Snapshots from the 23rd Month

Our morning routine... sippy, blankie & "Super Why"

"MOM! WAKE UP!"

Vacuuming

Helping put the groceries away

Tonight's snack: String cheese. YUM!

"Gracie!"
(The dog that lives across the street.)

"Fix Elmo puzzles."

Looking at his scrapbook.

Building tall towers.

In a deep theological discussion.

Helping "fix" (translation: replace the batteries) in a toy.

Merry Christmas!

Santa Claus visited our house last night, as he always does when children will be away from their homes on Christmas day, right? :) So Drew sat out cookies for Santa last night, and woke this morning to find that Santa had left him many gifts. Here's a peek into our morning...

A "Super-Sized" 27 Weeks

Back to the doctor yesterday for another "OB check," as they like to call them.  Here's the nitty gritty...

Glucose test came back normal.  YEA!  No diabetes!

I have yet to plateau and am still measuring six weeks big.  Lucky me.  

I did ask about the potential of an early delivery.  My doctor said that certainly, given my large size and the baby's large size, and the fact that Drew weighed 9 pounds at birth, I could go into labor early.  There could also be the possibility of inducing early.  He is going to leave that decision until after I have my next ultrasound with Dr. Egley, the perinatologist, at the beginning of January when they measure the baby again.  

All in all, everything is as normal as it can be (minus the plus-sized baby and super-sized uterus!).  As my doctor said yesterday, "you feed these babies well."  Umm, yeah, you bet.  

Relief!

I had my appointment this morning with Dr. Egley, the perinatologist I was referred to last week. After taking some beautiful pictures of our baby, the doctor entered the room and said "I have no bad news for you today." What a relief! Sure, baby measures a little big (especially in the noggin!), but everything looks great. He also said that the heart "calcification" is nothing of concern and that if I were his daughter, he'd tell me not to lose sleep over it. The kind of problems they see with the heart are ones that are found in the actual muscle (indicator of Down Syndrome) but that the "sparkle" they see on our baby's heart is not located in such a spot. Everything the doctor had to say basically told us not to worry, that things look great, and he'll see us again for another ultrasound in 4 weeks to do more measurements to check how things are progressing.

Whew!

Of course, he couldn't tell us just from looking at an ultrasound if I have diabetes or not. I'm still waiting to hear the results from the glucose test I took last Monday. I follow-up with my doctor on Monday, and will hopefully know by then. I'm relieved to know that even if I do have gestational diabetes, baby is doing just fine.

The ultrasound was in the usual grainy black and white 2-D images that they normally are...until, much to our surprise, the technician made a "click click" on her machine and all the sudden the images changed to 3-D! It was totally wild, and she captured some beautiful portraits of our little one!

Our technician even captured a short video of baby's movements. So amazing!

We still don't know the baby's gender... what do you think? If you haven't voted already (which many of you haven't!) please vote on our poll, posted to the left.

Mommy's Little Helper

Drew is quite the helper. He enjoys getting his little hands into everything I do. He helps feed Luci, unload the dishwasher, vacuum, and sweep. Last night, he was helping me fold towels. He's really quite good; I fold, he hands me the next towel to be folded. A few weeks ago, when we were folding towels, I asked Drew if he would take a stack of hand towels into the bathroom to be put away. He proudly said "ok" and proceeded into the bathroom where he stacked them (as neatly as he could) on the bathroom counter. So last night, I asked him to do the same with one hand towel. He took the towel very carefully and disappeared around the corner into the bathroom. He reappeared moments later, and I didn't think anything of it.

Later on, then, as I was getting ready for bed, Brad came into the bedroom and asked "Is there a reason there's a towel in the toilet downstairs?"

Ok, so my little "helper" isn't so helpful ALL the time. But he sure provides some comic relief when I need it!

"Called for the Doctor, and the Doctor Said..."

Back to see my doctor today for the follow-up from last Monday's discovery. I feel like I heard a lot of information, so I'll try to convey it here the best I can.

Drank the glucose drink (not as tasty as I remembered it from last time!) and had my blood drawn. Will have to wait a few days to receive the results. From what I understand, this test may or may not have indicators for diabetes. It if does, I have to do a 3-hour glucose test to find out if I have diabetes. If it doesn't, then I'm ok as far as that's concerned.

Had the ultrasound. Conclusion: I'm growing another big baby! I am now 25 weeks pregnant; baby's head measures at 28 weeks, and his/her belly measures at 26 weeks. They can also measure the amount of amniotic fluid, and that is normal.

However, this still does not answer the question as to why I am measuring 6 weeks bigger.

My doctor says that because baby is measuring big, it could be an indicator of diabetes. Having a larger baby also puts me at an increased chance for pre-term labor. Also, on the ultrasound, he saw a small "sparkle" on the baby's heart. He referred to it as a "calcification" and reassured me that he is not concerned about it. He explained that it is located around the heart's valves, and made it sound like he's seen it before with no indications of there being problems. (Baby's heartrate was normal, in the 140s.) But because of all of these things (most prominently the large baby paired with my large belly), he is referring me to a perinatologist located in Peoria for a more technologically advanced ultrasound (hmm...that sounds familiar...I think I had to do that a few times with Drew...) to look into these issues further and catch anything now rather than later.

I'm waiting to hear back from my clinic on when that appointment is scheduled, and I go back in two weeks to see my doctor so he, too, can keep an eye on things.

On a super-bum note: I gained 4 pounds this last week. And that's just from Thanksgiving...wait until Christmas! Yikes!

22 Months Old and Turkey Day

Pictures from the last month...

