Happy 6th Birthday, LO!

Wow! It's been a month since my last post! Can you tell life gets crazy when you add kiddo #3 to the mix? My goodness... We're settling into our new routine with baby E and luckily he's a super awesome baby, so that helps offset the crazy of his big sister and big bro! LOL!

So today's post is all about sweet little LO's 6th birthday party today! ((Let's just take a moment to let that sink in... I'm writing on my blog TODAY about an event that took place TODAY and publishing it TODAY. This never happens anymore!)) I can't believe she's 6 this week. Where does the time go?? And Chase is such a big kid these days, too... hard to believe he's going to start preschool NEXT MONTH!! Stay tuned for that post, which will most definitely be drenched in lots o' mommy tears.

We celebrated LO's birthday today, although she's not "officially" SIX until Thursday. ;) She wanted a My Little Pony theme and I'm happy to report the girl basically planned her own party! It made things easier on me for her to have her own little opinion on every.single.thing. I'm pretty sure she's happy with how it turned out so we'll consider it a big success! Here are some pics of her big day!

Hello, cupcakes!

Mmmmmmm!

Gotta have a pic of the yummy food -- all selected by LO down to the "red" and "green" Pringles. ;)

Little E is getting SOOOOOO big! And look at that proud big sis keeping an eye on him. Love.

This is hilarious. So Chase was in his swim suit with socks. So I asked him to take his socks off so he could go outside for the water games. He came back downstairs a few minutes later, still wearing socks, but now in his Mickey Mouse dress up shorts that I made him for his Halloween costume last year. This kid. He always keeps me laughing!

Now that the swim suit is back on, it's time for backyard water fun! My silly little boy loves him some water!

Who knew making water balloons was so easy, even a 6 year old could do it!

Look at this beautiful niece of mine! She's got a big birthday coming up in just over a month!

Girls demonstrating some serious water balloon concentration and teamwork.

After some quick snacks, it's time to open gifts!

Lots of great fun, from My Little Pony to Hello Kitty to Rapunzel. Every little girl's dream!

Getting ready to blow out her birthday candle! What a beautiful little girl!

Make a wish!!!

A birthday party's not a birthday party until a game of Twister breaks out! LOL!

Of course Chase had to get into the action...

Another shot of this sweetheart. She's trying to get this bike riding thing down by watching her cousins...

Oh -- did we forget? One last gift for the birthday girl... I'd say she approves.

Getting her ride on! This girl loves to fly!

What a wonderful day we had today with lots of our family and friends! We'll be celebrating LO's birthday all.week.long. with lots of fun festivities. And what great timing since she's only got about 31 days of summer left before starting FIRST GRADE. Geez.

Happy 6th Birthday, LO!!! I love you bunches!!!

Four Years and Two Days

I wanted to take a moment to recognize the anniversary of the biggest life-changing day in my family's life, but I couldn't bring myself to do it on the actual date, which happened to also be Father's Day! Speaking of which... here's a belated Happy Father's Day blog wish for my amazing hubs! Love him!!!

((WARNING: The following post contains graphic images. Continue at your own discretion.))

Four years and two days ago, our lives were forever changed when our unborn son was diagnosed with a complex congenital heart defect (CHD) called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, or HLHS. As you might imagine, we never expected it and certainly didn't know the first thing about it, yet we were immediately and unwillingly thrown into a world of chaos and confusion unlike anything we'd ever experienced in our lives. In fact, it took me six days just to put the words together to share the diagnosis on my blog. I can relive the day of June 16, 2009 in my mind like it happened yesterday.

Here's the post I wrote that chronicled that dark, devastating day in our lives.

Monday, June 22, 2009

The Diagnosis

This is the hardest blog post I've ever had to write. It's been almost a week that hubs and I have been reeling with the information that was provided to us, and I'm writing about it here in a genuine and sincere attempt to ask for your prayers as we head into the difficult journey that lies ahead.

On Monday, June 15th, hubs, LO and I headed to my 20-week ultrasound appointment with the anticipation of seeing images of our little boy. The ultrasound seemed relatively normal, measuring this and that, listening to the heartbeat, watching our son squirm around in his safe little home.

We waited what seemed like forever for the doctor to come in for the quick "any questions?" discussion, where we would say no, we're good to go.

Unfortunately, the doctor said something to us about not having very clear images of the baby's heart, and that she wanted us to visit a specialist who had more advanced equipment that could capture the pictures of the heart that were needed. She told us not to worry, that 9 times out of 10 it's nothing, don't be concerned, etc.

Miraculously I was able to heed her advice and not worry about the appointment that had been scheduled for us on Thursday, a good 3 days later. I was surprised to get a call not long after we left the 20-week appointment to tell us there was availability for us to come Tuesday, the very next day, for the appointment with the specialist. We jumped on it, just so we could hurry up and get our peace of mind back.

On Tuesday, June 16th, hubs and I left LO with Mona and met at the specialist's office for our ultrasound appointment. We were taken back and the technician started the ultrasound. She did some of the same measurements they had done the day before, and I patiently waited for her to give us an "all clear."

To my utter shock and horror, I vividly remember her muttering the phrase "I won't pretend that every is okay..." as she was trying to coerce the baby to move into the right positions so she could get a look at exactly what was going on. She left the room and brought the specialist, Dr. Greig, back in with her, and had him continue with the ultrasound. He was focusing on our son's heart, although all we could see was the black and white image surrounded with red and blue blotches that apparently indicated blood flow.

