33 Weeks - Let the Countdown Begin

Today I had my 32 week check up on our busy little baby.

I have been feeling a lot of pressure and pretty uncomfortable, so I was curious as to what our little guy is up to.  I feel like he is always trying to break out...but we still have seven weeks to go.

He looks great.  He's just as busy as I thought he was.  Every other sentence that ultrasound tech said was, "You have a very busy baby."

It looks like he has a lot of hair, just like Jasper did.  She took a snapshot of his hair (above), she was so excited about it.  He is already turned head down, ready to go, measuring in at 3lbs 10oz.


I am feeling extra puffy and swollen.  My OB said that's just 3rd trimester fluid retention, but nothing to be alarmed about.

I still have the single umbilical artery (SUA) which can cause growth restriction, but so far hasn't been a problem for our baby.  Because an SUA can be a soft marker for down syndrome they do look for other markers during my ultrasounds, but we have never seen anything else.

Today I started fetal monitoring, which also looked good.  I will go back every Wednesday morning from now on for 20 minutes of fetal monitoring, a quick ultrasound scan, and a quick check-in with my OB.  I'm going to take Jasper with me for these weekly appts.  We'll see how that goes.

The baby is measuring for a Nov. 1st due date.  Right now the plan is to induce me then if I haven't gone into labor.  Induction makes it so we can stop my blood thinner shots in a controlled way for delivery.

In July I switched OB's.  I was going to a regular OB and a high risk (perinatologist).  The double appointments were killing me.  I switched to Dr. Van Bohman at Desert Perinatal and I have been VERY HAPPY with him and the entire staff there.  He agreed to take me as a total OB patient, so I only have to see him.  HUGE time saver for me.  Plus his office runs on time, which is also very nice.They have a Green Valley office that's 15 minutes away from my home.

Because I had a sub-clavian DVT (big, bad, blood clot in my chest) when I was 34 weeks pregnant with Jasper I'm taking a new anti-coagulant (Fondapirnux) shots daily as a precaution and have never had any side effects from these new shots.  For that I am very grateful.  I see the Hematologist, Dr. Edwin Kingsley, on Thursday for a blood draw, a check up on my blood thinners and to discuss stopping the blood thinners when I deliver the baby.

Yesterday someone told me, "Wow, your pregnancy has gone by so fast."  I decided I'm never saying that to anyone. I just smiled and thought, "I'm glad it's gone by fast for you."  It sure hasn't gone by fast for me.

I feel so blessed to be pregnant with a healthy baby and can't wait for him to get here!  THANK YOU to everyone for your thoughts and prayers on our behalf.  We truly feel like this baby is a miracle.

23 Weeks -- And some GREAT news!

(Photos of Jasper as a baby.)

Today I had my 23 week ultrasound with the high risk OB, Dr. Wilson Huang.  I also had a fetal echo cardiogram.  Mike ran over during his lunch break to meet Jasper and I for the big appointment.

A normal umbilical cord has 1 blood vessel and 2 arteries.  Mine has 1 blood vessel but only 1 artery.  This is a soft marker for Down's Syndrome.  Coupled with some blood work that I had come back a couple months ago showing a very high risk for Down Syndrome, we were really worried.
A lot of babies with Down Syndrome have heart problems.  If our baby's heart showed problems today during the fetal echo cardiogram, then it would be a huge indicator for Down Syndrome.  I have thought that if our baby does have Down Syndrome, it would be easier to deal with if our baby didn't also have major heart problems too.  The heart problems really scare me.

After measuring everything possible on the baby's body and doing a fetal echo cardiogram I am THRILLED to report that our baby boy looks great!  Our baby is 1 lb 2 oz and busy as can be. 

The Single Umbilical Artery (SUA) could mean an early delivery if fetal circulation isn't doing well or if the baby isn't growing enough.  But, I could also go full term.  I'm going to be prepared to have the baby a month or so early, and hope for the best.

Because I had a sub-clavian DVT (big, bad, blood clot in my chest that was nearly fatal) when I was 34 weeks pregnant with Jasper, I am on anti-coagulant (blood thinner) shots daily. 

I started taking anti-coagulant shots when I was 5 weeks pregnant, and since I was 11 weeks I've been on a new medicine called Fondaprinux. I have a food allergy to pork, so when I took shots of the more common medicines like Lovenox, Heparin or even a newer shot called Fragmin, I got HUGE softball size bright red welts at every injection site.  Fondaparinux is made from beef, not pork like all of the others.  My shots are $130 per day and we feel so blessed that after much pleading and some tears on my part, our insurance covers them.

