Christmas Decorating

Well, our holiday decorating is in full swing. The tree is up. The banisters are decorated. The door is lit, the wreath is hung. Everything it seems is done. I am also doing my part to keep the UPS and FedEx drivers in a job, the deliveries have begun.

I am proud to say I have COMPLETED all shopping for the kids in my life. Now, if only the adults were that easy.

Post Turkey Coma

Thanksgiving People















Magster & Alana up to no good.















Us -aren't we so sweet :)

It's the Monday after Thanksgiving and I am still in the post-turkey coma phase. Hopefully I will come out of it in time for Christmas. I should have gone to bed before midnight last night! Every day of this long weekend seemed like Sunday, so when Sunday finally arrived I was in denial.

We had an enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday. It began with my mama coming to town on Wednesday afternoon - the day of her 57th birthday! The girl and I had made cupcakes for her and wrapped presents. They were so excited to see each other! Gram picked her up early at Jeannie's for the day. Wednesday night we went out for a birthday dinner and then came home to sleep.

We were up early on Thursday to prepare our contributions to the thanksgiving lunch at my godmother's. My granny's homemade egg noodles from me and carmelized sweet potatoes from my ma. YUM! Smelling those all the way to Richmond was torture. Thanksgiving at Kathykins was great. There was tons of food and family and the girl thoroughly enjoyed playing with her cousins.

Christmas ambition set in on Saturday with us going out to get a Christmas tree, putting up our decorations and decorating the tree in the evening. The little one was LOTS of help. Every ornament she pulled out got an "OH MY GOSHHHHHHHH THIS IS BEAUTIFUL" oh, to be a child again! Last night hubby and I battled the garland with lights for the bannister. What a total PITA. But we got it done. Tonight the last phase, the garland with lights for the front door. Then we are pretty much set. Except I think every day I am gonna here "Mama, when is Christmas? Is today Christmas?"

Tis the season...

4lbs, 4oz

A face shot for your viewing enjoyment. It is now official - this baby boy is an over achiever. He is measuring about a week bigger than a standard baby. Nothing to worry about and not surprising considering the girl has always been at the top or off of the growth chart! So I have big babies, sue me!

We went today for a "routine" sonogram check. The fluid on the lungs is still gone. YAY. The fluid in the belly is still there, actually accounting for some of those ounces. Boo. It is less this time but only marginally so - down from 1 oz to .93 oz. Still we are happy to take less.

Fetal movements are great - 8 out of 8 (and who makes an 8 pt scale anyway?).

He seems happy. I go back on Tuesday, December 5th for anther "routine" scan.

I am supposed to go to Utah the week after thanksgiving for our conference site visit but I am thinking that's not gonna happen. Chances are all would be fine, but I am not so into taking any chances right now. At first I think I was euphoric after the lungs cleared and thought I am fine ... but I just would never forgive myself if after all this something happened that I could have prevented.

So my husband says...

The other night we are just chatting and he says to me, "I feel sorry for our kids future spouses."

Me: "Why?"

Hubby: "Well I feel sorry for the Ella's because well she's Ella"

Me: "WHAT!" (she's not high maintenance or anything, she just knows what she wants!)

Hubby: "And I feel sorry for our son's future wife, well because of you."

Me: "WHAT!" (though I know EXACTLY what he is saying.)

I continue: "You are probably right, I'll be way worse than your mother and I won't give up as easily!"

So ... which brings me to this. Don't we all think the baby boy will need this shirt?

Back To Business

After an entire week - 7 days ... count'em - with no doctor appointments we are gearing up for another round of baby related things.

Today I had an early morning dental cleaning. Nice clean polished teeth feel so lovely.

Lunchtime Massage appointment today as well. My back is doing better but I have decided massages every other week are key.

Tomorrow we have NOTHING.

Thursday I need to go for my glucose test (which requires fasting so we do this first thing in the morning) and for my bile acid bloodwork.

