Growth Scan

The growth scan (really just an ultrasound) went great today! I really liked the doctor, and as soon as she started the ultrasound (the head was the first thing she saw and measured) she told me she was sure this baby was perfectly normal. What a blessing and relief for her to say that right away instead of making me sweat! So the ultrasound was fun. She kept saying "this baby has a beautiful heart!" and took tons of pictures of it (I'm not sure why; it's not like she printed any of the heart pictures out for me to take home). We saw a few profile shots and made sure that she was a little girl instead of a little boy, and that was it! Her heartbeat was 155 bpm and the doctor estimated she weighs 3 lbs 9 oz. My next appointment is September 15th. We'll be really close to meeting our little girl by then!

This picture of Syd was taken at a playground near our house. We went Saturday morning, and even though it was morning it was still blazing hot. She's obviously drinking the water here, but after she was done playing we stripped her down to her diaper and "showered" her in the exact same spot. She thought that was fun, and so did I because it meant I didn't have to put a sandy baby in my car!

31 Weeks!

Here is my 31-week picture (wow, I am REALLY on the ball with these...toot toot! There goes my horn!). (By the way, please ignore how I look in this picture...we had just returned home from the playground and we were all sweating.)

30 Weeks

31 Weeks

I'm still feeling well, except for my legs. I don't think I've mentioned it on here, but I've contracted terrible varicose veins in my legs this pregnancy. They are painful and ugly...I am praying they subside after I have the baby. My Jacksonville doctor prescribed me a pair of compression stockings that make my legs look really tan, but make me SWEAT! The stockings really do make my legs feel better, but I DO NOT like wearing them. Even though I said they make me look tan, they make feel self-conscious and as if everyone is staring at my legs, but it's too hot NOT to wear shorts right now, so it's not as if I can hide them. Anyway, woe is me, right? Also, my growth scan (which I still think is just an ultrasound) is tomorrow afternoon; I will be sure to update you on how that goes (please pray is goes well!).

Saturday I went crazy in the baby's nursery and put away and organized every single thing she will need for the first three months (I say three months because all of her clothing larger than three months is still in boxes and needs sorting). Actually, I put away and organized everything I have on hand; there are still some things I need before she is born, but not many. And there is a five-shelf bookcase in her room that still has 1.5 empty shelves that need decorating. :-) But I'm glad to have accomplished so much; it makes me breathe a little easier!

30 Weeks, Random, and Moving/House News

Ugh, has it already been over a week since I've blogged? The longer I wait between blog posts, the harder it is to get back into the swing of blogging; the need to post something weighs over me like an overdue term paper... But I'm always glad to get back into the swing of it!

Here is my 30-week picture, even though tomorrow is my 31-week mark! I can't believe I only have 9 weeks to go! Next week Chet will be doing some training out in the field, and Sydney and I are flying to TX soon, but after that we REALLY need to shift into baby preparation mode!

29 Weeks30 Weeks

Here are some random Syd pictures. The first picture of her with the red bow turned out fuzzy, because as soon as I walked out of the air-conditioned house and into the stifling Mississippi heat, my camera lens fogged up. The picture of her sitting on the couch with a block in her face has a funny story behind it. She has a set of 10 cardboard nesting blocks, and her round pacifier fits perfectly into the #2 block. She likes to wedge the pacifier in there and then suck on it...so strange! In the picture she's also watching a "Your Baby Can Read" video, and they're singing "If You're Happy and You Know It". She is shouting "hooray!" in the picture. Silly girl.

I need to start talking about the house, otherwise I will never get around to it. Here goes... We drove from Jacksonville to Mississippi Sunday, July 10th, with Chet's parents in tow (they were a HUGE help!). Tuesday, July 12th, the movers arrived at our new house on base with all of our belongings (we stayed in the Navy Lodge on the Gulfport base between Sunday and Tuesday). They unloaded all of our things...and we were left with a million boxes. The unloading went as smoothly as it possibly could have, but the hard work was yet to be done. Chet's parents helped us unpack and keep Sydney occupied until they left Thursday, July 14th. Chet and I continued to unpack until my dad arrived Sunday, July 17th. He helped us unpack and get rid of ALL of the boxes, so at least we knew what we had left to put away. He left Wednesday, July 20th, and my mom and step dad arrived to help the next day. That's when the house really began to look like our home, as my mom and I scurried around decorating and directing the men where to hang things on the wall (I'm sure we were nothing but pleasant to work for, ha!). They left Sunday, July 24th, and Chet and I spend the next few days doing little finishing touches. We were all settled by the time he reported to work Friday, July 29th! I was so pleased with the transition and the speed with which we unpacked; we could not have been as efficient without the help of our family. I still haven't taken pictures of the house, but there is still work to be done (even though I said we were "all settled"), which is probably why. The main (and really the only) work left to do is to finish the new baby girl's room. (By the way, the house is two stories with three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.) Right now, the guest bed is still set up in her bedroom, and there are freshly washed piles of baby clothes all over the room, waiting to be hung in the closet or stowed in a drawer. Also, the baby things that will eventually go in her room but that I want out of the way at the moment are piled in a corner of our bedroom (the master bedroom is gigantic, so this is possible without being a burden). So...I feel like once the nursery is set up the house will be "finished".

