Christmas 2011 - Part 2 and New Year 2012

It's kind of crazy when you know the holidays are coming and are going to be busy and time will fly...and then they really do! What a quick month that was! And now it's the 10th of January, and I haven't finished posting about Christmas yet.

Christmas was really fun this year. Owen had an advent calendar that he didn't really understand, but it didn't take long for him to get the idea of a chocolate behind every door. We also had a couple of gingerbread/cookie decorating opportunities that went better than expected.





And then when the Big Day came, he loved opening presents. Though, after he opened the first few things, he didn't really want more. He just wanted time to play with what he got!







He opened one present from Grandpa Louie that had a gift receipt in it. Owen got really excited and kept saying, "Three million dollars!! It's three million dollars!" I have no idea where he got that, but it was kind of hilarious. Here's him inspecting his haul:



We got an iPad for Christmas from my boss too, which was amazingly generous. Of course, it has turned into Owen's iPad, and the two of them are practically inseparable. He has it completely figured out, unlike his parents. :)



And here's a picture of him eating dinner tonight, just because he's adorable:



The biggest thing on my mind right now is our impending c-section date next Tuesday, January 17. One week! Holy moly... I'd be lying if I said it's been smooth sailing and easy this time through. We've had at least two appointments per week for two months now, and they don't always go perfectly. We're getting the hang of what these appointments are like now, though, so I'm not as stressed out when things are only good and not great. As long as they aren't bad, we're in good shape!

I had a monitoring appointment this past Sunday that went really well. Baby couldn't have done better, but the nurse was concerned about how often I was contracting (every 2-5 minutes). She told me to come back to Labor and Delivery if they kept up that pace, so Dan and I spent 3 hours there on Sunday night. With a bag of IV fluids, they spaced out to every 8-10 minutes and we came home. I've been trying to stay on top of hydration since then, which seems to keep them spaced out, but the contractions are still coming. Nothing painful, and nothing that indicates active labor (which isn't surprising at only 36 weeks), but definitely there.

We have one more scheduled appointment this Friday, and possibly another monitoring session on Sunday, and then Tuesday is Baby Day. Wow! This might actually happen. Just one more week...

Here's a photo of me last week at 35 weeks pregnant:



The next belly shot will be before delivery in the hospital a week from now. Crazy!

So...boy or girl? Another red head? What are we going to name this kid? Not much time left to answer all of these questions. :)

Diabetes

I got the call yesterday that I have developed gestational diabetes this pregnancy, and will need to be monitoring my blood sugar carefully from here on out. It's not good news, obviously, but it's manageable. Dan has already stepped up big time and is planning meals and packing food for my days in the office. I've got a good one! We meet with the diabetes nurse tomorrow to learn about the finger poking and to get some guidelines. I am thankful that there are only 4 weeks left in this pregnancy to have to worry about all of this. It would have been a much bigger deal to have been diagnosed with 12 weeks to go!

Here's a photo of what I'm looking like right now, at 33 weeks pregnant:



Before the diabetes appointment tomorrow, we also have a non-stress test to make sure baby's heart rate is good and reactive, and then an ultrasound to measure size. Stay tuned for jumbo baby's stats!

Another Sneak Peek

On Monday, I was able to go in for another 3D ultrasound. Baby was measuring 5 pounds 6 ounces, and is just as buried in my pelvis as the visit before.



Look at that little face! I cannot wait to kiss those cheeks. :)

We are now going to be seen twice a week between now and our scheduled delivery date (1/17), which is amazingly only 8 appointments. Ack! It's going quickly (thankfully), but it's still a month to go. I'll admit that I'm nervous -- more nervous than I realized until today -- but I have faith in our doctor and our course of treatment. I don't know how people go through pregnancies, routine or otherwise, with doctors they don't trust or mesh with. We couldn't do that, especially after losing Elliott, and we feel very lucky that our doctor takes so much care with us. We're in good hands.

A month from tomorrow, we should meet our newest Mudgett Baby!

Christmas 2011 - Part 1

We're having a great December so far. Owen is really loving the decorations and busts into Jingle Bells when he sees wreaths or trees or Santas, but he replaces "Jingle Bells" with "Tinkerbells." Makes sense - he's never heard of Jingle Bells, but knows who Tinkerbell is!

Last weekend, we were invited to Breakfast with Santa, which Owen really enjoyed. The whole club was decorated, and Santa was a hit.









We also got a Christmas tree for the first time since Owen was born, which he loves! We have a few special ornaments for this year: Thomas the Tank Engine, Tinkerbell (see above), a train from the Kauai Plantation Railroad from our November trip, and a gourd painted like an owl (Owen is kind of obsessed with owls right now). It's nice to have the cheery tree in our living room this year.



