Saturday, October 27, 2012

Snippets (38 weeks)

Baby girl, this has been an eventful week. Two doctor appointments. Two trips to the hospital. Bed rest. Whoa.

At my doctor's appointment last Friday, it was noted that my blood pressure was high. My doctor wasn't overly concerned about any immediate danger, but she was concerned enough that she wanted me to come back again on Tuesday.

So I went back on Tuesday. My blood pressure was higher. At this point it was high enough that I was sent to the maternal assessment center at the hospital to be monitored and to do some tests on me and the baby. Thankfully, there were no signs of pre-eclampsia and baby was looking great. My blood pressure went back down and I was sent home with no restrictions.

The next day at work, I started feeling light headed. I went down to the blood pressure monitor, and the reading freaked me out. I called the doctor's office, and they told me to go back to the hospital. Once again, while I was there my blood pressure went down. I was sent home, but told to take it easy. I couldn't go into work, but I could work from home.

I went back to my doctor for my regular weekly appointment. My blood pressure was once again really high. They checked the baby again, and she is still doing great. Since the blood pressure is my only issue and that the bed rest at home was helping keep it down, I was put back on bed rest until Tuesday. No more work for me until after maternity leave. If she doesn't decide to come on her own, I'm pretty certain the doc will recommend getting induced, since I'll be 39 weeks.

So she's not here yet, but her birthday is likely just days away! Stay healthy baby girl, we can't wait to meet you!

 J.B.

10 years later

I don't have very many memories of meeting the important people in my life. My parents, my sisters, my friends -- either too much time has past or I didn't realize the significance of the moment while it was passing.

However, there is one meeting that is so deeply etched in my mind that I can replay it in my mind as if it just occurred last night. It was ten years ago.

I was sitting on Heather's bed talking to Megan trying to convince her to join us for a night out at Stargate.

I heard him walking up the stairs and before I even saw him, I was telling Megan that "Hot Dave" was here and that she should definitely come over.

He walked into the room. He was wearing a Northwest Airlines t-shirt, a black leather jacket, and a Corona hat.

I doubted him, but he was right. Even though his hands are bigger than mine, the lifelines etched on each of our hands match.

Somewhere, deep in my subconscious, I knew that this was a moment to remember. This man was my soul mate. Within the next ten years, he would become my best friend, the father of my children, husband, life partner.



 J.B.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Snippets (37 weeks)

Full term. We made it. Now we need to start getting serious about things like installing the car seat, getting bottles washed, etc. Because we only get to work on these projects on weekends for the most part, and there are only three weekends left until the due date. One weekend my husband will be out of town and another is Owen's birthday weekend, so our weekends before baby are already busy. Although worst case, Dave could install the car seat before we drive home from the hospital, and we probably won't try bottles for several weeks anyway.

At the last appointment (36 weeks), we had an ultrasound. It is crazy how big the baby is compared to the 20-week ultrasound. They put the wand down and boom, there is the head, or boom there is the foot. There is no way they could get the whole baby's body in one shot like they could do a couple of months ago. We had the ultrasound to double check the baby's size, since even though Owen was born healthy, he was tiny. But good news. All measurements are right on track. The weight is estimated to be over 6 pounds and 61st percentile. (Owen was less than 6 pounds at birth, so it's good that this one is already that big....and kinda crazy considering we still have three weeks until the due date). Fluid levels are good. My measurements are right on track too. The baby and I impressed the doctor with all the measurements being so spot on. I'd like to think the only thing that isn't spot on is my weight -- I've already gained the same amount this pregnancy that I did with Owen. However, considering this baby is already as big as Owen was at birth, I guess my weight gain is ok. And it's not really out of control either -- especially considering the number of trips to DQ we've been taking. lol.

J.B.

September Snippets (22 months)

The month of September flew by. For most of the month, we kept things pretty low key. Between the pregnancy and my allergies, I didn't have much of a desire to do too much. But we still managed to have some fun. Here's a bit of what we did, and what Owen is up to.
  • Swim lessons. Owen and Daddy started swim lessons in September. Have I ever mentioned that Owen loves the water. He still does! The hardest part we've been struggling with during swim lessons is keeping him focused on the lesson for the full 30 minutes. We've learned he does much better if I'm not there watching. He'll make it through 20 minutes, but then just wants to get out to see me. So it's kinda a bummer not to go watch, but if it gets him through his lesson, I'll make the sacrifice.
  • John's farm. We took a day trip down to John's farm. We had a great picnic lunch and Owen enjoyed hanging out with his Great Aunt Ann and eating all the delicious food. I'm pretty sure he ate a whole quart of freshly picked raspberries -- or would have if we let him. He also enjoyed the graham crackers (aka snacks) that Ann brought especially for him. And he had to make sure he had the most comfortable chair. 
  • Trains. Owen's friend Liam's birthday was at a train museum. Owen LOVED it. Trains are one of Owen's favorite things. He got to see and go in a lot of trains. He even got to see a big Thomas train. We bought him a little Thomas train to take home.
  • Apples. We enjoyed lots and lots of MN grown apples. Of course, Owen has no problem eating a whole apple (and half the core). He'll often come into the kitchen when I'm cooking or cleaning, and say, "apple, apple." 
  • Words. Owen's vocab continues to grow. He mimics singing songs and likes to repeat words. He loves saying things like Mama's car or Dada's bike -- everything is Mama's or Dada's. He even often calls us Mamas or Dadas now.
 J.B.