The doctor then dropped a completely unexpected bomb on us which we were not prepared to handle. He told us that it appeared our son had Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) and a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD). We were in utter disbelief. We had never heard of either of these conditions and immediately wanted to know what the impact would be for our unborn son.

We left the ultrasound room and waited for the specialist in a tiny little room where he would come in and explain a bit more about these conditions. It felt like an eternity in that little room, our minds racing and buzzing with all of the "what ifs" and "how did this happen" etc.

The doctor finally came in and explained to us that HLHS is one of the most complex and rare congenital heart conditions in which the left side of the heart is critically underdeveloped. With HLHS, the left side of the heart can't effectively pump blood to the body, so the right side of the heart must pump blood both to the lungs and to the rest of the body. Without treatment, hypoplastic left heart syndrome is FATAL, usually within the first few days of life.

The doctor attempted to provide 4 options to us, the first of which was termination of the pregnancy. I wouldn't even let him get the words out of his mouth before interrupting to tell him that wasn't an option. The next option was called "comfort care" where the baby is born and you do basically nothing but hold and love him until he passes, within the first few days of his life. Again, NOT an option. The third option was a heart transplant, in which case it would be very unlikely to find a new heart for our son within the first few days of his life. The final option was the ONLY option for us. It involves a three-step surgical procedure designed to create normal blood flow in and out of the heart, allowing the body to receive the oxygen-rich blood it needs. It is by no means a permanent "fix" to the problem, but rather a way to surgically reconstruct the heart to make it more likely to perform the functions of a regular heart.

As you might imagine, we were completely devastated at the diagnosis, and for the next 24-48 hours, we were totally numb as we both attempted to digest the information and wrap our minds around what was in store for us. We felt totally deflated, and the joy and anticipation of the pregnancy and of expecting a new baby were completely lost.

We struggled through the first week, telling only immediate family and a few close friends about our situation. It was a very difficult and trying time, most of which I spent researching HLHS on the Internet, finding both uplifting, positive information as well as deflating, disappointing, heart wrenching information.

So finally today arrives, Monday, June 22nd. We had our appointment with a Pediatric Cardiologist, Dr. Horne. While we weren't expecting the diagnosis to change, we were hopeful that he wouldn't find any additional problems with the baby or his heart. Dr. Horne did confirm the diagnosis of HLHS and confirmed the baby would need the 3 surgeries in order to live.

While we are still reeling with the information and are devastated to learn that our baby has a serious and rare heart defect, we are trusting in God for His hand of healing and protection on our son. We know He is able to do more than we could ever ask or imagine, and will continue to trust in Him throughout this journey.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and prayers as we face an uncertain future. I will update the blog as often as possible/necessary throughout this process. I don't have another appointment scheduled until July 15th, so there hopefully won't be much of anything to share about the baby and his heart problem, but I will also continue to post about the fun and random things that happen to us and our precious LO. Can you believe she'll be TWO in just over a month? I'll be working on party details soon, so you can look forward to hearing more about that, too!

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers!!!

Chase was born on October 26, 2009. He underwent his first open-heart surgery at a mere 7 days of age on Monday, November 2, 2009. They took him back at 6:33 AM and it would be over 8 hours later, at 2:55 PM, before he was out of surgery. We were able to see him for about 5 minutes after he was settled into the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU) at MUSC Children's Hospital in Charleston, SC.

This is our 1-week-old son following his first surgery. The nurses were kind enough to cover him with a blanket so I couldn't see his open chest and beating heart. It would be three days before the surgeon would close his chest as they needed to allow for the swelling that takes place following this surgery.

He had his share of bumps in the road, which included chest compressions when he crashed coming out of a bronchoscopy procedure, as well as vocal cord paresis and other hurdles before we were discharged when Chase was 5 weeks old. We returned home to learn how to live in our "new normal" world.

Just over 3 months later, we found ourselves back at MUSC for Chase's second scheduled heart surgery. On Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 5:45 AM, we handed our son over yet again to the amazingly talented cardiac team at MUSC Children's Hospital. At 3:08 PM, just over 9 hours later, Chase was out of surgery and getting settled into the PCICU.

Here he is following his second heart surgery:

I can't help but find myself in tears as I relive these days/weeks in my family's lives. Seeing my son connected to medical devices and the numerous medications that were sustaining his life is hard no matter how long ago we experienced it. I can put myself back into that PCICU, sitting at his bedside, listening to the beeping of his pumps and monitors as if it all happened yesterday. Such a scary time not knowing what the future held for my little boy.

Fast-forward four years later. We got that diagnosis and by the grace of God, we were able to get through the uncertainties that lay ahead. We got through two heart surgeries and have one amazing little boy -- our living, breathing miracle from God -- that reminds us every day just how faithful our God is. It is only by His grace that I can share these:

An almost 4-year-old boy who loves the water and is so proud of himself for jumping in from the side and going underwater just like his big sister!

That same boy who received his first "big boy" bike and has asked every day since to go outside and ride it.

A boy who LOVES him some trains (like the one he's "driving" below), Buzz Lightyear, Super Mario Bros. Wii, BREAD, and every puzzle he can get his hands on -- no matter how big or small!

A big kid who had his very first sleepover at his grandma's house (along with big sister LO) just two short weeks ago, without any concern of being away from mommy & daddy overnight for the first time ever.