Luci enjoying one of our last warm fall days.

Drew, too!

Mr. Independent no longer requires assistance when eating; therefore stuffing the entire "nana" in his mouth.

"Hmm...let's find those good toy sales for Santa!"

Quiet time with Daddy.

Pictures from Thanksgiving Weekend

at Grammy & Papa's house...

Quiet time by himself.

Enjoying one of Grammy's homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Sharing chips with Papa.

Helping give Luci a treat.

at Grandma & Grandpa VW's house...

All bundled up!

At the Sinter Klaus (that'd be Dutch for Santa Claus) parade with Grandma.

With Great-Grandma VW.

Goofy!

24 Weeks...or am I???

Ok, so get a load of this.

I had my 24 week OB check this afternoon. What I haven't mentioned to any of you, but of course did mention to the nurse and doctor, is that I've been having some contractions lately. Nothing major, maybe one every 4-5 days, until this last weekend when I had 3 on Saturday. It's not painful, and doesn't cause me any problems, and after reading about it in my pregnancy books, I really wasn't that alarmed by it. The doctor today wasn't that concerned about it either, but did give me a little card that has the signs of pre-term labor, and should I experience those, I need to call the office. He checked my cervix anyway, and nothing's happening there.

Anyway, it is beginning at this appointment that the doctor measures my belly to see how big my uterus is. Much to my (and shall I say the doctor's) surprise, I'm measuring 30 weeks along! Good gravy, no wonder I feel so huge!! I am huge!!! We're talking SIX weeks bigger than I should be!!! HELLO! So, after some nervous laughter, and after the doctor asks "Is there only one in there??", I asked him "What does this mean?!" So he first checked the dates, to make sure my due date is right. It is. I then mentioned that my son was 9 pounds at birth, and he said I could be growing another extra healthy baby. OR, he said, it could be extra fluid. Whatever the case may be, I am scheduled for a sonogram next Monday morning to try to determine why the heck I'm so large. The doctor said that extra fluid could be a sign of gestational diabetes, and with already having had one larger baby, apparently that's two strikes against me there. So when I go in next Monday for the sono, I'll also do the glucose test.

I certainly don't feel like there is any cause for concern at all. The doctor didn't seem that way, or say anything to make me feel as if there is. Sure, diabetes is certainly not something I want for this pregnancy, but I would take it to save the baby from some other kind of problem this might be, if it's a problem at all.

Hey, I grow big babies. We'll just leave it at that.

November News

I keep putting off posting, primarily because we really don't have any new pictures to show. I'm sure the occasional few like to hear what's going on with us, but most would prefer to just see pictures of the little guy. Sorry we aren't better about it! But I'll try to highlight some of what's been happening...

Last week we got all new windows put in at our house. Tim, a contractor and member of our church, was here for four days installing the windows and a new patio door. He also finished up our fence in the backyard. Drew was mesmerized by the tearing out of old windows (go figure!) and all the noise the saws, drills, "presser" (that'd be a compressor) and "vac" (that'd be the shop-vac) made. (He didn't seem to mind the 35 degree air coming through the giant holes in the walls!) Drew received quite the education on construction work from Tim, and for the entire week we'd hear things like "Tim vac," "Where'd Tim go?" "Tim come," and "Tim garage." They were quite the buds for those four days, I tell ya. We have beautiful new windows now; they are gorgeous! A totally new view for the house, with no dead flies or cobwebs stuck in the corners of the windows! Drew has already initiated the new patio door, having already slobbered all over it and figured out how to unlock it. Man, I can't take my eyes off that kid for a second!

Grandma and Grandpa VW came for a visit this past weekend. We had a nice time together, and Drew had much fun. They brought with them a little gift for Drew; a toddler sized play basketball hoop. Drew got to "shoot it," "dunk it," and score "two points" all weekend long. It's especially enjoyable for me to have someone else here willing to give Drew their undivided attention! I was able to take a little break and get a few things done on the computer which I normally can't do with Drew tugging on my legs. Brad and I were even able to take advantage of the free babysitters and had dinner with some friends on Friday night. I think that's the second time we've done that since Drew's been born! But again, no pics. It must be a sign that we are used to life as parents as we took absolutely no pictures the entire weekend! Shame, shame!

Baby #2 is still cooking along...and becoming quite active. Just today I mentioned to Brad that baby's activity level has increased and has become more prominent. Stronger kicks and jabs than before. I'm just beginning my sixth month, but I'm feeling like I could be entering my ninth. Brad could tell you how much I complain! He said to me the other day, "When is this baby coming again???" My aches and pains are increasing and becoming more diverse, it's already difficult to breathe at times, and carrying Drew anywhere is almost out of the question. I try not to complain too much, though, as I try to take advantage of the time left with only one baby to take care of! Drew doesn't pay as much attention to my belly as he did before, probably because we don't talk about it as much. He will occasionally pull on my shirt to tell me baby is sleeping, or to give baby a kiss. Just last week we taught him that the baby is coming in March, and so now when asked "Drew, when does the baby come?" he'll scream "MARCH!"

I'm officially in the holiday spirit, and hope to decorate for Christmas this weekend. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving visits to Mankato and to Pella, and hope to see many of you over the holiday season!

Happy Halloween!

Ready to carve his pumpkin!

"Ewww, gross, mom. Those are pumpkin guts!"

Scooping out the seeds while Dad carves.

Drew's finished pumpkin face.

Our shy lion...

...who doesn't want to smile for any pictures.

"Seriously, mom. Enough's enough."

Butt shot.

So thirsty after a long night of candy collecting!!