Family bonding

Mommy, Ty C and Ti Ti took Aiden & I to Lansing to visit grammy (mommy's grandma) before she moves to Colorado. I also got to visit with mommy's uncle, aunt and cousins.


Cousin Tiffany

Cousin Ahmad & his son Jachin, Aiden, Grammy, me & Ti Ti Lalla

Me, uncle Thomas & Jachin

Me, Jachin & Aiden

Can you guess which one of us is the oldest? It's not that obvious in the picture so let me give you a hint, it's the smallest baby, which of course is me. But that's okay, good things come in small packages!

Me - 18 months, Jachin - 13 months, Aiden - 6 months

Christmas Morning 2009

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Peek a boo

Justin had a ball playing peek a boo with his Ty C & cousin Aiden.

Happy Holidays!

Special thanks to Kelicia for writing our x-mas poem. Come on now, did you all really think I was THAT creative, lol!

Christmas Eve

We spent x-mas eve at Keith & Sarah's. Justin wants to thank his aunt Doraine, aunt Sarah and Uncle Keith for the toys, and uncle Ron, aunt Danielle and cousin Zoey for the clothes.

But auntie, I want to eat the toy, not play with it.

I think I can do this.

Got it.


Auntie, you're not moving fast enough, get it out!!

I'm ready to play, I mean eat!

Alright, I guess I can share.

Let me guess, he's almost 1, right?

That's what someone asked while we were at the dr waiting for Justin's 2nd H1N1 shot. First she commented on how cute Justin was. Then she noticed my stomach and said "let me guess, you're having another boy, right....you're 8 months, right...he's almost 1, right?" When I told her I was only 6 1/2 months she responded with, but you're so big. THANKS! And of course when I told her Justin was actually 18 months she said, but he's so small. Once again, THANKS!

Here are some pictures from later that day, Justin likes to play in Aiden's carrier and with his bottle.

28 week appointment

BP: 131/76

Total weight gain: +3 lbs

Baby's heart rate: 149 bpm

The baby now weighs 2lbs 15ozs and is still measuring ahead at 29w 1d and is in the 65th percentile. My cervix is still long and closed and the blood flow from the placenta to the baby looks good. The fibroids noted in earlier ultrasounds appear to have gotten smaller and shouldn't pose any problems.

I lost a pound since my last appointment so I asked about it at today's appointment, but the doctor wasn't concerned. Usually when they are concerned about a women's weight gain, or lack thereof, they schedule growth ultrasounds. Given my history, they are already watching the baby's growth, and he's clearly growing on track, so she told me not to worry too much about it. Just eat what I can and stay hydrated. So maybe I'll be like Carlene, she didn't really start gaining weight until ~ 30 weeks.

I am scheduled for an amnio on February 19th, and if the baby's lungs are mature my c-section is tentatively scheduled for February 22nd. If not, I will have a c-section on March 1st.

Wow, in just 2 months, I will be the mom of 2 boys under 2.

Splish Splash

Reading is fundamental

What i'm up to nowadays

In short, everything! Like I've said before, I have a lot of exploring and catching up to do. I figured out how to climb up on the glider in my nursery. I also figured out how to get down without hurting myself. I'm starting to put words together. Last night I said "hey dad" when he picked me up out of the bath tub. I now have 6 teeth (4 top, 2 bottom) with 1 more coming in on the bottom. I've taken a few steps at Ty C's. I have to tell mommy and daddy about this thing called carpet that cushions you when you fall. I like it much better than the hard wood floors at home. Since mommy doesn't rotate my toys often enough, daddy showed me how to open up my toy chest to get out different toys. Hopefully Santa will bring me more.

Love
Justin

GI appointment

Weight: 18 lbs, 3 ozs
Length: 28 3/4 inches

Good news is Justin IS growing. His body proportions fall in the average range, meaning he's not malnourished, just small for his age. Bad news is his growth has slowed down and we've yet to see his "catch up" growth.

For the most part Justin's reflux seems to be under control as he only tends to throw up after working himself up into a fit or gagging on newly introduced table food. So at today's GI clinic they made some minor adjustments to his medications. He'll continue with the Prevacid 15mg Solutabs once a day, but they upped his Lactulose from 2.5 ml to 5 ml, which should help him become more regular. I asked about discontinuing the Prevacid but they want to keep him on it until his weight gain picks up some.

For now we'll continue with what we're doing feeding wise (3-4 bottles of Pediasure + 3 meals of solids). But if his weight gain hasn't picked up by our next appointment we'll work with the dietitian on ways to increase his caloric intake.

All bundled up

3 more months

Justin had an appointment with the pediatric surgeon on Friday to check his progress and she wants him to continue wearing his helmet for 3 more months and then we'll be done. Since I wasn't at the appointment I don't fully understand the reason why. She explained to Carl that she wants to take advantage of the next 3 months, which I don't get, only because his weight gain has slowed down so I'm not sure how much better it'll get if he's not experiencing a growth spurt. But at least we have a definite end date in sight. Justin has an adjustment appointment with the orthotist on the 29th so I'll see what she says then.

26 week appointment

BP: 114/50
Weight: +4 lbs
Baby's heart rate: 150

Today I had my glucose screening test to check for gestational diabetes. This was my first time taking this test since I obviously never made it to this point with Justin. But in talking with other moms I heard that the sugar solution you have to drink is, in short, nasty. So I was a little nervous that I wasn't going to be able to stomach it, especially when I started feeling nauseous on the way to my appointment. Fortunately I had the choice between orange and fruit punch so I chose fruit punch. The nice thing about it was it tasted just like Faygo Hawaiian punch, was chilled and wasn't syrupy at all, so I had no problems downing it within the required 5 minutes. An hour later they took a blood sample to check my blood sugar level. I should have the results within 3-5 days.

The doctor confirmed today that since I had a classical c-section with Justin they will be delivering the baby early. I have to call in a couple of weeks to schedule the c-section but the plan is to have an amniocentesis done around 36 ½ weeks. If the baby’s lungs are mature I’ll have a c-section at 37 weeks, which is considered term. If not, and both the baby and I are still doing okay, they’ll let me continue on with the pregnancy, but they definitely won’t let me go past 39 weeks. So if things continue to progress the way they are baby boy #2 will be here sometime between February 21st and March 7th.

My blood pressure is still good, baby’s heart rate looks good, my stomach is measuring right on track and I’ve finally gained some weight. Just to be on the safe side I'll have another growth ultrasound at the next appointment to make sure the baby’s still growing on track.

X-Mas Card Photo Shoot

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Double Digits

Yesterday marked less than 100 days to go until the end of my pregnancy. Things are so different from my last pregnancy: I'm wearing maternity clothes, I already have the pregnancy waddle, I'm tossing and turning at night because I can't find a comfortable position, and I'm loosing my breathe for even the smallest of movements. I'm really enjoying feeling the baby kick and seeing my stomach move when he kicks or does somersaults. Carl's even been able to feel/see the baby move. These are all things we never experienced during my pregnancy with Justin. So even though I can't really say that I'm enjoying this pregnancy I'm definitely excited to have the opportunity to experience these things.

Moving on

to size 12 months clothes that is. Unfortunately Justin is vertically challenged like his mom so this is what you get, a baby that sags.

Walking (or something like it)