through and she said she thought it might be a subchorionic bleed/hematoma. She said that while she wasn't concerned, she would like me to get an ultrasound just to make sure things are ok. She sent me to the perinatologist at UVRMC so that I would get to talk to "the gurus of ultrasounds" (as she referred to it) and get any questions or concerns answered.


Miles came home from work early to stay with Owen so I could go to my appointment that afternoon. An ultrasound tech did a very comprehensive ultrasound measuring all of baby girl's major body parts and organs, and the amniotic fluid surrounding the baby. (Basically it was a repeat of the US I had last week). She said that everything looked good but was sending the doctor in to talk with me as well.


Dr. Glen Schemmer came in and reviewed her report and measurements. He then basically repeated a lot of the ultrasound while explaining things to me. He said, "It's not that I don't think she did a good job, it's just that I like to do it myself." Whatever. I wasn't going to complain if he wanted to play it safe. I thought he was very thorough and did a great job explaining everything. He talked to me about my partial placenta previa and what that meant. As I knew, there is a chance it will resolve itself which is why I'll have an ultrasound later in my second trimester/early third trimester. He talked about the closest the placenta could be to the cervix while still feeling comfortable delivering vaginally. He said that if it's within 2 cm, it's considered a greater risk, but still a possibility. Within 1 cm, we would have to do a c-section. While none of this really matters right now, it was nice to hear some of the hypotheticals for the future.


Basically, he told me that everything looks good. He did not see any sign of a hematoma, but could neither confirm nor deny that was the reason for the bleeding. He wasn't worried about it and talked to me about possible scenarios if I were to bleed again. Obviously he doesn't know whether or not it will happen again, but said to call my doctor if I was concerned. I felt like he was very kind, friendly, patient, and understanding, and did a great job of explaining everything to me. He told me to take it easy and not do any heavy lifting, intercourse, or exercise for a minimum of the next three weeks until I see my doctor again, and probably not until my next ultrasound in 5-8 weeks. However, I of course still have to be a mom, but I'll try not to be a jungle gym and trampoline for the next month or so.


I know bleeding is common and normal in pregnancy, but I certainly wasn't prepared for a large gush of blood. In my defense, there were no tears and I stayed in control of my emotions. However, I'm also very grateful that the doctors were willing to alleviate my concerns and take necessary measures to ensure baby girl's safety. Geez pregnancy can be stressful!


As per my sister's request, I asked Miles to give me a blessing. It gave me a lot of comfort and peace of mind. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that is looking out for me and my family and I'm grateful for a worthy husband who can give me blessings and reassurances from above.


To end on a brighter note, here are some adorable pictures of Owen from a while back when he was using my friend's dopler to hear the "baby" in his tummy...or knee? :)

Bruce

Earlier this year our neighbors bought a puppy. His name is Bruce Wayne. Or just Bruce for short. Owen is in *love* with this dog. And in all reality, Bruce is just as much in love with Owen. They have a special friendship. Both of them always get really excited to see each other. For a long time after Owen learned his name, whenever he would see a dog he would call it Bruce. In fact, one time I was leaving my friend Bridget's house and saying goodbye to her. Owen walked down her porch steps, ran down the driveway and across a busy street. By the time I caught up to him (I had to actually wait for traffic to cross the street) he was running toward a dog that was viciously barking, saying, "Bruce! Bruce!" I almost had a heart attack! Not only did he get lucky in not getting hit while running across a street, he was also running toward a very unfriendly dog that was clearly NOT Bruce.

Anyway, as I was saying, Owen loves Bruce. Whenever we walk downstairs, he looks for Bruce to pop his head out between the blinds. Owen will giggle and say, "Hi Bruce!" It's really cute. Bruce's owner, Ashton, (among the other family members who take him out sometimes) are always really good to let Owen hang out and play with him for a while. I've been meaning to get some pictures of them together, and finally did the other day.

Owen loves to find things to "feed" him - rocks, sticks, etc. He also likes to throw the junk that falls from our trees on poor Bruce. 

He's also pretty obsessed about holding Bruce's leash. Ashton is super quick with the reflexes and makes sure Owen doesn't get dragged around by Bruce. ;)

And here is Owen attempting to pull Bruce to him...

Bruce didn't listen.

