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.

23+ Weeks, Take 3

I am currently 23 weeks and 3 days pregnant, about a month away from the third trimester. Overall, I'm feeling really good. I'm tired and I am moving differently (read: slow, awkward, waddle-y), but I was expecting that. Our new kiddo is very active, like his/her older brothers were in utero, so that's no surprise either. By now, Dan is able to feel kicks and hiccups too, so that is a great milestone to have hit again.

We had a routine appointment last week that went perfectly, and starting in a month, we'll be starting our appointments every 2 weeks. Already!

While this pregnancy has gone pretty quickly already, it still seems like we have way too long to go. The months will (hopefully) continue to fly by, and they always seem to in hindsight, but from where I'm sitting (on the couch with Owen!), 3 months still seems like a pretty long way to have to go. One day at a time, right?

Here are two photos from about an hour ago:





In Owen news, he's doing really well. His last molar finally broke through, and it seems like this was the hardest of all of his teeth. At least he was able to tell us he had an owie in his mouth, so we could give him some tylenol and cold foods to chew on. Preschool is going really well, and Dan has been able to leave him there the past two Wednesdays. Since we rarely leave him, that's a big deal! He is singing songs all the time, and can't get enough of his Thomas trains. He's getting taller and taller every day, and eats like it's going out of style. Last week, he got the flu mist for the first time, and that was SO much better than the shot for him. He "smelled" it and we were done. No tears, no screaming, no problem. He's a great kid, and just past the 2.5 year mark. Crazy!

Fall Means School!

Owen started preschool last Monday! He and Dan are doing a pre-3s co-op preschool two mornings a week, for two hours each. The goal is for Dan to go on Mondays, and get a two-hour break on Wednesdays. So far, Owen LOVES it, and gets very excited when we ask him about school.

The structure of the class we chose is perfect for him. The day starts with 30 minutes of outside play on the playground. Then comes snack/lunch. And then there is a 45-minute free play time, with several dedicated theme rooms. There's a climbing room, an arts/crafts room, and a room with books, blocks, and "dramatics" (baby dolls, toy kitchen, etc). The kids have free range during this time to do as they please, and group as they want. The day ends with a circle time for stories and songs, and then the kids get stamps on their hands.

After Owen's first day, he went down for a nap an hour earlier than normal. You KNOW you've succeeded when two hours wears him out that much! :)

Here are some first-day pictures of our big guy:





And for good measure, here's my 20 week belly picture:



17 weeks to go!

Halfway - Mango Baby

At 19 weeks, 3 days pregnant, we're a little more than halfway through this pregnancy. We had our anatomy ultrasound this morning, and things look very good. Baby was snoozing in the corner of his/her little home and did not want to move, but with enough poking and prodding, he/she woke up and had a dance party. We have another wild child on the way!

Here are the photos I promised:

Profile with hand/arm over the head:


Stretching out, kicking up his/her feet:


Babysaurus (spine):


Foot:


Very cool! 18-ish weeks to go. Right now, Baby is about the size of a mango, and can start to hear and see light. I guess that explains the kicks of protest when I sing along with the radio, huh?

Another Post

I'm trying to be better about posting. Pretty good, huh? :)

On days that we have doctor's appointments, I get to work from home. I love these days! It's nice to sleep in a little from normal, skip the 24-mile commute each way, and see my favorite guys during the day.

This morning, Dan and Owen scoped out a new park in Magnolia. It's a perfect park for Owen because there is a lot of room to run, and a slide that he couldn't get enough of. It gave me a couple of uninterrupted hours to work, but it's hard to miss out on the fun.



After the play time, Dan and I went to our 18-week appointment. It was, thankfully, very uneventful! We heard the heartbeat on the doppler (we also listened at home last night) and scheduled our 20-week anatomy scan a few days early (next Thursday). We're still going to wait until birth to find out the sex, but it will be great to see how Baby has grown since our last ultrasound at 13 weeks.

I'm starting to feel movement more frequently, and I felt the first kicks from the outside today. It's only going to be another month or two before things are going to get really crazy, and I can't wait! I can't wait for the kicks and hiccups and somersaults. I can't wait for the constant reassurance that things are going well. I can't wait to meet this little person and bring him/her home with us. (fingers crossed!)

Bonus Photo: Owen sharing some tunes with Mr. Peepo, his best buddy



Look for another post next week with ultrasound pictures!

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