That's enough house talk for now! I'm sure you're all bored to tears!

Chet

Here is a picture of Chet on his first day of work (the Friday before last, July 29th). Poor thing had his appendix out two days later. He was supposed to stay home two weeks after the surgery, but he went back to work this past Monday, after only one week at home. He's had a really good week, and is feeling better and better every day. We both think going into work every day has been good for him. He has his post-op appointment Monday, August 15th (can you believe we're already halfway through August?!). Not much to report here, although I'm acutely aware that I need to 1) take pictures of the new house and 2) post them on the blog! Sydney and I have had a good week. I joined a gym that's about 10 minutes away. They offer inexpensive childcare (the cost of which is rolled into the membership), which is one of the main reasons I joined instead of just working out at the base gym. The base gym is really nice, but in order to go to the base gym I'd either have to go REALLY early before Chet leaves for work, or go after Sydney is in bed...which I'm not likely to do (who wants to work out at the VERY END of the day?!). I could go in the middle of the day and drop Sydney off at the Child Development Center, but drop-in care is not always guaranteed (they might have too many kids that day) and it costs $5 per hour. The gym I joined is the best solution, because I really like the atmosphere and Sydney likes the little daycare...and it gets us out of the house and gives us a change of scenery! Yesterday morning we went to the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center and tomorrow we are going to the Splash Pad. Hope everyone's had a great week!

29 Weeks and Random Medical Info

Here's my 29-week picture! I'll compare it to both last week's picture, and Syd at 29 weeks.

28 Weeks

29 Weeks

29 Weeks with Syd

I have random medical updates for all of us:

Ashley/Baby
The OB office called this week and told me the specialist (I STILL don't know exactly what sort of specialist she is...) wanted to see me and do a "growth scan". I know they're going to do an ultrasound, and I assume they will be taking the same measurements they took at the 20-week ultrasound in order to make sure she's still growing properly. I'm still not worried; Chet said he KNEW the specialist would want to see me since I am a new patient and pretty advanced in the pregnancy. Chet said the OB office would look bad if they ignored the concern once it was documented. The appointment is August 22nd.

Chet
Chet is doing well, but is still experiencing quite a bit of pain at one of the incision sites. He was due to run out of Percocet (no refills) today, and didn't think ibuprofen would do the trick since the stronger medication wasn't relieving all of his pain. So he went to the hospital last night to get more pain medication. They ran some blood work on him to make sure there wasn't an infection (there wasn't), and they prescribed him Vicodin instead of more Percocet (he was on Vicodin after his shoulder surgery and it worked fine for him). Hopefully the pain recedes a little more each day so that he won't be in ANY pain soon!

Sydney
Syd had her 18-month well-baby appointment last Tuesday. She weighs 23.5 lbs and is 32 inches long (which is approximately the 40th and 55th percentile, respectively...even though they tell me the exact percentiles I never remember). She didn't need any shots this time around; she got caught up at her 15-month appointment. I talked to the pediatrician (who I really like...thankfully, because there is only one pediatrician at the little clinic on base) about Syd's milk protein allergy, and she said I could go ahead and start trying her on whole milk (instead of soy milk) and other milk products. Her Jacksonville pediatrician said most children who have a milk protein allergy will probably never drink WHOLE milk (even if they outgrow the allergy), so I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that. We're keeping her on soy milk for now, but have started giving her regular yogurt, and a couple of things with regular cheese on them.

Here are a couple of pictures of Syd in her new outfit that Didi sent her. She loves the tulle!

28 Weeks and Random Syd Pictures

Here is my 28-week picture. Even though I promised, I did not wear a more practical outfit for the photo because it was too much effort to go upstairs and change. I will not compare this photo to last week's since last week's outfit was equally outrageous (in that you really can't get an idea of how my belly looks). I will compare the photo to Syd's 28-week picture though! (Also, I realize I've been lazy about making the weekly pictures look as similar as possible. Sydney made another appearance in this week's picture.)