They are so cute together it almost makes me contemplate getting a dog. Then I remember how much work they are and think...maybe not. We'll see. Maybe a dog or pet will be in our future one day.

Like vs. Love

Last night before I put Owen to bed, I had him say goodnight to Miles.


Me (to Owen): Say, Nigh nigh, Dada.
Owen: Nigh, nigh, Dada.
Me: Say, Love you, Dada.
Owen: Yike you, Dada.


It wasn't the first time he's said this, so I thought maybe he has just changed out "love" for "like."


Me: Say, Love you, Mama.
Owen: Yuv you, Mama.


I thought, ok...I guess he still knows how to say it....


Me: Say, Love you, Dada.
Owen: Yike you, Dada.


At this point I was doubled over laughing so hard. I guess Owen does know the difference between like and love and uses it judiciously. Poor Dada.

Oh Baby! (19 weeks)

We went in today for the big ultrasound where they measure the baby's growth and make sure all organs are in their place and functioning as they should be. I don't know why I've been paranoid up until this appointment, but it's always nice to go in and get confirmation that everything is looking good. The ultrasound tech once again confirmed it's a baby girl and said she is measuring at about 19 weeks 3 days. Obviously it's not a perfect calculation and since we did IVF, I know her due date for sure. She once again mentioned that my placenta is close to my cervix. She said at this point she would call it a partial placenta previa. She advised me to be careful not to do a lot of jumping or heavy lifting as it could cause contractions or bleeding. She also said she'd like me to come in again in about 6 weeks to check and see how it is looking. Oftentimes if it is just close to the cervix, as your uterus and placenta grows, it will grow upward toward a more nutrient-rich source of blood, moving it away from the cervix. This is my hope. I've been seriously considering doing this delivery naturally and if at time of delivery I do have a placenta previa, then that would mean a c-section. :( I definitely don't want to deal with that. So hear's hoping that my placenta cooperates and moves on up!


It was really fun to see baby girl moving around and see all her little body parts. I love seeing the spine with all the vertebrae. She didn't want to cooperate with giving us a good profile shot. I guess the silver lining to my partial placenta previa is that we'll get to go in for another ultrasound. I'll take as many opportunities to see baby girl as I can! :)


Here's the best profile shot we were able to get:

While we were there, we also had to get a shot for Owen. When I went in at his 2 year check-up, we were just a little early on the schedule (it had to be given exactly 6 months or later from his previous shot). He was very sad about it and cried a lot saying, "Hurt. Hurt." It made me sad. :( I'm really glad that is the last one for a while. I don't think he'll need another until his kindergarten shots. Yay!

Mother's Day

This year for Mother's Day, Miles bought me some beautiful flowers and made a delicious German pancake breakfast (per my request). In our ward at church, we have Relief Society first (blech). They ended the lesson about 20 minutes early. We were all wondering why, when the RS Pres said that the Elder's Quorum had set up a treat for us in the cultural hall. We went in and they had tables set up with linens and center pieces, napkins, forks and water. They served us cheesecake and apple pie while we got to sit and talk. It was awesome! Miles went in to the nursery to be with Owen and relieve the women in there so they could come in. The bishop's wife was sitting at my table and said, "Are you sad you didn't get a pamphlet?" All of us said, "No way!" I think it definitely won out for the best Mother's Day present I've ever gotten in a ward!

Megan invited us up to the home she is staying at in Midway for dinner. The family she is living with had a ton of food left over from a wedding they had done the night before and invited a bunch of people to come. Miles, Owen, Mitchell and I drove up after church and Owen's nap. It was a lot of fun. The family were all really nice and welcoming. Their home was awesome because they had a huge backyard with a swing set, as well as a trampoline. They also had two big dogs that Owen liked pushing around and kept asking if he could ride. The food was also delicious and it was really nice to not have to cook my own Mother's Day dinner. :)

Dada swung Owen in a big hammock. Owen thought it was the greatest.

And here he is in pure joy jumping and playing on the trampoline.

This is a picture of a cheesecake the family's daughter-in-law made:

All in all, it was a great Mother's Day. However, I have to admit - the very best part of Mother's Day is that I have been blessed to be a mother. I definitely thought of my mother and all she did for me and how appreciative I am to have had such a wonderful, loving mother. But honestly...I mostly just thought of how incredibly blessed I am that I get the title of mother. I absolutely adore my son more than I can adequately express. He has been the greatest blessing in my life. He brightens my days and gives me such joy. He makes me laugh all the time and has such a wonderful personality. And now I have been blessed with another little life growing inside of me. I love being a mom and would not trade it for anything in the world.