Friday first thing in the morning I will go for my rhogram injection. That's for my RH - status. I got one after the first amnio, but they recommend a 2nd injection at 28 weeks. Then I get to see my best buddy, Dr. Ghidini again. Just a routine check to measure baby and check the lungs via sonogram. I am slightly nervous but confident things will still be good.

Tuesday of next week I go for my next OB check-up with Dr. J-C. That is when we will schedule the c-section.

Then I get to relax & enjoy Thanksgiving!

The big sister's room is finally coming together. While I was out relaxing with my friend KK last night getting a pedicure and having dinner, Dad & the girl put together her new dresser (she hammered & was very proud) and 4 bookcases for her new room. Really now it is just a matter of moving her bed, clothes, and wall hangings etc. Hopefully by this weekend she'll be settling into the new digs. I'll post pictures once we get it done.

We're supposed to be here this week...

Who Did This?

My mama took this picture of me this past weekend when I was visiting her. WHO DID THIS? All of a sudden I am huge! 6 months +.

The Girl & I go to the Oyster Fest

The Girl and I decided to celebrate our good news last week with a trip to the 49th annual Urbanna Oyster Festival (her 5th my 28th or so). Dad had to work and thus couldn't join us. With the boss' approval we decided to play hookie and got up on Friday morning and headed to Gramma's!

















Happy to be at Gram's house!

The Good News Just Continues

From least to most important....

1. Britney dumps K-Fed --- Isn't FedEx the BEST celeb moniker ever?

2. Dems take the House!

3. Dems appear to take the senate with VIRGINIA'S new senator elect Webb. Just a few months ago, behind 16 points in the polls. Thank you former Governor & soon to be former Senator Maccaca Allen!

4. Rumsfeld steps down!

5. We have our first EVER female Speaker of the House.

6. It appears that "deciding factor" Justice Kennedy is at least asking the tough and good questions on the current abortion case before the Surpreme Court. Can I just reiterate ... No Uterus...NO OPINION. Still, I was heartened to hear some justice on NPR (not sure which one) in the proceedings yesterday say and I am paraphrasing, "But we aren't talking about any fetus who would be viable outside the womb. These are not fetuses who are going to live. Period." And maybe the same guy maybe someone else chiming in saying that shouldn't judges stay out of the way of the doctors and the women faced with the decisions, i.e. the judge makes a bad decision and a woman pays for it with her future fertility or even her life.

Maybe I am hypersensitive to this issue having just faced a potential "late-term" abortion. I was 19 weeks pregnant when we found out that our baby was struggling. We had an ultrasound tech actually use the word "catastrophic" in reference to the potential problems. Typically, the edema and fluid on the lungs is a sign that the baby has a devastating anamoly - genetic or structural - and is NOT going to make it. It looks like we are going to be EXTRAORDINARILY fortunate and have faced down incredible odds. Babies with this have a 2-50% survival rate depending on the underlying cause. That means more than HALF don't make it.

I can NOT imagine ending a pregnancy that I wanted, especially when you are half way there. But what I can NOT imagine even more than that is being told I have NO CHOICE but to carry to term & deliver a child that is dead or who will die shortly after delivery. Many woman choose that route. Others do not, finding it to be severely emotionally traumatizing. How about this? Let's let the women actually faced with the decision, in consultation with their doctors, decide!

I am not 100% sure what I would have decided if I had to make a decision. Thank goodness I did not have to go there. However, I do know the important thing to me and my psychological health was that I had a choice. I could decide. Either way. I always believed in my convictions before being put to this test. Now, I even more firmly believe that no one can make that decision for anyone else. It is so personal and so difficult that is makes it impossible to be absolutist.

Life Is Good & Alessandro Ghidini is my favorite person on the planet...