I feel so relieved after the ultrasound today.  I am so happy and getting more excited by the minute!
It is all sinking in.  We really are having a baby.  After FIVE years of waiting, we really are having a baby.  I feel so blessed for this miracle in our lives.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

CineMark $1 Summer Movie Series

One "beat the heat" option for us is the CineMark $1 Summer Movie Clubhouse.

The Cinedome is 5 minutes from  our house.  It's not the newest theater, but you don't have to walk through a casino to get to it -- which is a bonus, especially with kids in tow.

Their Summer Series shows start at 10AM every Wednesday.  Here's a link for the PDF of their flyer.

 The movies are $1 each of $10 for all 10.

We're Having Another Boy!

(Photos are of Jasper one day after he was born.)

June 4, 2012

Today we found out we are having another baby BOY. We are so excited!

Mike, Jasper and I have all felt like we were having a boy, and we've called him baby Henry since the day we found out I was pregnant.  We can't wait until he gets here!!!

Jasper loves to come up to me and say, "Mom, I need to give baby Henry a hug."  He then asks me to point to the exact location in my tummy where baby Henry currently is and proceeds to tell him how glad he is for him to come to our family.

Jasper gave the closing prayer in our CTR 4 Primary Class and said, "Dear Heavenly Father, We are thankful for this day.  Please bless that our baby goes big and strong like me.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Not the most appropriate closing prayer.  :)  Jasper prays for baby Henry at every meal, every family prayer, any prayer.  It is very sweet.

Big Brother...Almost

We feel like it's a miracle that I'm 15 weeks pregnant.

Last year I went to a fertility OB, Eva Littman. Since she couldn't pinpoint any particular problem, we didn't go through with any fertility treatments.

Since she had seen me for extensive testing, Dr. Littman took me on as a patient the 1st trimester for extra monitoring, even though I got pregnant on my own.  We were spoiled with weekly ultrasounds and lots of attention.

We're excited, but I'm still really nervous. We would appreciate any prayers for our little baby.

THANK YOU!

First Time at the Splash Pad 2012

Today we met up at the Mission Hills Park with a few of our friends for some water fun.  The kids all had a blast and loved the water.

Jasper doesn't have preschool on Friday's, so that is usually our day to go do a fun activity.

It's been hot here in Henderson, we're sweltering, and we're only half way though May.  It's gonna be a long, HOT summer!

I'm not sure why, but they took down the red fence around the splash pad.  It's easier if you have older kids, because you can sit on the shaded picnic tables and the kids can run over to check in.

If you have tiny tots who you are worried about wandering off, you might wish the fence was still there.

Here's a wet and cool summer...and trying to beat the heat.

Dental Check-Up for Jasper - 4 1/2 years old

I've been a little slack on Jasper's dental check-ups.  The irony is that I took Jasper in for a 1 year check-up and 2 year check-up.

The fact that we don't have him signed up on our dental insurance has not helped in me getting him in.  I did the math to add him to our policy, and it is cheaper to just do cash pay visits for him.

Our dentist moved, and that's when I went downhill on my diligent efforts.

Jasper did have a 3  1/2 year check-up, but the dentist decided he probably wasn't going to sit still for x-rays, so he just got a cleaning.  Everything looked fine then.

 We are now going to Dr. Brandon Grieve.  His practice is called Tiny Little Chompers.  Dr. Brandon is a great dentist and is great with kids.

He told Jasper that he was going to count his teeth, and asked Jasper to guess how many teeth he had.

Of course Dr. Brandon knew the answer already -- 20.  Jasper has been walking around all day saying, "I have 20 teeth."

At this 4  1/2 year check-up Jasper had front x-rays but wasn't too keen on getting the films way in the back of his mouth, so they just said we'd try again next time.
 
He was a bit fidgety for the cleaning, but did okay.  He does not like the suction or water spray.  Jasper did bring 2 of his baby puppies with him to the dental visit.

It had been over a year, so I was a bit worried about my sweet-tooth boy having cavities.

I was right.  He has two tiny cavities.  So we're going back in two weeks to get them fixed.

And we are getting on the 6 month check-up schedule. :)

All Lined Up

Yesterday Jasper had his 4  1/2 year dental check-up at Tiny Little Chompers with Dr. Brandon.

They were showing the movie HOP, and promised Jasper that if he was good during his cleaning he could take the movie home and borrow it.  Jasper's favorite line from the movie is, "What about China?"

He lined up his three Hot Wheels cars and three Transformers cars that Grandma Sharon gave him in an Easter basket and got settled in to watch HOP.

We don't have TV and rarely watch movies, so he was so excited to get to watch a movie with his cars.

RECIPE: Mango Blueberry Quinoa Salad

Last night our ward recipe group theme was "summer salads" at Tenille Strode's home.  

Her mom made a Mango Blueberry Quinoa Salad  that I am still swooning over.