A friend of mine has a tradition of taking a picture with her children on Mother's Day. Even though I don't think I did that specifically last year, I decided I should start now. The shoot didn't go so great (nose picking, poking Mama in the eye, and difficulty smiling) but that's ok.

And I took my first pregnancy shot on Mother's Day to show how baby girl is growing (or rather how I am growing). I am almost 19 weeks here. 

And here are some other "recent" (within the last 4-6 mo?) pictures of us together. Obviously we don't take enough pictures together since I had to go searching for these. Such is the life of the Mama who's always behind the camera....

 

 I am SO lucky to have this little boy to call my own!

730 days * 104 weeks * 24 months * 2 YEARS!

Wow. I really cannot believe my little boy is already two years old. The time has flown by so quickly. There are times I feel ok about it because I absolutely adore him and I have so much fun with him. I love each stage of development and watching him learn and grow. I love seeing his little mind absorb everything around him as he makes new discoveries and accomplishments. However, I don't like thinking about the time continuing to go by and to think that suddenly he will be a grown boy man. I hate that my Baby Center emails have now gone from calling him a toddler to a preschooler. Please. Let's not push it. He's still my baby. :)

Here are his most recent stats:

Head: 19 in (35th percentile)
Height: 35.5 in (75th percentile)
Weight: 26 lb 4 oz (30th percentile)

He is sleeping really well these days. He typically goes down for a nap between 1 and 2 and will most often sleep for about two hours. Sometimes he extends his naps to 3 or more hours, but 2 is fairly typical. With summer coming upon us and extended daylight hours, his bedtime is sometimes pushed a little later. If we are out having fun or busy, there are days he doesn't get to bed until 9PM or later. But I would say 8-8:30PM is pretty average. At night he sleeps about 12 hours, but sometimes as long as 14. Although I'm not really sure he's sleeping the whole time. There have been nights that I hear him awake in his crib in the middle of the night sometimes for up to two hours. I think on nights when he does that, he tends to sleep in a little later in the morning. But hey, I'm not complaining when I get to sleep until 10! :)

The other thing Owen has been doing in his sleep lately that just about gives me a heart attack, is sleeping with his head covered by the blankets. The first night I saw his face covered I freaked out, yanked them off of him, and checked to make sure he was still breathing. Now I take pictures first and then move the blankets. ;)

Eating is still a struggle. I seriously never know what he will or will not eat. Some days he eats like a ravenous beast. Most days, he pecks and eats like a bird. His current favorites right now are: Turkey pepperoni (peppa), peanut butter, sharp cheddar cheese, fruit (blueberries, grapes, watermelon, oranges, etc.) dried fruit (fruit leather or raisins by the cup full), German pancakes, yogurt, cereals with milk, sweet n salty granola bars, chips (of any kind), french fries, sweets (of any kind), ice (uh huh...very filling and nutrient-rich) and of course mint (as seen by the multiple tic-tacs he got a hold of before I noticed).

Here he is playing his new "game" he likes of putting food on the table (or floor - ew) and eating it without using his hands. This night it was a dinner consisting mainly of ice.

As you can see, it's hard to get him to eat healthy. Sometimes he chows on black beans and will eat other random things like carrots and celery, but just as often he ends up chucking them off his tray. Oh wait...he throws anything and everything off his tray. Yes. My child is a food thrower and has been ever since he was able to do it. This is one behavior that Drives. Me. Nuts. It usually only happens when he's done eating and playing around, but if I'm not quick enough to notice, food goes flying. That and since he's such a poor eater, I like to give him as much time as possible to eat what on his plate.

Generally, he does like to eat apples, but prefers to eat them whole and carry them around with him.

Once again, his language is exploding. I often wonder where he learned a word or phrase. I think he's starting to be a sponge and just pick up whatever he hears around him. One of my favorite things he's been saying lately is, "I be back, a minute," before he runs off to get something. I obviously tell him "I'll be back in just a minute" very often.

