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It's been far too long since I've uploaded some pictures of Em, so here you go. She's just the sweetest thing lately. We have SO much fun together. I told Brad the other night, I was expecting to have a holy terror on my hands by this age. She just seems to get more affectionate, better behaved, and more fun as the days go by. This week she's started to ask "where it go?" with her hands in the air. It's the cutest thing EVER!!
The other day we went to Trader Joe's. The cashier said "hey, cutie!" to Emma. Her response? "Hey, cutie!" We just about died. She's talking SO much these days. Every day she comes up with new words and puts together more words. Right now she's combining 3 or so. Her favorite song is Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. She gets us to sing it by saying "up above the....." Precious. She loves to say "come on, Lucy." She sounds so country with that one though - it usually sounds like "come own, Lucy." She also learned how to knock on doors, thanks to her Mimi. There's nothing like being in the restroom and hearing what sounds like an adult knocking on the door, only to find out it's Emma!
She's quite the little eater too. If it's spicy, she wants it. Her favorite meal of all time is jambalaya with turkey smoked sausage. She will eat TONS of it. She also likes white bean chicken chili, spaghetti (well, she hates spaghetti noodles, but loves penne, ziti, or whatever else with marinara sauce). She adores beans or peas of any kind. She hates green beans these days, but loves corn, green peas, sweet potatoes, baked potatoes (with plenty of butter, salt, pepper, and cheese!). She eats waffles just about every morning. They're easy, and I'm guaranteed that she'll eat them. She also loves cheese eggs, but only if mommy cooks them. Daddy found that one out the hard way!
She's an excellent sleeper. She goes to bed around 8:30 or so, and we don't hear a peep until 7:30-8:30 the next morning. She has to sleep with Brobee and Muno (from Yo Gabba Gabba.) I've tried taking one out, but she notices and asks for him. She's a mess. I'm not going to complain though!
We're getting her big girl room ready. Brad is still in the very slow process of cleaning out what WAS our guest bedroom/office/dumping ground for all of Brad's......well, let's be honest. Crap. We're going to paint the walls a pale pink and she's getting black and ivory toile bedding. Her furniture will also be white. I can't wait to see it come together! We plan to transition her well before Abby comes, so that it's not all new. We're going to borrow the white crib that my parents have and aren't using, and let her use that until she is really ready for a toddler bed. Why mess with 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep?? We have a toddler bed that I got off of Craigslist for $20, waiting to go. We ALSO have a twin bed and mattress that she can use next. We're all set!
I am so happy that she's getting a sister. A brother would have been a blessing too, but I've always dreamed of a sister and am SO glad that Emma will get to experience that. She'll never be alone. Never have to make decisions alone. The older I get, the more I wish I had that. I'm so blessed that Emma will. I can't wait to see the two together. Emma will be the bossy "Angelica" sister (from Rugrats, if anyone remembers that!). I can see it now. I can't wait!!
So that was 26 weeks pregnant with Emma, followed by 26 weeks pregnant with Abby. I'm cracking up. Why is it that I had a full-time job, was tired all the time, and going through my first pregnancy, and I looked 100 times better than I do now?? Hysterical. I guess this is more of a picture to show you what chasing around a 20 month old all day can do to a girl. In reality, I think I was better about getting right up on Saturday mornings, getting makeup on, and having Brad snap pictures, than I am now. Now it usually occurs to me to have him take them at night, after a full day of exhaustion! I think the belly looks a little bigger with Abby though!I'm doing pretty well. Feeling good, other than a lot of back pain and being tired all the time. Emma's started to point to my belly and say "baby," which is funny because we really don't talk about it too much. I don't want to confuse her and don't know how much she has the capability to understand. We DO read several books about babies in mommy's belly and she loves them. Maybe that's where it came from.I have my monthly OB visit tomorrow. Things, medically speaking, have been going very well. At my last Perinatology visit, the doctor even dismissed me! She said that my doctor's office was doing a very capable job of managing my GD and that I was doing great. My blood pressure was excellent, and, pending no further complications, I don't have to go back! I'm thrilled. It was more than a notion to make it to 2 appointments a month. I will still have to have 2 per WEEK later on in my pregnancy, but I'll cross that bridge when it comes. Besides, Brad will be out for the summer for most of that time.I've been really enjoying Abby this week. She's just so sweet - even on the inside. She NEVER keeps me up at night like Emma did. She will occasionally let me know that she doesn't like the position I'm in, but she's very nice about it. :) She has some BIG kicks that I was even able to catch on video the other night. It creeps Brad out beyond belief. I think he's watched to many science fiction movies.Can't wait until tomorrow to hear her precious heartbeat again!
