20 week appointment

Introducing- George Arthur:

Yes, that is really his name. Yes, it is old-fashioned, but that is cool with us. And yes, I am kind of hoping that he is an innately curious child so I can call him my curious little monkey ;)

I am sure I am the only person who really appreciates the shadowy ultrasound pictures, but I thought I would share them anyways.

Limbs? Arms, I think.

So far, so good. His MCA looked great today- no signs of anemia. All his chromosome tests looked fine. They looked more closely at his heart, which looked fine. He has the little c antigen, but not kell. The doctor said that, of the two, little c is definitely preferable to kell. Kell is more aggressive and this would have been my third kell sensitized pregnancy, upping the chance of problems. So, while it would have been nice for him not to have any antigens, this is really the best scenario if he does.

So we are doing MCAs every two weeks until 32 weeks and then probably weekly after that with an added biophysical profile. They are going to check growth every 4 weeks. He is a nice, chubby guy so far- his estimated weight today was 14 oz. We *might* do an amnio around 36 weeks to test his amniotic fluid for bilirubin, since the MCAs are not as accurate then. (and I would probably ask them to test for lung maturity while they were at it). I like my doctor, but I foresee that we might run into a difference of opinion on when it might be good to induce and get the baby out verses waiting. He seems reasonable so I hope a compromise can be easily reached, if that is the case.

George has the long, kicky legs already.

In response to my last post, yes, everyone did end up getting the stomach flu, except for Issy. And we were better by Easter. And I will just say, for the record, I would rather go through unmedicated (non-induced) labor and birth than have the stomach flu. Adelle, however, woke up ridiculously early this morning and has been sporadically clutching her ear and crying while she says, "Ear hurts." So apparently, we aren't out of the illness woods yet :P But it is a lovely day and my baby looks good, so I think it'll be a good day anyways :)

I just need to get everyone well...

Passing the yuckiness around here, which is a bummer. Well, I guess it is just the boys who have gotten it, and I am hoping against hope that no one else gets it (specifically, Adelle. I hate it when the baby gets sick, it is so much harder since they can't communicate effectively.) Or, if we do all get it, we can be done with it before Easter. Low expectations, friends, it makes life with small children bearable.

I got the preliminary chromosomal results of the amnio back (which I didn't realize they could do a quick test- the full test takes a couple of weeks) and he looks fine from that standpoint. Hooray! I am starting to feel back to normal. It took a little longer this time- maybe because this is the earliest I have had it done? I can't overstate how much I am glad that is over. And how I am really hoping that is the last needle in my belly I will need this pregnancy. I am so sincerely hoping to avoid needing any in utero tranfusions. We shall see.

We learned this last week that Lamby is a must for Adelle to sleep. She got Lamby last Easter, a cheap grocery store stuffed animal for her Easter basket that quickly became "the One". I never intended on Lamby being the One. She looked worn about a month after being loved on. So a couple of weeks ago I went to the grocery store and got New Lamb. Same lamb, only cream colored instead of brown and she looks like Lamby must have looked a year ago.

Well, Adelle left Lamby at a friend's house last week and I thought it was no big deal, she could sleep with New Lamb.

Only, no. No, no, no. She went to sleep ok, woke up about an hour later and it was downhill from there. She would flail her arms out, looking for Lamby and cry. From about 9:30 to 1:30. It was awful, poor little thing. I would try to hand her New Lamb, she would fiddle with it for a minute and then throw it.

Blessedly, Lamby was returned to us the next day and she has been sleeping fine ever since. Scary, though. Must protect Lamby as if my very life (or at least my sleep) depends on it from now on.

The Bump

17 weeks 6 days

Really glad that part is over

Amnio done yesterday. Whew. Luckily, I had the first appointment of the day (7:30- oy!) so we didn't have to sit forever in the waiting room. In and out by 8:15, including getting me and Joe's blood drawn.

We went in and found a spot where they could take the fluid. Good news- even though the placenta is anterior (covering the front of my uterus), he was able to get a spot right beside it, instead of having to go through it. Baby was on the other side, breech, so there was a nice big spot with no placenta or baby. Not having to go through the placenta means lower risk of further sensitizing me if the baby has an antigen, so hooray!

Needle in, fluid out, needle out. Ouch! I had a pretty bad cramp right after they took the needle out, and then I got quite woozy and my ears started ringing even though I was reclined. I asked for some water and the kind resident that was working with the doctor that day got me a wet washcloth and I started to perk up. They did an MCA and his numbers looked fine.

Joe asked if they could confirm the sex, since the baby was pretty small last time, even though we were pretty sure we knew. And yes, most definitely another son.