Four years and two days ago we experienced the beginning of something that no parent should ever have to face. And yet, here we are today, with an unbelievable blessing in our lives who brings us more joy than I could express. We wouldn't be where we are if it weren't for the grace of God and the love, support and prayers of our family and friends (and blog readers!). We love our sweet boy and it is my prayer that he will continue to bless us for another 80 years!!!

NOTE: His third and final scheduled heart surgery will most likely take place next spring. Please begin praying even now for a successful surgery with no complications for our sweet little Rock Star Chase.

Big Milestone!

Somebody lost her very first tooth today!! And guess where???

In a ginormous community swimming pool!!!

Thanks to her awesome cousins for organizing a search party to locate it so the tooth fairy can get it tonight! A quarter is still the going rate for a tooth, right??




- Posted using my beloved iPhone 5

Big Kid Milestone!

LO has a big announcement to share! My baby girl is growing up!!!

- Posted using my beloved iPhone 5

6 Weeks

Warning: I've had like 11 hours of sleep over the past month. As such, this post will be very random and totally all over the place. ;)

It's hard to believe little E will be 6 weeks old tomorrow. I feel like he's been a part of our family forever! And I'm also surprised it's been almost a month since my last post. Lame! I guess it's fair to say I've had my hands full the past several weeks. Combine that with the measly few interrupted hours of sleep I get each night and maybe y'all can let me off the hook. Yes? Thankyouverymuch.

So as I mentioned, E is almost 6 weeks old. He's pushing almost 10 lbs., which is quite impressive considering he was 6 lbs. 14 oz. at birth and dropped down to 6 lbs. 6 oz. shortly thereafter. I guess I can say he's been eating well, right? Ugh. The nursing. That whole process that is supposed to be so very natural and easy? Notsomuch. My last post shared a bit of the trials of breastfeeding I was experiencing just one short month ago. I'm happy to say we got through that major hurdle and are here on the bright side now. I'm super cautious about my supply and have started the whole regimen of herbs (galactogogues) to keep my supply up for my hungry little hippo, but overall we're seeing a lot of success! This makes me one happy mama!

The older two kids... wow... they've taken to their little brother quite well for the most part. LO is exactly as I thought she'd be: the perfect little junior mama bear. She's constantly rubbing his head, helping with his paci, notifying me immediately when he needs something. She's the first to run to him when he starts to cry (I only gave him about a week or two of that immediate response time before starting to let him work on self-soothing). Chase isn't a huge fan of the crying, but I'll still occasionally catch him chatting with his little brother and "helping" him play with his toys. It's super cute to see how well these two have adjusted.

They even seem to get along with each other kind of good-ish. Sometimes. Rarely. Oh well.

I got a new lens for my camera, and I am absolutely in love! I haven't retouched these next two photos (although I should have before sharing them with you all) but they show off my awesome new 50mm lens.

I love love LOVE this shot!

Oh, so LO went and did a crazy thing earlier this month... she graduated from Kindergarten! Not sure why she's holding her dress weird in this pic, but I'm too lazy to go back to iPhoto to grab a better one. Sorry!

I made my boy some homemade BabyLegs! Basically leg warmers made from socks. These were a pair of my old socks here. Gotta say I love these since I typically only have E in a onesie and so this way, his legs stay warm and it makes diaper changes easier.

These two kids had a sleepover at Mona's house last weekend! It was Chase's VERY FIRST TIME EVER SPENDING THE NIGHT AWAY FROM MOMMY (other than his nights in the PCICU at MUSC when he was born). He did amazing (as I expected) and there was minimal crying involved (all by mommy, of course!). This was one tiny step towards getting me ready to let him start school this fall! Ha!

Saturday after their sleepover we took the kids to DQ for lunch (yum!) and then to a train exhibit in a nearby town. It was small but the kids were super impressed. They both love them some trains! I'm sure their little brother will join in the train fun when he's bigger. We had a great time seeing all the various model train displays and pushing all of the buttons!

This baby. I just love him. Especially that smile of his!!!

All my three loves playing "together." I love LO's face here. You can tell she's just smitten with this baby brother of hers! And Chase, of course, is in his own world playing with baby brother's toys. LOL!

So that's a little recap of some of what we've been up to lately. I promise I'll try to make an effort to post more frequently... for those of you who are still checking in on us! ;)

Now to go make some cupcakes... at 10:24 PM. ((yawn!))

What it is

First of all, this new little bundle of ours is simply amazing! He's just perfect and has made the most wonderful addition to our family. He sleeps well, eats well and overall has the most pleasant personality.

Our first week & a half at home was great (exhausting as expected but great!), but things took a turn over Mother's Day weekend when I developed a complication that has rendered me completely useless. Two straight days in bed, four days on one antibiotic with worsening symptoms resulting in a repeat trip to my OB today for another two medications. And it'll be another 2 or so days before we know if this regimen is working. Guess only getting 2-hour stretches of sleep at most for over 2 weeks now has contributed to my body running itself into the ground.

In the meantime the only productive thing I can do is pump breast milk for the baby. I can't even nurse him, which for those of you who know me well, know how important this is to me. I am devastated but praying praying praying it's only temporary.