I'm trying hard to cook with quinoa more, so I am always thrilled for a new quinoa recipe. 

This recipe and the above photo comes from VeggieBelly.com. 

Here's the link for the recipe, instructions and photos.

 Blueberry Mango Quinoa Salad

Cook 1/2 cup quinoa and let cool.

Fruits and veggies
½ cup fresh blueberries
½ cup cubed ripe mangoes (can substitute or add fresh pineapple)
½ cup cubed cucumbers
1/2 tablespoon dried cranberries

Lemon basil dressing
1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
10 Basil leaves, chopped finely
Salt and pepper

While the quinoa is cooking, combine the fruits in a bowl and refrigerate till you are ready to serve the salad.

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients, except the chopped basil. Refrigerate till you are ready to serve. Chop and add the basil to the dressing just before serving. If you add it earlier, it will go black.

Add half the dressing to the quinoa and mix gently.

Assemble the salad just before serving – toss the quinoa, fruits and cucumbers together. Serve other half of the dressing on the side. Serve  immediately.

If I Had a Dog

 Jasper is studying pets for the entire month of March at preschool.  Same as last year.  This is always an interesting unit for us, because we have no pets.  So without fail Jasper comes home from school with visions of  pet ownership.

I did much better last year when Jasper would come home with a paper list of homework assignments.  We would pull it out of his backpack after school, read over the assignment together and talk about how we would complete it.  No one else is living in the 80's besides me, so this year we have to log in a website, pull up the weekly newsletter and try to read the 12 pt font on my phone.

I didn't log in until yesterday to see he has a big project due Thursday, which means it needs to be finished tonight.  Yesterday we talked about some options, and then I forgot about it until 5:45 PM tonight, and we were going to be gone from 6:30 until bedtime.

Homework for four year old's is another soap box I could climb on.  I will say -- I do not love it when the assignment is something they clearly can not do on their own.  I try to have Jasper do as much as possible himself, but it's hard.  I do like homework he can do 100% on his own, with supervision and encouragement.

The assignment:  Make a poster or book about your pet(s).  We modified it to be about a pet Jasper would like to have.  Luckily he was realistic and we did not research having a Zebra in our backyard.

He chose a dog.  The not surprising part of that is that his best friend and confidant is baby puppy the stuffed animal.  The surprising part is that he is scared of real dogs.  He didn't used to be.  But he had some run-in's with some very large (i.e.  much bigger than he is) dogs and it freaked him out.

Throughout this assignment Jasper has told me over and over, "I just want a small dog mom."   We had dinner at the Fortier's on Sunday night.  Their dog Tobi (small to medium size) was there, and Jack and Susie's dog Sandy (medium size) was there too.  Jasper did okay with them by the end of the night.

Back to the homework.  We decided to make a book, as I have no idea what to do with posters afterward.  No scanning the original with a piece of posterboard.  We found an old board book and I printed the pages off on white cardstock that's made especially for photos and then modge podged the printed pages onto the board book pages.  It works best to modge podge the back of the page on, let it dry for a bit, then add a light coat on top for durability.

I had to add small items in between each page so the book would dry without the pages stuck together.  It is currently fanned out on the kitchen table in hopes that it will completely dry overnight.

I am SO EXCITED about this project and how it turned out.  I asked Jasper to tell me about the dog he wanted, what they would do together, etc.  Most of the text in the story is word for word from Jasper.  A couple of lines really make me laugh. 

We got online and I had him select photos to use for the book, mostly just from the Microsoft Office clip art gallery, so I don't think we are using anyone's photo we're not supposed to.  We also went through and picked a few of our own photos to add in.  Without further ado...

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

This week is reading week at Jasper's school.  Yesterday Jasper dressed up like a character from a book.

I need more than 48 hours notice to be "that" creative.

My friend Lindsay (Wilson) Cannon had the same idea that Jasper had.  A Polar Bear.  She said that when she pictures Jasper and reading she instantly thinks of this video I posted a year ago of Jasper reading "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you hear?"

A polar bear was out, because I don't think I own enough stain spray to send Jasper to school in all white clothes.  Jasper has a cute fuzzy brown bear hat.  He wore brown pants, and brown shirt and a brown coat and we called it good.  Surely we did not win any points on creativity.  But he did participate.  And he did look really cute in his hat.
 
 Here are some great costume suggestions that my friends gave me that I want to remember:

Nate the Great - Boy Detective
Where's Waldo
Cat in the Hat
Thing1/Thing 2
Pirate (Book: How I Became a Pirate)
Dinosaur (Book: How do Dinosaurs say good night?)
Wemmick (Book: You are Special)
Curious George
The Man in the Yellow Hat
The Lorax (Mustache and an orange shirt)