I haven't posted any updates on my Dad in quite awhile, and there have been some pretty recent developments, so I thought I should. He was diagnosed with lung cancer about 2 years ago (I think it may have even been longer, because I don't think I was pregnant with Emma yet.) He had it surgically removed and all of his scans showed no signs of cancer. Several months ago, after having regular PET scans to detect it, we learned that his cancer was back, and in his "healthy" lung. The doctors felt pretty positive about his prognosis and prescribed chemotherapy.
He has undergone several months of chemo treatments and hasn't felt great through them, as was to be expected. He hasn't lost any hair, or vomited. However, he's got no energy, has had a terrible upset stomach, and has lost a ton of weight because of his lack of appetite and nausea. Throughout the chemo he would undergo scans to determine how well the chemo was working. The doctors felt fairly good about his treatment. After his last "big" chemo treatment, the doctors said that, while his tumors had not gotten any smaller, they were not growing either. This was good news and the doctors hoped that maintenance chemo treatments would keep the cancer stable.
Unfortunately, we found out on February 18th that this wasn't the case. His tumors had grown and had somewhat spread. The doctors don't feel that the chemo worked as well as they had hoped for because, if it did, this wouldn't have happened. Therefore, chemo was not another viable option. At this point there is only one possible treatment that may give him some more time. It's a very expensive pill regimen which has some nasty side effects. Many insurance companies will not cover it, so we were told to expect it to take weeks to be approved, if it would be at all. Luckily, my mom got a call the next day that the prescription was approved and he could start taking it the following day.
That little bottle of 30 pills would have cost over $4000 without insurance. Incredible. Dad started taking the pills a few days ago and has since had a lot of nausea, dizziness, and stomach cramps. He's a bit of a baby when it comes to stomach issues, so he's certain it's the end of the world. Men..... Because of the nausea, he's not been eating.
This morning, after speaking to his doctor, the doctor wanted to see him. They are taking him off of the pills for the next few days to see what happens. He's also got a new prescription (he's got more than I can count) for nausea. He also got to go sit through an hour and a half round of IV fluids, and gets to do the same tomorrow for dehydration. If he would quit being stubborn and drink something, we wouldn't be in this position. But, being the stubborn, hardheaded (Brad says he knows now where I get it from!) man that he is, he's still refusing to eat or drink anything.
Please keep him in your prayers right now. If you talk to him, please try to stay positive. He's well aware of how serious this is, and needs to have something to live for. We need him to get some energy back, start eating and drinking, and back on those pills so that he has a fighting chance of seeing his grand babies grow up some more. We have no clue as to where things will go from here, or of an exact prognosis or timeline. I'm devastated to think that there's a possibility that he may never get to meet Abby on this earth. Pregnancy is difficult. But trying to stay positive and enjoy this pregnancy as I know I should, is nearly impossible. I'm overjoyed that God has decided to entrust Brad and I with another blessing, but I wish he wasn't taking one away at the same time. Please pray.
So I guess I lied a little when I said that I hadn't been taking any pictures. In actuality, I've taken a ton of pictures - just not with the camera. I'm a bit addicted to my iphone, as is Brad. It's always with me and easy to pull out to snap a picture of something cute Emma does, or to take sweet pictures to send to Brad throughout the day. In fact, while he watched Emma when I had an OB appointment yesterday, I think he sent me 5 or 6 pictures!
So, here they are, in no particular order. (Though they were all taken over the last 3 weeks or so!)
While I think that most of these are self-explanatory, there are 2 I'd like to tell you about. "Prison Break" was hysterical. She had just finished her breakfast and I was cleaning up the kitchen while chatting with my mom online. The next thing I knew, Emma got too quiet. I turned around to see that she had pulled a pillow off of the sofa and was using it to attempt to climb over the baby gate - silently! I just about died. Hysterical.