I haven't been able to care for my older two kids. I haven't been able to care for my baby. I pump, then hubs feeds him a bottle, changes his diapers/clothes, puts him to sleep, gets him when he wakes, all while caring for the older two, running errands with all three kids as needed, doing laundry, and making sure everyone has some sort of food to eat 3x/day. Talk about New Mommy of the Year, right? Ugh. I have never been more thankful for hubs.

I feel like a failure because I can't do anything for my family. I can't do anything for my new baby except watch his daddy love on him and care for him.

This is so much harder than I expected and I hate not having any control over the situation. I'm just praying that the infection I'm fighting will respond to the latest antibiotics and I will feel well enough to start nursing my baby and caring for my family oh so very soon.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

- Posted using my beloved iPhone 5

Introducing...

Sorry for the delay! We've had a whirlwind week as you might imagine! I'll be back to share more soon... once I get through this whole sleep deprivation phase. ;)

We're so in love and are just smitten with this perfect little blessing!

E's Birth Story

Once again, I've found myself significantly behind on posting to the blog here. Case in point? This post is E's birth story. He was born on April 30, 2013. I just found the draft of this post on blogger today -- February 4, 2017. So ya, apparently it's been almost 4 years and I still have yet to post E's birth story on the blog. #epicmomfail

So, without further ado, I give you: E's Birth Story!

Apologies for the lack of photos. Apparently this is what happens when you wait almost 4 years to post a birth story.

On Monday, April 29, 2013, we arrived at the hospital at 6:10 PM. We were set up in Room 432 by nurses Nina and Lois. Lois placed my IV.

At 6:50 PM, the Cervidil was placed to get started with the induction. I was 70% effaced, 1 cm dilated, and had a few early contractions that showed up on the monitor.

At 7:00 PM, it was time for the nurse shift change! Welcome to E's delivery, Judy!

I slept pretty well, considering how hugely pregnant and uncomfortable I was. At 5:30 AM, the Cervidil was removed and I took a shower.

At 6:30 AM, the IV fluid was started, and I was almost 2 cm, still 70% effaced. The Pitocin was started about 10 minutes later, and my delivery nurse Sarah took over at the morning shift change.

My water was broken at 8:15 AM, and I was measuring at 2 cm, 50%, -2 station. There's some work to do today!

At 10:15 AM, Chana took over for Sarah. I can't recall now (4 years later, OMG) why this was... maybe they had a low census and sent Sarah home? Totally possible.

I was up to 80%, 3 cm, -2 at 10:50 AM. My contractions started to stall, so I rested for a bit while the increased the Pitocin. It was still so slow-going, so Dr. Bradley increased the Pitocin again at 1:00 PM. By 1:30 PM, I was about 3-4 cm dilated, 90% effaced, and at -1 station. Ten minutes later, they started fluids to prep for the epidural (Praise Jesus!). So much relief once that epidural was placed!

By 3:10 PM, I was up to 4 cm, 90%, and still -1 station, so the Pitocin was increased again around 3:50 PM. More waiting. Patiently waiting... I didn't mind so much since I couldn't feel any pain. It was just the usual discomfort and some anxiousness to meet my little guy.

It was now 5:15 PM, I was at 5 cm, 90%, -1, so they increased the Pitocin again. One hour later, I was complete! It was FINALLY time to meet my sweet boy!

Literally two BIG pushes, and two little pushes, and that precious baby E was finally here!

~ Baby E ~

4/30/2013

6:30 PM

6 lbs. 14 oz.

19 3/4"

This was the FIRST of my three deliveries that was "normal" and resulted in me immediately holding my baby after delivery. With LO's birth, I was given medication that knocked me out for about 2 hours while the doctor dealt with post-delivery complications, so there wasn't that immediate moment of bonding following her birth. With Chase's delivery, he was whisked away after a quick glimpse and taken to a stabilization room for over 2 hours, after which I was able to hold him for about 20 minutes and not again for almost a week. So to say it was a glorious moment to hold my brand-new, seconds-old baby immediately after delivery is an understatement!

So 7:00 PM rolls around and it's shift change again! Welcome to my recovery team, Chris!

I'll spare some of the details of the LONGEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE, but let's just say that the fact that I had gestational diabetes while I was pregnant with E made that first night absolutely horrible. Essentially, when he'd start crying in the middle of the night, wanting to be fed, I had to wait on a dadgum nurse to come in and POKE HIS HEEL to check his blood sugar before they'd let me feed him. You can imagine how many times this went on throughout his first night. I felt awful. The feeling of needing/wanting to feed your newborn son, and not having "permission" to do it until his blood sugar was logged? It. Was. The. Worst. Hubs and I were pretty sure we weren't about to go through another night like that one.

Bright and early, our day nurse Jill took over. She helped us fast-track all of the necessary discharge requirements (hearing test, circ, etc.) so we could HIT. THE. ROAD. And at 7:30 PM, we were DISCHARGED... 25 hours after little E's arrival.

I will always remember our trip home from the hospital. We stopped at Bi-Lo so we could pick up a small "birthday cake" for the kids to celebrate as they welcomed home their little brother. I was literally walking through the grocery store 25 hours after delivering a baby. It was so surreal. Seriously. So weird.

In hindsight, I kind of wish we had stayed one more night (if it weren't for the starving baby all night long!) because I would have loved to let LO and Chase come up to the hospital to meet their baby brother.

We arrived home, celebrated with the kids and their Gramma & Pa Pa, then settled in for our first night at home as a family of five. LOVE.