28 Weeks

28 Weeks with Syd

For a few weeks now I've been able to put Sydney's hair in a "ponytail". It's a half-up, off-t0-the-side ponytail that looks cute with a bow. Her hair is certainly long enough to go in a real ponytail (in the back of her head), but I haven't tried it yet because I think it would bother her while she's sitting in her carseat. Today I did try half-up pigtails for the first time. Chet liked them...I just wish I had matching bows for each side...

half-up, to-the-side ponytail with bow

silly

half-up pigtails

Sydney says some funny things. Any time she runs into something, or I run into something, she says, "Sorry!". She also says "Hot!" every time we walk outside. And hot it is! I can't wait for fall weather... I know I said it last year, but I would be perfectly content skipping summer and going straight from spring to fall. Mississippi is MUCH hotter than Jacksonville.

We were trying to catch her saying, "I don't know" and doing the I-don't-know-hand motion, which she likes to use.

She's shouting, "Hooray!".

Chet's Appendix (huh?!) and My 28-Week OB Visit

We ended up having quite a weekend! Saturday was uneventful, but enjoyable. We started the morning out by visiting a local Farmer's Market. It was very small, but a lot of fun nonetheless. We bought some raw, local honey, a dozen eggs, and a muffin that we ate on the spot. There was a sweet Golden Retriever dog at the market, and Sydney stalked it the whole time we were there. Thankfully the dog loved children!

Saturday afternoon Sydney splashed in her pool in the backyard, and I made dinner. Chet and I were both STARVING by dinnertime. Sometimes I get a stomach cramp when my stomach is completely empty, but it went away once I ate dinner that evening. Chet had a similar cramp, but his did not go away after he ate. We thought it might be gas (gross, I know...sorry!), but it stayed with him all evening. He said it wasn't extremely painful, just uncomfortable, like he had an elbow in his stomach or something.

The next morning the "cramp" was still there, but a little better than the night before. We went to church, but then we decided Chet should go ahead and go to the ER at the Air Force hospital, just to get things checked out. Thankfully he did! They did a CT scan, and the results showed his appendix was inflamed, but strangely he didn't have ANY other Appendicitis symptoms. They decided to go ahead and take the appendix out that evening (yesterday, around 6 p.m.). Chet had driven himself to the hospital, but Sydney and I drove over once we knew he was going to have surgery. We didn't get to see him beforehand, but I talked to the doctor doing the surgery as soon as we arrived and was assured that he was in good hands. The doctor came out about two hours later and said things went very well. Sydney and I were able to see Chet for a minute as he was wheeled from the OR to the recovery room, but Syd and I headed home after that (it was about 8:30 p.m. at this point). Chet called me a little later and sounded good, and then called me this morning and reported that he had a good night. Since he didn't experience any vomiting and because he was able to get up and walk around, he was released today!

This unexpected bout with Appendicitis actually worked out quite nicely (such an optimistic statement!), because I already had plans to drop Sydney off at our base's Child Development Center today in order to go to my 28-week OB appointment and glucose test. I did the glucose test first (the doctor didn't call me this afternoon, so I THINK that means I passed!), then visited Chet and helped him get discharged, and then we both went to the OB appointment.

OB Appointment: I really liked the Nurse Practitioner (NP) that I saw today, and think I will be just as happy with the Air Force Hospital as I was with the Navy Hospital in Jacksonville. The baby's heartbeat was 147 bpm, my blood pressure was good, my weight gain is good so far. The NP mentioned that the baby's measurements were a little small at the 20-week ultrasound, but I'm not concerned. My Jacksonville doctor (who saw me the entire time I was pregnant with Sydney and delivered her) wasn't concerned; she just said I have small babies (not that Sydney was THAT small when she was born...6 lbs 11 oz isn't a preemie or anything!). Also, I wasn't quite 20 weeks along when I had the ultrasound, and my Jacksonville doctor thinks my due date is really more along the lines of October 27th rather than the 22nd...so I'm not worried about this NP thinking the baby is small. She did say she would refer me to a...something (I can't remember even though I asked her to repeat herself at least three times)...who would decided if I needed extra ultrasounds in order to track the baby's growth. I'll hear from the OB clinic if that ends up being the case; until then, I won't worry.

Anyway, that's about it! Sydney has her 18-month checkup tomorrow. Chet will go in for his post-op appointment in two weeks. We are so thankful that Chet went in to the ER when he did; I can't imagine how differently/less "easy" things would have turned out had we waited and his appendix ruptured! Even though he's doing great, please pray that he continues to heal nicely and doesn't experience any complications (and that the belly pain, mostly at the incision sites, subsides ASAP!).