Several people helped us out yesterday (thanks Mom, Erika and Michelle!) so that I could rest after it was over. My abdomen still kinda hurts a bit today and I have had some cramping here and there, but overall, much better. We get the results of the chromosomal testing in two weeks and he said that the antigen information might take less time, or it might take the two weeks, so we are prepared to wait a couple of weeks to find out. And then we can just take it from there.

Quiet spring days...

One of the kids (Issy?) picked me a flower, that I shared with the baby
(photo by Joe)

Soaking up every bit of spring over here. Baby growing and moving in the womb. I even felt him from the outside the other day. Amnio day tomorrow. One of my least favorite days with each pregnancy, but at least it'll be over.

Daddy reading A Magic School Bus book over lunch. Love having him home for lunch.

School is lovely again. I think I might just have to come to terms with the fact that sometimes it is going to be easy and rewarding and the kids are going to be easily engaged and receptive and sometimes it will seem like hard work and the kids are going to whine and I am going to feel tired and impatient. Thank goodness for the lovely and rewarding times.

My sweet oldest two.
(editing by Joe.)

Even with Joe working a gazillion hours a week and the uncertainty of what this pregnancy will hold, life is good right now. I am feeling very loved and supported and the kids are reflecting that back with good behavior, for the most part.

Missing mountains

When Joe and I decided to move up to Idaho (almost) four years ago, I had no idea what I was getting into. Since the beginning of our marriage, he had wanted to move to the mountains. I was dubious. I liked living by our families and all of our friends and as much as I liked to vacation in the mountains, I didn't mind leaving when our trip was over.
But the opportunity presented itself and we took it. I was so lonely at first. It was the first time I didn't know *anyone* except for Joe. And I had a 4,3 and 1 year old. But they got easier and I made some friends and honestly, I got used to solitude. It wasn't perfect, but it was a good life.
When we had the chance to move back here, at first it seemed like a no-brainer. I mean, I didn't ever ask for that life in the first place- I had been content here. After an initial feeling of relief that now life would go back to "normal", I realized I didn't really want to leave. Being there changed me.

Early in our marriage, when Joe wanted to move, I always thought that if we lived in the mountains that I would begin to take the beauty for granted. Lose some of the awe that a Kansas girl has when she sees the mountains approaching. But I lived there for two years and three months and I only fell more in love with it and only grew in awe of the beauty that was there.
There was just so much to discover. We drove by the road to Darby Canyon for about a year before we ever went down it. And it was so breathtaking. It was there all along, just waiting for us to see. Even places we went to often never got old- the landscape changed with the weather, with the season. Streams that were roaring in June were bubbling in August. Green buds in April were red and orange and yellow leaves in September.
There are many blessings here- friends, family, spring in Kansas, swimming on a hot July day, easy access to prenatal care. But I still feel homesick for the mountains. Often. When I lived there, it was easy to call up a sister or friend and it was like I was sitting in her living room, having a cup of coffee. But when we left there, I couldn't take the feeling I have sitting by a river after a hike, sunlight filtering through pine trees, back with me.
Having been back for 18 months, I feel like life is mostly "normal" now. But I also feel like I changed in a way that I can't take back and I will always be a mountain girl, no matter where I live. It's it my bones now. I can only hope that I get to be back there someday.

The baby must like coffee

... since I can feel him kicking around in there as I drink a cup :)
Trying to decide what I want to do for school next year, curriculum-wise. We are doing more of a Charlotte Mason approach this year- taking some great ideas from Elizabeth Foss' Serendipity website, particularly the Alphabet Path. This was working great until I got pregnant and tired and it has been much harder since then. I have guilt for this. I start to compare myself to "other" homeschooling moms- big families which means being pregnant a lot, they craft, bake, keep seemingly perfect homes, plan creative, enriching lessons. How do they do it? Better time management? How are they not exhausted?
I don't even get the really bad morning sickness and I still feel like curling up in bed for the first trimester. I mean, I don't do it, but I really want to. Maybe I am just whinier than other people? Slightly overdramatic? Not very good at offering up and sacrificing? At any rate, we kept up on the basics, learning-wise, in January and February but there were no fun trips to Exploration Place or winter nature walks. Oh well. There is a season for everything, right?
The first trimester was good for one thing- it forced me to be realistic about my limitations next year. I don't suppose it'll be too much easier with a newborn (well, maybe, but that is hard to predict). So I think I am going to go a more structured approach next year. Thinking about Mother of Divine Grace since we have used that before. And then I will add in things as I feel able.
It is hard to let go of some of my idealized, better-in-my-head-than-in-practice plans for right now.