3 More Days

It's Saturday morning and that means baby boy -- let's just call him "E" -- will be here in 3 days. We'll actually be heading to the hospital in 2 days, on Monday night, to get this party started. Hard to believe this is our last weekend as a little family of 4!

We're spending most of the day today cleaning as my in-laws have graciously agreed to stay here with LO and Chase during our hospital stay. Gotta have clean baseboards when guests are coming over, am I right?? Plus I love the idea of coming home to a semi/mostly clean house after E's birth, so it makes sense to knock it out this weekend. Plus there's a tiny part of me that's hoping to experience some housework-induced contractions... that's a thing, right?? Guess we'll see. ;)

I've got a lot of thoughts swirling around in my head about this major family change heading our way. Mostly I'm excited to see how LO embraces her role as big sister all over again. Last time, when Chase was born, she was not quite 2-1/2, and didn't have much of a clue about what was going on. This was actually a big blessing to hubs and I because of our relocation to Charleston, Chase's birth, surgery and 5-week hospital stay, etc. She didn't really get the opportunity to do big sister stuff like hold her new baby brother, help give him a bottle, etc. This time around, I can assure you, she's geared up to put her best big sister game face on and be the big helper I'm sure we'll need! She's already helped me with his laundry and "ooohed" and "awwwwed" over his cute little socks, etc. She's talking about holding him, feeding him, and getting him his paci when he needs it. I just know she's gonna do great and I'm so thankful we have such a wonderful, special, sweet, caring little almost 6-year-old girl to help her mommy & daddy adjust to baby #3!!!

Chase, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have much of a clue about how his little world is gonna change. He knows he's gonna be a big brother, and he knows baby brother's name, but that's about it. I think he's gonna be surprised a bit once having a new little one around is part of his routine, but I think he's gonna be a big sweetie to his brother and also a help to mommy -- when he feels like it, of course. ;) I think the biggest thing I'm going to struggle with is the change from Chase being my "baby" to now being my "middle" child. He's been such a focus of our lives for 3-1/2 years, and the biggest miracle and blessing, and part of me is afraid he's gonna get lost in the shuffle as the middle kid. But then I immediately think of just how special that boy is... how much attention he's gonna need from us... and I remember that there's no way he'll get lost. He's our little Rock Star and we are so very grateful for him each and every day. I don't know why I let myself worry about such dumb stuff sometimes. ;)

Whew. I'm so excited for the next few days. I'm so grateful for all God has blessed us with. I can't wait to meet little E, and see how his big sister and big brother adjust to having him here. God is so good!

- Posted using my beloved iPhone 5

Hello, 38 Weeks!

One more week. Seven more days. I'm so excited!!! I can't wait to meet our littlest guy. :)

I had my 38 week appointment and growth ultrasound this morning. Baby is now estimated up to 6 lbs. 6 oz.!! He was 5 lbs. 15 oz. last Tuesday, so his growth is on track. That means with another week to gain another 1/2 pound, we should be looking at around 7 lbs.! I'll certainly take that, especially after LO's 8 lbs. 13 oz. and Chase's 8 lbs. 9 oz.!

Not much else to report. I'm feeling really good, energy level is decent considering, and my weight gain is still totally baffling to me, in a good way! I think I'm around 18 lbs. and that's waaaaay better than what I saw with my previous two pregnancies. Woot!

Everything is basically ready for him to make his debut next Tuesday. Just need to finish packing my hospital bag and brush up on my photography skills! We officially have our marching orders to head in next Monday evening to get things started, with the induction meds starting Tuesday morning!

LO is getting excited about meeting her newest little brother. She's got the count down going and it's so cute! I just know she's gonna be a big help and will be so in love with the little guy. Chase, on the other hand, I don't think fully understands what is getting ready to happen. ;) Should be fun!!!

For documentation purposes, as well as some good ol' Internet embarrassment, here's big ol' me at 38 weeks!




- Posted using my beloved iPhone 5

Chase Sings a Tune!

Here's a little video of Chase from earlier today that totally cracks me up. He was eating lunch, which typically also includes a video (so mommy can get a solid 15 minute nap on the couch), and busted out the opening song for "Little Einsteins." It was so cute that of course I had to record it and share it here!

Love this boy!

Yeah-ya!

37 Weeks

We're down to 14 more days 'til the little guy's arrival! I had an OB appointment this morning and we went ahead and did growth measurements, even though it's only been a week since our last growth u/s. Let's just say mommy was extra nervous and slightly concerned going into the appointment today since the boy weighed in at 5 lbs. 4 oz. last Tuesday -- around the 13th percentile for his gestational age. Not good. That was compounded by the fact that he hadn't seemed to be as active to me the past day or two as he had been, and I was super worried.

My fears were put somewhat to ease by the fact that he measured 5 lbs. 15 oz. today, a growth of 11 oz. over the past week, which, as you may know, is right on target with the "half a pound per week" he should be gaining from week 36 on.

Whew! I was really concerned about this, especially since according to the doctor's scale, I had LOST 3 pounds from Friday to today! Crazy.

The little stinker did fail one part of his biophysical profile u/s... We weren't able to catch him "practice breathing" even though he's been really good with that in the past. No worries, though. I'm told they only do that every once in a while, not constantly, so it wasn't a big deal.