(31 weeks)


We spent yesterday morning checking out the downtown holiday scene, including a carousel ride at Westlake Center. From there, we rode the Monorail to Seattle Center and looked at the train village they have set up there, and then had lunch nearby before we caught the bus back home. It wasn't quite the perfect experience I had imagined, but it had its moments. Like this one:



We had two of Owen's preschool friends over today to decorate gingerbread. They had a great time, with so so many tears when they had to leave. Owen is such a friendly, social kid, and he is absolutely devastated when he has to end a playdate. I love his passion and sociability, but I hate that it makes him so sad to say goodbye.

With 2 weeks until Christmas, I'm hoping we can get a few more activities in, but at this point, we may be okay for the season. I'm also very close to finishing my Christmas stocking, so when I do, I'll post photos of the three for our family. Dan's and Owen's are very cool, so I want to finish our family's (current) collection before Christmas. Then I'll have a year to get the next one done for the kid in tow. Only 5 weeks from Tuesday until we find out who we've got in here. Crazy, huh?

Baby #3 - 3D Ultrasound at 30 weeks

We had an elective 3D ultrasound of this baby today, at 30 weeks and 4 days pregnant. Baby is tucked down snug in my pelvis, so it was a little tough to get good pictures of his/her face, but we did get a few. He/she is measuring big (no surprise - Owen and Elliott were both big babies), at an estimated 4 pounds 13 ounces already. That's off the charts! Here are my favorites from today:

Our thinker:


Stop looking at me!:


Sneak peek:


Cheeks!


We're just under 7 weeks until our scheduled c-section. We'll have an amniocentesis the morning of 1/17/2012, and if the results come back with mature lungs, Baby will be born that day. It's great that he/she is so big already - one less thing to worry about with an early full-term delivery! I'm not exactly holding my breath right now, but I'll feel a lot better when we hold this baby in January.

Our Kauai Trip and Elliott's First Birthday

Dan, Owen, Grandpa Louie, and I took a 10-day trip to Kauai over Thanksgiving. It was a 4-part trip: a celebration of our 4th anniversary, Thanksgiving, Elliott's first birthday, and a "babymoon." On top of that, it was really great to have an extended period of warm weather and relaxation on the beach. Owen's favorite thing to do was chase birds and chickens around the condo grounds where we stayed, followed closely by playing in the sand and watching sand crabs clear out their holes. The rest of us enjoyed the peaceful rhythm of the waves on the beach, and downtime together. The nights that Owen asked to go to bed were pretty awesome too. ;)

Owen meeting the Pacific Ocean:


Sunrise:


Sand and sand crabs:


A coconut of his own:


Two "thumbs" up:


Feet buried in sand:


Poipu Beach Park:


Breakfast at Kalapaki Beach Hut:


Here's a picture of me on the beach at 29 weeks:


We also scattered Elliott's ashes on the beach where Dan and I were married 4 years ago. Before we did, we took a family photo in the same spot as our wedding - a look at us 4 years later.

Family photo:


Purple orchids in the ocean for Elliott:


And, sunset at Baby Beach on 11/28/2011:


It was obviously an emotional evening, but the sunset was beautiful and letting Elliott go was almost a relief. He's in a much better place now, and that beach has even more meaning to our family. It's a place we'll visit throughout our lives, and will always be a part of the Mudgett family's history.

Halloween and Pumpkins

Owen just celebrated his third Halloween, though not exactly like we had planned. Poor little guy was a coughing snot monster, so we missed out on our annual Mom's Group party, and never broke out the Buzz Lightyear costume we bought. Luckily, we had some skeleton pajamas that Owen could wear around the clock! So cute. And we took Owen up and down the block "trick for treat"ing. By the second side of the street, he was joyfully shouting, "Trick for treat! I want candy!" I'm pretty sure getting candy for walking around is the bees knees for Owen. He has asked to do it again multiple times. Too bad it's only once a year...

Earlier in the month, we took a trip to the pumpkin patch for some pictures, and we also got a small pumpkin for Owen to paint at his preschool pumpkin party night. So I can reminisce, and so you can come along, here are pictures from the past two years for comparison:

October 2009 - 6 months old


October 2010 - 18 months old


And here are a handful from this year - October 2011 - 2 1/2 years










And from Halloween, here is Owen in his skeleton "costume" (and his terrifying runny nose):




And heading out for his one block of trick-or-treating:


As for our upcoming pumpkin, I am 26+ weeks pregnant right now, and feeling good. I just had my second test for gestational diabetes on Tuesday (smart the day after Halloween, right?), and passed with flying colors. We also had a growth ultrasound on Thursday, and Baby looks great. He/she is measuring about a week bigger than his/her gestational age, and weighs 2 pounds 5 ounces right now. We now start having appointments every 2 weeks, and after we get back from Kauai (Thanksgiving week), we'll start the extra monitoring for fetal movement and development. If all goes well, we'll have this baby in our arms in 11 weeks!

Here's how I look this evening:


We're looking into doing a 3D ultrasound in the coming weeks too, so look for those pictures if we get it scheduled.