Owen's First Movie and 17 Weeks Pregnant

On Friday night, Dan took Owen to see his first movie in the theater. They saw "Winnie the Pooh," which Owen calls "Sinny." Luckily, the movie was only an hour long, since it was too slow to keep Owen's attention for any longer!



In unrelated news, Owen's new favorite activity is wrestling with Dan. He climbs up on Dan, grabs Dan's nose, and then starts shouting the names of various Thomas the Train characters. "Bash, the logging loco!! Dash, the logging loco!! AND FERDINAND!" If he has a future career in professional wrestling, we can call him "The Steam Engine."



For me, I hit 17 weeks in this pregnancy yesterday. Baby is now the size of an onion, and I can feel him/her bouncing around in there. I haven't gained any weight yet, but I'm definitely filling out. My nausea and aversions are almost completely gone, and I actually feel like I'm getting the 2nd trimester energy that I had only read about in previous pregnancies. That doesn't mean I would turn down nap time most days, but I can make it until (early) bedtime almost every night!

Back by popular request (hi, Jeni!), here is a belly picture from today, at 17 weeks, 1 day:



So far, so good! (Knock on wood)

Rainbow

In the pregnancy community, there is a special term for a baby that comes after a baby loss: a rainbow baby. One explanation I've seen is this:

"Rainbow Babies" is the understanding that the beauty of a rainbow does not negate the ravages of the storm. When a rainbow appears, it doesn't mean the storm never happened or that the family is not still dealing with its aftermath. What it means is that something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy and hope.

Owen is our first rainbow baby, as he came after our miscarriage. From the day we found out we were pregnant with him, he helped us move past our loss and see happiness and hope in our future as parents. He has provided so much light and love in our lives, and we see the beauty of our "rainbow" in him every day.

Now, almost 9 months after we lost Elliott, we're ready to share that our second rainbow is on the way. I am 15 weeks pregnant and so far things are going really well. We've had more frequent appointments to this point than in previous pregnancies, and all have been amazing. We first saw our baby at 7 weeks, and the heart was already beating. Baby didn't look like much more than a jelly bean, but the heart was very easy to see and was beating so strongly.



We went back two weeks later, and our jelly bean had grown to a gummy bear. The heart was beating just as strong as at 7 weeks. My doctor ordered an early gestational diabetes test because of our history of giant babies (Owen was 9lbs 12oz; Elliott was 11lbs 10oz), but I passed with no question. GD was all but ruled-out after our loss, but we're not taking any chances this time!

And two weeks ago, at 13 weeks, we had our most recent appointment. Baby actually looks like a baby already, and he/she is very active and amazing already. Besides bouncing around, we got to see the mouth opening and closing, and a full barrel roll. This one, knock on wood, is going to give Owen some competition for energy levels!



And a bonus video, (pardon my voice...I was excited!):


So, how are we feeling 3+ months into this new pregnancy? Surprisingly, calm. I don't know if it's denial or our math backgrounds, but I just don't feel like lightning will strike again. We've had more than our share of losses, and I'm over it! No more! I've been pretty tired through the first trimester, and I've definitely had food aversions (aka "morning" sickness) in the late afternoons and evenings, but I feel better physically than I was expecting. I feel better all around than I was expecting.

I have been very weepy, though. I think forward to delivery day, hoping to get there with the best possible outcome, but then I think of the last time we were in that operating room and what a tragic time that was. No one should have to feel that pain. But being pregnant again, I can't help but think about all the hopes and dreams and expectations we had last November, only to be devastated with the worst. It's such a range of emotions, to which I'm sure pregnancy hormones are contributing. Since how this pregnancy will turn out is pretty much out of my hands, I'm choosing to be excited and hopeful. But I'll never forget the losses we've had, and how they have changed us as people and parents.

Yesterday, to honor a friend's lost twins on their first birthday, Owen, Dan, and I took balloons to Golden Gardens beach to release. I didn't decorate them elaborately -- simply the first initial of each person lost too soon. B for Bryston, C for Colton, R for Dan's mom Robin, E for our sweet Elliott. Owen let each one go, and I was a mess. I keep thinking of our plans to scatter Elliott's ashes in Kauai in November, and it doesn't get much harder than that. But just like the past 8+ months, we'll get through that too. We can only just take one day at a time.



