Thursday, February 25, 2010

Guessing Game

I just created a guessing game on Expect Net. Click here to guess baby's due date, weight and height. The game name is forrestandamy. Good luck!

Baby Update

This post could also be titled: My children like to do things on their own schedule

Gestational age: 36 weeks, 6 days
Weight gain: Not really sure. I went to the main office today and their scale is not as nice according to the nurse - I am not sure what she put down
BP: 118/70
Fetal heart rate: 143

Today my appointment was at the main office in Renton so that we could have an ultrasound to check baby's position and size. 2 weeks ago baby girl was breech so my doc wanted to see if she still was. Thankfully baby girl is now head down. Dr. Rice says there is a 10% chance that she could flip back to breech, but that she is most likely more comfortable head down and will probably stay that way. All I can say is that she took her sweet time getting there. My mom speculates that all of the coughing and throwing up that I have been doing probably bothered her head and she wanted to get as far away as possible.

Speaking of me being sick - I am on week 2 plus of being sick. I have been coughing so hard that it makes me throw up - not very pleasant. Today Dr. Rice prescribed me a stronger version of Robitussin so hopefully that should help. He warned me that it could make me drowsy and my response was "I don't care, I am so tired of being sick".

I have also been switched over to Heparin as of tonight. I will inject the heparin twice daily instead of the Lovenox, which is once daily. When we went to fill the prescription today the pharmacy said they didn't have any (and I had flashbacks of 2 years ago) - however they were able to transfer my prescription to a pharmacy in Renton and we will pick it up tonight.

Dr. Rice checked me today and I am 3 centimeters dilated. Yikes! At this point with Ephraim I wasn't dilated at all. The best part is that I haven't had any contractions. Maybe the vomiting and coughing did it. There was no mention of how effaced I am and no guessing as to when baby could arrive. I know that I could be at 3 centimeters for another 3 weeks. The ultrasound tech also estimates that baby girl is currently 6 pounds, 14 ounces which is bigger than her brother was when he was born. Next appointment - March 3rd.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Life Through the Eyes of Ephraim

I am 22 months old and am doing lots of new fun things.
My daddy works from home on Mondays - and this picture shows the position that Wallis and I spend a lot of time in. We want in and Daddy is usually on a call and won't let us in.

Speaking of Daddy - he is my favorite person -except for when I am hurt or tired. Then I want mommy.
My mom and I have the following conversation 10-15 times a day.
Wallis barks
me: Daddy?
mom: Daddy went to work
me: car
mom: yep, Daddy took the car
me:keys
mom: that's right, Daddy needed his keys to start the car

My room has been painted green. I like it.
I like my big boy bed and enjoy bouncing on it.
Mommy really likes the closet and all of the baskets. I like to empty them and then "help" put them back together.

Mommy tells me that I am having a sister. I don't get it.
I do like to rub her belly and help her put lotion on it. She is getting big. It is hard for me to snuggle.
When mommy puts me down for a nap - I like her to wear v-neck tshirts. If she doesn't have one on, I ask her to take her shirt off so I can snuggle better.

Lately I have been choosing not to wear clothes. I have two reasons for this.
1 - I want to put my pants on myself. Even though I don't know how. I get really mad if someone tries to help me. Mommy says that if I want to be cold - that is my choice.
2 - I have better access to my diaper. I tell Mommy that it is dirty and "ack" and then I take it off. Mommy thinks it is great that I am so close to potty train. She does not appreciate me taking off poopy diapers by myself.
This is my new room. Didn't Daddy and Grandpa do a great job on the stripes?
I love to run from wall to wall in here. Grandpa is making me a bed and Mommy is picking out my bedding. It is going to be a transportation theme - but Mommy is picky.
Other fun things I am doing:
*Mommy has been sick lately and throwing up a lot. I don't let her go anywhere by herself, and everytime she throws up I say "whoa". I try to imitate her by leaning over and making a noise and then spitting. I think it is funny. Mom and Daddy don't like it.
*My favorite books are: Mr. Brown Can Moo (I call it pop, pop, pop), Pat the Bunny, Manners Matter, and God loves Shapes.
*I love to eat crackers and raisins. I also like chicken, rice, waffles, french toast and quesadillas.
*I eat 4 meals a day and it really depends on my mood on how well I eat
*I take a 1.5 hour nap everyday around noon.
*I like to wake up in the middle of the night and then sleep with mommy and daddy. I freak out if Daddy tries to get me back to sleep and Mommy is too tired to fight with me. Ha ha!
*I love to take showers with Mommy and help her wash the dishes (bubbles).
*I enjoy watching the Olympics and yelling "go!" at the TV.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Baby Update

Gestational age: 34 weeks, 5 days
Weight gain: 1 pound
BP: 118/70

Baby girl sounds great. I am measuring perfectly and my weight gain is in a good range. With Ephraim I gained most of my weight between 20-30 weeks and then it slowed way down. It looks like that is what I am doing this time too as long as I lay off the chocolate chips.

Baby girl is still breech. At my next appointment in two weeks we are having an ultrasound done to check on her positioning and size. If she is still breech (and I just have a feeling that she will be) and everything looks good then my doctor will schedule an external version where he tries to rotate her manually. From the research I have done it seems like I am a good candidate as long as my placenta is in a good spot and there is adequate amniotic fluid. Versions are more successful in women who have already had a child. They are also done in the hospital with constant monitoring of baby and if needed a c-section can be done. If I am not a good candidate for whatever reason, or if the version is unsuccessful then we will schedule a c-section. A lot can happen in two weeks, so I am not going to worry about it.

Other than baby girl being stubborn I only have minor pregnancy complaints. I still have headaches every day, but for the most part they are manageable. They tend to be better on the days I get to take a nap, but that doesn't happen very often. I have set a goal for myself for my entire house to be ready for baby by the end of February, which means I don't get a nap very often. Heartburn has returned in the last week with a vengeance. It usually just comes in the afternoon/evening and then sticks around all night. I have thrown up due to heartburn which is something new for me. All I can do is drink water to try to calm it (which then makes me get up several times a night to use the bathroom) - so if anyone has any other suggestions on how to calm heartburn or what foods to avoid please let me know (please don't suggest Tums - they make me gag). Ephraim is still not sleeping well and we are trying to get him to fall asleep or go back to sleep with someone besides me with no success. At bedtime he is completely attached to me and freaks out even when I am in the bedroom with him and Forrest. Right now Ephraim's sleep is the only thing that worries me about having baby girl. Time is ticking for us to figure something out - only 5 weeks left!

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

January Recap

1 - Rang in the New Year with a bang by going to sleep at 10PM (Amy). Went over to the Brownlee's house to stay the night and got to see the Coleman's too.
2 - Spent another night at the Brownlee's. Ephraim and Grace had fun going down a ridiculous slide that Forrest and Merrick put together for them.
7 - Started Bible Study again. Going through Focus on the Family's Truth Project
15 - Headed down to Oregon to say goodbye to Ryan and Emily. Stopped nursing Ephraim (cold turkey). I was just over it and Forrest told me to just quit.
17 - Ryan and Emily left for 13 months in Germany
22- Headed down to Oregon
23- Amy's 1998 GFU volleyball team was inducted into the George Fox Hall of Fame. Ephraim got to hang out with Gracie while Forrest, Amy, Barb and Michelle attended the banquet.
25- Amy's mom (Barb) came up to help organize so that we could get some painting done.
29- Frank and Lona (Forrest's parents) came up to paint the nursery and Ephraim's new room (the old office)