The office was making the call today to go ahead and put me on the books for an induction on Tuesday, April 30th as planned. They'll check me at my appointment next week to see if I'll need to come in Monday night for Cervadil, or if I can just get admitted bright & early Tuesday morning to start the Pitocin. Both of my previous inductions included Cervadil the night before, so I'd be surprised if this time around was different.
Whew! It's so exciting to think that he will be here 2 weeks from today! And it makes me realize I need to come up with a name to call him here on my blog... Y'all know my girl as LO but got to know Chase's real name since he had such a "colorful" start at life that I wanted y'all to know his name to be able to pray for him. While we already have baby #3's name picked out, I'm not going to share it here. I'll think of something to call him... eventually. ;)

Well it's time to head in for my last day of work tonight! So bittersweet... I love my job and the people I work with, and I'm most definitely planning to come back in a few months -- IF they'll have me. It's scary not knowing if I'll have the privilege of working with those great people again after tonight, but I know God has a plan so I'll just sit tight and find other things to worry about I'm sure. ;)

- Posted using my beloved iPhone 5

Final Countdown!

It's hard to believe we're looking at less than 16 days until the little guy's arrival. I'm happy to report we are SO totally ready for him to get here... except for the tiny little fact that I haven't yet packed a single thing for our inevitable hospital stay. Ooops! And to think everyone says mine and the baby's bags should have been packed by week 35 and here we are approaching week 37 on Tuesday. Oh well! Here's hoping we don't have an unexpected early arrival and our guy sticks to my plan.

Today I was thinking about some of the baby things I'm most excited about this time around and thought I'd share a few of them here. Luckily we had a lot of the essentials already, and we have been very blessed by friends and family who have increased our stash with missing must-haves like clothes, blankets, towels, bottles, etc. So these are just a few of the things that get me super stoked about all things baby!

A new diaper bag? Yes, please! I just purchased this little lovely from my dear friends at Amazon yesterday, and am dying to get it here so I can see it in person! The reviews on it are awesome and it sounds like it has a TON of pockets -- both inside and out -- and is super cute and stylish to boot! Win!

Angel Dear elephant lovies for the boy. You may not know this, but LO had her Angel Dear Teddy and Chase still has his Angel Dear Monkey. We find something we like and stick with it, huh? I especially love this 3-pack because you ALWAYS have to have a spare so your little one isn't without their BFF on laundry day.

Noodle & Boo? Sounds funny, but I'm hoping it smells fantastic and works well on my little guy. I wanted to try something other than Johnson's Baby this time, and I found this product had great reviews across the web. Also ordered from Amazon, it should arrive this week and I can't wait to give it a whiff!

I decided to use Chase's crib bedding for the baby, and I'm so glad I did! I had mixed feelings about it but in the end I decided it didn't make sense to buy another set when we had such a cute one sitting up in the attic! I love the way it looks in his room and I'll be sure to share pics soon. NOTE: I don't have all of the items pictured here as that would be some serious jungle animal overload! Ha!

Nursery wall art by Mommy? A must-have!! I was inspired by this beauty from etsy seller DallowayPlaceKids, but wanted to put my own spin on it (of course). The verse from Jeremiah is one of my all-time favorites and so very appropriate!

I've heard such wonderful things about these adorable muslin swaddle blankets! My sister is using them with her sweet little not quite 3-month-old daughter, and it sounds like they couldn't be more functional! Plus I just die over the little blue elephants! Looking forward to wrapping these little guys around my precious little guy!!!

So that's my little roundup for today. I just thought to myself I should do another post like this one except with the essentials for Mommy, but was so saddened to realize I really don't have any special pampering products for myself! Just the basics, which is no fun! Oh, well!

JJ Cole Satchel Diaper Bag, Angel Dear Elephant Blankie Pair and a Spare, Noodle & Boo All About Baby Newborn 2-in-1 Hair & Body Wash, NoJo Jungle Tales Crib Set, Custom Nursery Wall Art Created by Mommy, aden + anais Cotton Muslin Swaddles

36 Weeks!

Well, somehow I've managed to make it through my first 35 weeks of this pregnancy without sharing a single weekly "how's it going" update or pic. Geez! Guess it's been a busy 8 months, huh? Anywho, I thought I'd rectify this by posting a 36 weeks update today. Hard to believe we're 21 days (or less?!) away from our littlest guy's arrival!

Week and day: 36 weeks

Belly Button in or out: Still in. It always stays in. Thank goodness!

Wedding rings on or off: Still on, and I'm amazed by this fact! I'm pretty sure they came off around 6 months when I was pregnant with LO. Here I am 36 weeks pregnant and rings are still on. Nice!

Food cravings: As if I'm allowed fun pregnancy cravings with the wonderful gestational diabetes diagnosis I received back in January... Ugh! No worries, though. I've somehow managed to keep myself to about 1,800 calories per day with a higher protein, lower carb "diet" than what I ate before. And I've somehow been able to sneak in ice cream (Culver's, Chick-fil-A... you name it!) without going crazy overboard.

Food aversions: None. But I am sad to report that basically EVERYTHING I eat causes heartburn, especially late at night. Boo.

Nausea: None!

Energy level: Surprisingly, my energy level is straight up normal! For the most part, I'm rocking work, household chores, caring for the kids, etc. like it ain't nothin' but a thang! This surprises me more than you might imagine.