Our official due date with this current rainbow is February 6, 2012. Assuming (and hoping with everything that I have!) that things go well, we're looking at a mid-to-late-January c-section date. Although I'm guessing my OB would support me in an attempt at a VBA2C, I have no delusions that I can deliver these giant kids without surgical help. Delivering a little early will hopefully help calm some of the late-pregnancy nerves that I'm sure we'll have. But just like for the past 11 weeks since the second pink line showed up on the test, I'm not in a hurry and I'm trying not to look too far ahead. Baby will get here soon enough, and it's best for all of us to relax as much as possible and trust in the process. As an added "bonus" this time, we are going to wait until birth to find out the sex of this baby. Owen is guessing he's getting a sister. As of this minute I'm guessing boy, but ask me again in 10 minutes. :P

Bonus Quotes!

After I posted last night, I realized I missed some good quotes. Oh yeah, and Owen was up an hour early this morning to supply a couple more. For your reading pleasure:

Dan: Owen, is your nose running?
Owen: My nose is very fast, Daddy. Very fast!

Another story from Dan:
So, he turned off my computer...because he can't resist a good blue lighted button.
So I left the room and heard the sounds of the printer.
I come in to find him laying down next to it.
Dan: "What are you doing?"

Owen: "Don't push the buttons."

And a couple of gems from 6:45 this morning:
"Mommy, I want some juice and some pretzels. And my tummy wants some juice and pretzels too."
"Daddy, let's go!! It's time to get lunch!"

Honestly, there are so many funny things he says every day, I'm glad I got some of them written down. I'll try to share more good ones more often!

August Update

You're in for a long one, since I haven't posted in months. It's not for lack of material! Owen is growing and changing daily, and the two of us can hardly keep up with him. We're off to a slow start, weather-wise, this summer, so we've been stuck inside more than we would like. But we're keeping busy. Owen and Dan have soccer on Wednesday mornings, and each of us does a swim lesson per week (Dan is Tuesday mornings; I am Thursday nights). Owen's vocabulary and use of language is still exploding, so I'd like to share some of the gems we've written down over the past month, interspersed with pictures!

"Seet deams, Mommy. Night night." Owen, tucking me in while I tuck him in at night.

Soccer in the back yard:


Owen un-decorating my birthday cake:


"I don't know what's making that sound! Where's it coming from, Daddy? What's making dat sound??? It's not a garbage truck...it's a helicopter!!"


Not letting something like a knocked-over chair get in his way of snacks:


Play time!


A story, as IM'd to me by Dan:

He knows he ate the last bite of the maple bar. But also that there is "one mo."
So now he's negotiating how many more bites he might get.
"Just one small one. Just free mo bites." *counting on his fingers*
Then he hands me my soda, "Here you go, Daddy," trying to butter me up.

Ice cream sandwich out at dinner:


Getting a drink from the sprinkler:


"Wanna watch funny scare-o!! FUNNY SCARE-O!!! WWWWAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"
Owen asking for, and expressing frustration, when Dan didn't immediately understand Owen's Donald Duck impression, asking to watch the Donald Duck cartoon with the *flying squirrel.*

Owen can reach the counters, leaving nothing safe up there:


First lollipop:


"Daddy, you know who this is? It's SPRINKLES!!" (our cat)
"Don't worry, Sprinkles," watching a movie. "It's just care bears."

Playing at a park in Buffalo, WY:


Owen at Mount Rushmore:


"Arr, matey!! Aw, coconuts!"

Family time in a tractor:


Dan and Owen 4-wheeling:


Dan overheard Owen muttering something to Sprinkles, while playing with her foot. Upon closer listening, Owen was doing "This Little Piggy" on her. Dan's reaction? If there's a cat heaven, Sprinkles has guaranteed her spot.

Waiting for the Medora train with beautiful Sophia on the 4th of July:


And riding the Medora train:


Owen has started spelling out words that he sees, but sometimes he's a little off:
"B-O-N-A-L-B spells Donald!"
"F-S-N spells MOMMY!"

Riding the bus to downtown:


Owen has started enunciating better, including modifying how he says "milk" from "moke" to "meee-yilk."

Meeting Sir Topham Hatt and Thomas in Snoqualmie, WA:





Other developments:

• Owen loves puzzles, and likes to build them over and over again
• Owen has started using "don't" as "really" which gets confusing when he's freaking out. "I don't want to eat donuts!!" Wait, you do or you don't?"
• Owen's favorite foods include pizza, popcorn, pancakes, meatballs, apples, "teekey" sandwiches (trans: turkey), broccoli, beef (steak or carne asada), "Em-y-ems" (M&Ms), and tortilla chips. He'll pretty much eat anything, except for potatoes in any form.

And that's my August update! Owen is currently demanding peanuts and bananas, so it's time to log off. I'll try not to be such a stranger! :)