For a while he kept saying, "Yeah. I know," to almost everything we'd say to him. It was funny when he would say it after we would tell him we loved him because it was reminiscent of my childhood when my Mom told me she loved me and I said, "I know, everybody does." :) We couldn't figure out where he got this from and then Miles realized it was probably from when we would comfort him when he was crying or upset and say, "Yeah...I know...."

Speaking of crying...here is a shot of Owen's first fat lip. He got it when he pulled a baby monitor down off a shelf, onto his face. There was a lot of blood and tears, but he was pretty ok once he was able to calm down.

Other fun things he says: Wook Mom!; Theeee end! (very emphatically after finishing a book); "Come on, Goose" (said to his toys - something we say to him a lot); "Hi, baby!" or "Hi, Goose!" (after one of us says it to him).

Honestly, he's talking up a storm and saying so much these days. But these are just some of the silly things I've recorded. Although I don't think a day goes by when I'm not laughing at something he's said or done.

He can count pretty reliably up to six. He can count to ten infrequently. He often will start counting and then go back to one. And by count, I mean recite the numbers...he jumps around when trying to actually count objects and will double or triple count them.

Owen found a balloon and Dada was teaching him how to blow it up.

Owen will often get a worried look on his face when he sees something isn't right or is broken and say, "Oh no! It's boi-kin." Then he usually wants us to "fix it." He does this with his food too when he's pulled bread apart and is trying to put it back together.

He loves to climb into empty boxes.

He uses everything as a slide - his chair, the couch, the love sac, our bodies...everything.

Owen loves to play outside. He could swing for hours...

...or just spend time picking up sticks and rocks, or looking at ants on the ground.

He loves to help with the laundry and throw it into the washer.

He's also pretty obsessed with climbing into the dryer and likes me to close the door on him and peek his head out.

Owen knows how to say all the animal names as well as their sounds. He also knows some obscure animals that I am surprised he remembers. My favorite animal sounds he's learned in the last couple months are a goat (meh), an owl (hoo, hoo), a donkey (ee-aw, ee-aw), and a rhinoceros (blowing in and out with his nose - in one of our books, Moo, Ba, La La La, "The rhinoceros snorts and snuffs...." I would make a snorting and sniffling noise so he knew what it was. Now that is apparently what they do).

He found this "leash" I've never used in one of the drawers and wanted to wear it. He thought it was pretty fun, so long as I didn't prohibit him from moving.

He is once again very into reading. Almost every morning, we get up and read books right away. Sometimes he likes me to read to him for up to an hour in the morning. He will also bring me books and ask me to read it to him. I love when I'm sitting on the floor and he just backs his little bum up to sit on my lap. Sometimes he gets obsessed with a particular book and will ask me to read it, "Again! Again! Again!" until I decide I've had enough of it. I also, often find him quietly reading (looking at books) in his room.

As I said in his birthday party post, he loves airplanes, helicopters, trucks and tractors (he often refers to most of these as dump trucks), and cars. Whenever he hears the garbage truck outside or an airplane, he will gasp, acknowledge it by name, and run to the window to see if he can see it.

Here is a picture of him opening up a couple of presents I saved for his actual birthday since we celebrated with family early. You can see how happy he was to get another plane and helicopter.

Owen likes to play games where he hides objects (often his cars) and says, "Where?" while throwing his hands up in the air. Then he says, "Hi-ning" (hiding) and will reveal them by pulling off a blanket or lifting the flap on the arm of the couch or wherever they may be.

He loves to line up his cars, trucks and toys, and stack things.

Another game he likes to play is to crawl between my legs when I'm doing dishes or standing somewhere. He sticks his head through and likes it when I squeeze my legs around him. He also will climb up and over Dada's leg and through the hole in his legs when he is sitting down with his ankle on his knee. Miles said one day Owen did this for about 15-20 min straight.

Here he is in his first mini "fort." He thought it was pretty cool.

Loves to say things with a "k" sound, like truck (kuck), yuck, etc. And often when it has that sound, he will add a few kuh's to the end. "Kuck, kuh, kuh" with a very gutteral sounding k. Time to learn German?

Here is Owen doing his impersonation of the "naked cowboy" as seen in NYC. I think Owen makes a cuter cowboy if you ask me...

Speaking of naked...here he is attempting undress himself to be "nay, nay" by taking his shirt off down over his body.

And finally, a picture of him on his actual birthday as a TWO year old. Sigh...the time really is going by too fast.