Weight gain: I'm actually not shying away from this topic this time around. I think the fact that I had to completely overhaul my diet and cut back on calories in order to effectively manage my blood sugar has really helped in the weight control department. Looks like I've gained about 16 pounds since October 2012. And I started tracking my weight daily back in January, and I'm astonished to admit I've only gained 2.5 pounds in the past 3 months!! I'm also excited I haven't seen any significant swelling this time around, either!

Mood: SUPER EXCITED!!! I can't wait to meet him and hold him for the first time! His room is ready -- I just need to pack our bags and pick up a few remaining necessities from our registry. I can't wait!!!

Maternity clothes: 24/7. As if there were any other option at this point. ;)

Size of baby: According to BabyCenter, this week he should weigh almost 6 pounds and be more than 18 1/2 inches long.

Next appointment: I had an OB appointment this morning to do a growth ultrasound, see the doc and do my GBS test. I have another appointment on Friday for a Non-Stress Test (NST). Basically I've been going twice a week for an ultrasound and NST since 34 weeks, and will continue to do so through week 38.

What I've been up to: I finally got the nursery put together and ready. Clothes are washed, most of the essentials are purchased, and the Pack n' Play is set up in our bedroom. I still need to pack both mine and the baby's hospital bags and sterilize the bottles, pacis, pump parts, etc. But overall we're in a GREAT PLACE with our preparations! And it's a good thing, too!

Arrival plan: The game plan is to schedule an induction at 39 weeks, which is Tuesday, April 30th. With gestational diabetes, I was told there is a significant risk of the baby growing too big too fast, which is why they've had me managing my diet and blood sugars so closely. Apparently I've been doing a little too good at this. At today's ultrasound, the little guy was only measuring 5 lbs. 4 oz., which means he's gained less than a pound since his last growth ultrasound 3 weeks ago. This puts him around the 13th percentile for weight at 36 weeks (my OB said she wouldn't worry unless it was under 10%, but we're only talking 3 points so now I'm a nervous mama!). The doctors will repeat another growth ultrasound in 2 weeks to see if he's gained adequately (at approximately 1/2 pound per week, he should be at least 6 lbs. 4 oz.). If he's not gaining appropriately, they will most likely have me deliver sooner, at 38 weeks. Apparently if the baby isn't gaining weight the way they want him to, it typically means he's not getting adequate nutrition from the placenta and they will want to deliver him sooner so he's no longer dependent on the placenta and can get his nutrition from breast milk instead. So the big plan for me is to desperately try to keep my blood sugar as level as possible (I've had lots of crazy highs and a few super lows) as the spikes in blood sugar are not good for him. I've gotta be sure to keep up the protein and limit the carbs & sugars, and just hope and pray that this little boy gains the appropriate amount of weight over the next 2 weeks.

For documentation purposes (and a legitimate reason for me to throw up in my mouth), here's my 36 week picture. My compliments to my 3 1/2-year-old son for his crazy-mad photography skills. Boy knows his way around an iPhone! And my apologies for my horrible posture! Ugh.

Beautiful Girl

I couldn't help but post this picture of LO here on the blog. It's her Kindergarten spring school picture and it is AMAZING. I am so in love with this pic!!! It was taken on Valentine's Day 2013 -- just a few weeks after she turned 5 1/2 (on January 25, 2013). I can't believe what a beautiful, sweet, kindhearted young lady she's becoming.

I'm one proud mama. ;)

And yes, certain family members who may see this and wonder... I have hard copies to share with you!

Cardiology Visit

Whoa. I'm in shock & awe! We just had Chase's cardiology appointment this morning, our first time since November, and I am so surprised by the outcome! Good news is it's all good news, so whew!!!
At his last appointment, his LPA (left pulmonary artery) showed signs of narrowing. It was a concern but not enough so to act on it. We figured we'd check it out again at our next appointment and see how it looks. If it continued to narrow, it would force our hand to do his third scheduled surgery, the Fontan, sooner than later. As in early Spring, potentially. If it didn't look too bad, we'd hold off until Fall.
Let me just say this appointment was without a doubt the BEST appointment Chase has ever had from a cooperation standpoint. He stood on the scale without crying and also let us capture his height. Then he rocked out all FOUR blood pressures (one on each extremity) without a tear and was actually HELPING the nurse. Amazing. They even did the pulse oximeter simultaneously with the BP cuff and he didn't mind a bit! See??!




We had a few minutes in the exam room to answer the nurse's questions then it was off to echo! He again did his typical amazing job during the lengthy echo. The tech wasn't able to get good pictures of his LPA so we rearranged him a few times on the table to help. I asked if she was able to get the pics we needed and she said yes. Thank you to Madagascar for entertaining Chase throughout the echo.




So proud of this big boy of mine!!!