The fluid is gone!!!!! I just got back from the follow-up sonogram and there were two perfect lungs. Dr. Ghidini indicates that once this resolves it doesn't reappear. Can you say RELIEF? The skin swelling is all gone. The lungs are totally clear. He looks healthy and kicked the hell out of the sonogram probe (I think he was thinking last time a needle poked me after I felt that thing). There is a small pocket of fluid in the belly but that is usually the last to resolve he says and should be gone by the follow-up.

I was SOOOOO Nervous today before the appointment. When asked how I am I am typically a "fine" "doing well" kind of responder. Well, when they asked me today I fessed up to being so nervous I thought I might throw up. I had tears in my eyes before he even put the jelly on my belly! Then I hear "I see lungs" and I say, "LUNGS as in 2" and he says, "Yes, two beautiful lungs!" I was bawling. I couldn't speak. The Doc very funny "where's my stoic mom? This is good news!" I was able to say Thank you and I love you I think. Love love love Dr. Ghindini. He has been a rock through this procedure and he even said I was a great mom/patient. Usually (as we suspected) moms are a bit more freaked out --- understandably so. I tried and was for the most part very zen. Yoga breathing, not stressing, asking good questions but not overly anxious. I figured what good will it do for me to totally freak out? Ok on the inside, I was freaking out.

I don't really believe in miracles ... so I am chalking this up to a miracle assisted by a couple of medical interventions. I go back in 2 weeks for measurements and to make sure everything is as it should be but he said to expect a totally normal outcome!

I am in shock. Happy shock, but shock. We've gone from fatalistic, to measured hope, to pretty much damn we are going to have to get ready for this baby! Thank you to every single one of you who has counseled, listened, hugged, and sent positive vibes our way. I feel like I can breathe for the first time in 6 weeks and 4 days!

Today I am Nervous...

I don't know why (well that's a lie) but the closer I get to sonogram appointments the more anxious and frayed I get. I manage well for most of the time when its off in the distance - a week or more away. Even 3 days + I am ok. Then it gets to be the day before and then the day of and I get very worked up. And the harder I try to be calm, the less calm I am. I am sure it is the lack of control and the not knowing what we'll see that is making me crazy, but it is MAKING ME CRAZY.

I get crabby. I get busy. I try to do too much. To distract myself. I worry. I know that nothing I do can change what we will see ... either more fluid, less fluid, no fluid. It is a balancing act because I want to be prepared for the worst but even when you tell yourself not to hope for total resolution you have that glimmer of hope that they ultrasound will show its all gone! You don't want to hope for that, because you don't want to be disappointed, but in reality you can't help but hope.

This kid is the greatest test of my life. The thing I can't believe is that every break so far is going in our direction. That too has to give us hope. My OB yesterday said at the next appointment in 3 weeks (November 21) we'll schedule my c-section for 38 weeks. As if scheduling it can make it so! She's very into the power of positive thinking. We talked - our appointments are more like counseling sessions now than OB appointments. So she comes in after everything is looking ok - BP is fine, weight is good, measurements are good - and sits and says, "Talk to me." So I talk. She listens. She tells me I am absolutely right to be scared to death but also to have hope. Because there are so many things pointing to the fact that this kid is strong and that he's fighting and that whatever is wrong its not structural, its not chromosomal, its not infectious.

I can't give up. Not just yet. 25 weeks, 4 days ... and COUNTING.

Us in STJ

Let the Appointments Resume...

Today at 10:30 am I have my routine 6 month ob appointment. Measure the bump, pee in a cup, take the blood pressure, and generally make sure MOM is relatively healthy.

Tomorrow at lunchtime I am squeezing in a back massage --- Thank you Jenny for fitting me in --- to hopefully give my back some relief. I am not an s-curve today but its still pretty pinched.

Tomorrow at 2 pm we go in for our fluid check-up/sonogram. I sound like a used car going in for an oil change. If the check is good ... we're done for now (for like a week). If little man has more fluid on the lung then we are back to the hospital Friday morning for another thoracocentesis.

Let the games begin again.........