The one of Emma and Brad that doesn't have a caption was one of the sweetest moments. After I gave her a bath, Brad lotioned her up and put on her jammies. She sleeps in a sleep sack (wearable blanket) because she would get cold otherwise and won't keep on a blanket. So in this picture she's wearing her jammies and her sleep sack and she and Brad are watching a little bit of Yo Gabba Gabba just before time for her bedtime stories and prayers. She's just absentmindedly playing with his beard. How sweet is that??? They are so in love with one another - makes me one happy Mama.
So now you can see why I like the iPhone better than the camera these days. The camera may take better pictures, but I don't have it strapped to me 24/7 and would have missed nearly ALL of these moments otherwise. By the way, the picture quality was pretty good to start out with, but I used the "Polarize" app on my phone to make them a little "different." Hence the old-fashioned looking quality. I'll try to upload them more regularly now because it was SO much easier than using pictures off of the camera!
Unfortunately, I've been slacking on my job as the family photographer lately, and haven't had any new ultrasounds from which to post pictures. That means that this will be a boring post. Sorry! I'm mostly posting this update for my own benefit later on, as I've found my blog VERY useful during this pregnancy because I can look back on when I was pregnant with Emma and see what happened and when.
I have been following my GD (gestational diabeetus) diet pretty stringently. I have 2 carb servings for breakfast and each of 3 snacks, and 3 carb servings for lunch and dinner. It's no fun. Trust me. As a pregnant woman, the LAST thing you want to do is read every single package before you make a meal choice, or restrict yourself from something you're craving. But I'm doing it. Daily.
My glucose levels have been pretty well regulated. During the day, I have control of my levels to some extent. What I eat pretty much denotes how high my blood sugar will be. I can exercise to lower it a little if I've had a little too much. I've done really well with this. The only hard part is getting in enough protein - I've NEVER had this much daily protein in my life! I've discovered the joys of low-fat Greek yogurt - they have the most protein of any other snack that I can come up with. And they're good!
As good as my daily levels have been (unless I eat pizza or something else naughty), my fasting levels first thing in the morning were higher than I'd like them. The doctor wants to see them below 95, which they sometimes were. Then they crept up, 96, 98, 101. Unfortunately, there's not much I can do about my fasting levels. No matter WHAT I had the night before, it's completely out of my system when I test in the morning. According to my perinatologist, these morning levels tell you the most about how your body is handling the GD.
So I emailed my nurse practitioner and started on a low level of Glyburide, to lower my levels some. So far, so good. I still have to be very mindful of what I eat, but, for the most part, my morning levels are lower. So that's where I stand. I have an appointment with my regular OB in 2 weeks or so, and then my monthly appointment with the perinatologist for an ultrasound and check-up. I'm hoping all goes well with both!
Can't believe I'm 20 weeks already. It has flown. This week I've been feeling lots of kicks and movement, which I hadn't felt much of up until now.
Emma's doing great. She's an absolute angel lately. She's the sweetest, most affectionate, funniest baby I've ever seen. I'd love to freeze her like this forever!! Her new thing is to say "come on." She'll be ready for her nap and meet me at the door saying "come on baby." SO sweet! She also says everything in a really precious high-pitched voice. Melts my heart.
She's had 2 little accidents this week. :( She stayed with Brad's parents while Brad and I had a little date night. When we got back, we were just in time to see her trip and fall on her face on the hardwood floor. She got her first busted lip. Broke my heart. It only bled for a minute, and a popcicle did the trick of calming her down. Then, a couple of days ago, Brad was cleaning up her high chair after breakfast while she played in the living room. Unfortunately, the cats were locked in the room with her (I think Brad learned a new lesson on this one!). She loves to hold them down and "kiss" on them, pet them, follow them, chase them, etc. She has no fear. The next thing we know, Emma's got 2 little nicks on her nose and is hysterical. Brad went a little postal on the cats, which apparently amused Emma. It's really not very bad, but scared her nonetheless. I think they may have both learned a little healthy respect.
I'll try to remember to take more pictures this week! I promise!