After the echo it was back to the exam room to wait on Dr. H. After a good 45 minutes (sigh), he came in and we chatted a bit. Then he informed us that we DIDN'T get good pictures of his LPA and he wanted to take us back to echo. Grrrrr! I didn't mind it and definitely wanted to be sure we got what we needed, but it irritated me that the tech specifically said she DID get the pics. Oh well. Chase cooperated perfectly and we were able to see exactly what we needed.
Back in the exam room, Dr. H told us that based on the measurements he took, it looked like his LPA had grown and/or we got better more accurate pics of it on the echo this time. GREAT NEWS!!! He then proceeded to say that everything looked wonderful and that he'd leave it up to US if we wanted to schedule his Fontan this Fall or NEXT SPRING!!!
Whaaaaa?!!
NOT doing his Fontan before the end of 2013 had NEVER crossed my mind as an option!! Wow. I am still in shock & awe! He said he didn't need to see us again for another 6 months. Wow. We opted to see him again in August instead (5 months) just in case anything changes so that if we need to move forward with his surgery, we could try to get him in before the cold/flu season starts.
Options. Choices. What a concept! I cannot for a second be anything but BLESSED that our son is doing so well that his little body isn't forcing our hand at scheduling his last planned heart surgery. There are so many other heart families out there who don't get a choice and whose little ones require urgent heart surgeries to sustain their child's lives. We are so blessed and grateful!!!
After we scheduled our return appointment for August, hubs and I took Chase out for lunch at one of his (and my!) favorite joints: Culver's. It was a big hit!! Can't you tell?? ;)




So what a wonderful day it's been for our little family and our sweet boy. Now mama's heading off to my weekly ultrasound appointment for the baby, followed by a non stress test on Friday. Yes -- two appointments each week from here on out. Not loving it but so excited to get to see my baby boy every week until his arrival! Woot!
Thanks to all for your prayers for Chase's appointment today! Love to all!!!
Posted using my beloved iPhone 5

The Great Reveal: Before & After

I'm so excited! It's time for the big reveal of LO's new room... just 3 months in the making! For those of you who have been following my blog for a while, I'm sure you're excited to see this room transformation finally taking place if for no other reason than I'll finally stop blogging about all of the exciting details and unexpected frustrations that finally got us here! Haha! And just a warning... this is a long post with tons of pictures and a video as well. But enough chit chat... let's get on with it!

So here are the before pics. Here's looking into her room from the doorway.

One step into her bedroom and this is what you'd see.

To the left is her closet and a randomly placed light fixture from the play area left over from a mommy/daughter girls night about 3 or 4 months ago. And a yellow trash can that didn't match anything and certainly didn't belong in that corner.

Right inside the doorway was an empty wall next to another empty wall. Boring.

Then you have her bed. Plain, prison-style slats on the headboard and footboard. It served us well as a crib (and will do so again when baby boy arrives next month), but it certainly isn't the most girly of beds.

The ever-so-embarrassing blanket hung up over the window blinds for room darkening purposes. You'll recall we had the same lameness happening in Chase's room before his room transformation. It was a quick, cheap, easy fix that was apparently easy to ignore for the past year. And next to the window is an inexpensive ClosetMaid Cubeicals storage unit from Target that was utilized as a bookcase for our avid reader daughter.

Across from LO's bed was her dresser. A tall 4-drawer chest of drawers. Again, not very girly, but it has served it's purpose and will rock out once more as baby boy's dresser.

Such a sad little dresser, quite impractical for all the "stuff" we had loaded up on that thing.

Friday morning we emptied and cleaned the room and prepared for paint!

Two coats and several hours later, our pink Ballerina Gown by BEHR bedroom was painted and ready for Phase 2 to begin Saturday morning.

And now for the big AFTER reveal! Here's the first glimpse of her new horse room!

This wall has her old Teddy lovey from when she was little that I put into a shadowbox along with a little coat rack I painted with accents to match her room. I figure her purses, hoodies, and scarves will end up here.

Her new bed! I cannot tell you how much I love her new bedding from Pottery Barn and the cute accent pillow I made with the horse appliqué. It even has a zipper on the side that I'm super proud of as it was my first time sewing in a zipper!

A little bit of pink... a little bit of purple... a lot of girly cuteness! And oh, the gorgeous chandelier!

Some running horses over her closet door!

Sweet Teddy and the coat rack.

Loving how everything perfectly matched my vision! ;) And can I just say that one of my most favorite things about this room is her box spring?! Weird, right? I found the fantastic idea online to put a fitted sheet over the box spring so it doesn't stand out and look crazy awful, and it looks perfect! I don't know why I didn't do this sooner. It worked out great because the kids' beds aren't conducive to bed skirts because of how the slats are screwed in under the box spring. So what a perfect win-win, right??

Love the horses!

Her new dresser with arched mirror! Also the tray I hand painted, the runner I sewed and some accent pieces from Hobby Lobby.

Really inexpensively created wall art. I reused the frames from some art that was in her old nursery and used some clip art from the interwebs. The only thing missing here is the nice white bookcase that will be placed below the artwork. We didn't quite get the trim on the bookcase the way I wanted so it'll be part of the Phase 2 rollout. ;)

Love the little circle star over her doorway. And one of my favorite things... the fabric-covered Mod-Podged light switch cover plate that matches the runner on her dresser.

See? Isn't it cute? So easy, too! I can't wait to do this to lots of other light switch plate covers in the house!

And just for effect, here are a few "Before & After" side-by-sides...

Here she is finally seeing her room for the first time... She was surprised!

There was so much to take in! Yay!!!

And finally... here's the big reveal of LO's new room! She had just returned from a sleepover at Gramma and PaPa's, which included lots of swimming and lots of fun, so she was pretty tired when she got home. Apparently she even napped in the car on the drive over so she was slightly less energetic than I expected, but it's all good! I'm sure we'll have fun as she discovers all of the fun things in her new room over the next few days. Oh, and please forgive all the photo snapping throughout the video and the commentary from mommy. ;)