23 Weeks & Ultrasound Check-up

23 weeks down! Still feeling pretty good! My body is really starting to ache, and the heart burn is kicking in. Other than that though I am feeling excellent!

We had to have a follow up ultra sound because in our appointment at 20 weeks, the baby was moving so much they were unable to get a good enough picture of the spine. They asked us to come back in, which we did today. They got what they needed I guess and said everything looks good! This little baby is a moving and a grooving. I told Ryan it's like he/she is doing jazzercise or something! Getting ready to keep up with Gavin I guess!

I'll be back to update this post with some photos and videos. Gavin has been quite the talker lately, it's so cute.

Update:

So the day after I wrote this original post I got a phone call from our Midwife, telling us that the Radiologist who oversees the ultrasound techs still wasn't happy with the images of the spine. Even though he and our midwife said it wasn't because there was something unusual or alarming and not to panic, I panicked. I got three calls within two hours to go in and schedule an appointment. Insert more panic. (I think the tech who did our ultrasound got into a little bit of trouble because he called me himself twice to accommodate me coming in).  Needless to say I was a hot mess the entire morning, assuming the worst and that something was wrong. They asked if I could come in at noon that day, which I did and when I checked in I was told that there was only one tech working and it might be over an hour before I was seen. Besides being worried sick about something being wrong with my unborn child, I was also on the phone and hitting wall after wall with healthcare crap all morning, so it has been a long long day up to this point. I am guessing if looks could kill, I might have killed everyone in the Radiology department of the hospital because the Navy Corpsman checking me in looked up at me and said, "ohhhhh, uhm, ok.....," and needless to say I was in in 10 minutes.

The tech got the images, again, and this time went to show the Radiologist himself before having us leave the room. Two minutes later the Radiologist comes in and says he wants to get the pictures himself. I am literally about in tears at this point because I am thinking something HAS to be wrong. He was very very nice and told me it wasn't that they were seeing anything wrong, it was just that they weren't able to see what they needed to see at all because of the baby's movement and the way the baby was positioned. They poked and prodded the baby to move, I laid around in a couple different positions and he was finally able to get what he needed. He said everything was great, we had a healthy baby and healthy mama. WHEW!!! What a relief!!! I should have asked him for a decent profile picture of the baby in return for the stress he caused me, but of course I didn't think of it until I was in the car on my way home.

And...here are some pictures from the last week or so!

Gavin twirls his hair as a comfort thing, so he always has this little twirl at the top of his head. So cute!

 Watching some TV. Such a man/child.

Playing at the park!

 Elmo's loot!

Whatcha think, boy or girl??

On the right hand side of this blog, you can vote whether you think our new little baby will be a boy or girl! Good luck :-)

22 Weeks...Where is the time going?

I can't believe how fast the time is going. We are still anxiously awaiting some HOPEFULLY good news,  but of course because it's the military we have been playing the hurry up and wait game. Sometimes the military can be so great and sometimes it is the most frustrating thing ever. Anyways...it is what it is!

I've been feeling pretty good lately, tired though! But I haven't been able to fall asleep and then Gavin wasn't feeling very well for a few nights so it has been a combination of a few different things. The baby has been pretty active and moving a lot, and giving me heart burn like crazy already. Hopefully this one has more hair than Gavin had when he was born! My sister-in-law was asking about Gavin's hair color when he was first born, and I couldn't remember exactly how dark it was so I looked back at photos and just had to make this...crazy huh!?

We finally got around to carving the pumpkins we "picked" at Bates Farm last weekend. Gavin was NOT a big fan of the slimy seeds and innerds of the pumpkin. He got it on his toe and was limping around, it was cute. He just kind of went from Ryan and I and back and forth looking at what we were doing. He probably thought it was cool that we were sitting on the floor in the kitchen.

 

 I love the way Gavin sits on the couch sometimes, he is such a man child it cracks me up.

Gavin wasn't feeling well and crashed, downstairs right before his bedtime. This never happens.

NERD

21 Week Update

We had our latest baby check-up today with our midwife. I think I like her more and more every time I see her! Gavin and I were at this appointment and it was nice and short! We have to go back in for another ultrasound because the baby was moving too much to get a really clear picture of the spine, but the radiology tech said that there were no abnormalities, I think they just want to be 100% sure, which I appreciate.

PRAISE THE LORD my blood pressure has been normal the last couple times I have gone! I KNEW it wasn't me having high blood pressure as a medical problem, it is just my anxiety about being in a doctors office. I was very happy about that today! The midwife also made a comment on how I hadn't gained any weight (HA!) but that the baby was still growing so at this point it's nothing to be concerned about. Uhm. I look like a balloon, how is that even possible?! The baby is a VERY active one, the heart beat was 160, and was flipping around while we were listening in.

I had expressed some questions about having a natural delivery, after having had a C-Section, and I was curious if I would be pressured into having an epidural right away just in case I would have to have an emergency c-section (1% chance due to rupture of the uterine lining from cesearean scaring) and she said that they can usually put them in pretty fast so if I wanted to try it drug free I could. I told her obviously I hadn't personally experienced contractions yet and was leaving my option to demand an epidural at anytime but I wanted to attempt it. She said I would really have to practice. She said to do meditated breathing (HIPPY, but I'll still probably give it a try) and then to hold ice cubes in my hands for small amounts of times and to breathe through the pain of the cold. I thought that was interesting. Can you imagine Ryan coming down to our living room one night to find me meditating, holding ice cubes and breathing through freezing pain? I'm gonna make sure it happens.

That was about all the excitement from today! I wish I had some pictures to upload, but unfortunately I do not, sorry!

Pumpkin Picking and Hay Rides!

Ryan and I took Gavin to Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center, CA today so that we could get some pumpkins and take Gavin on a hay ride. It was definitely a city version of a hay ride, haha! It was a tractor pulling a train of trailers, each with a hay bale and a pretty burlap sheet to sit on. It was still fun and Gavin had a blast!! He was laughing and running and looking at all the pumpkins. We saw a petting zoo, and we held him up to the fence and he kept saying "woof woof!" at all the goats. LOL. Nope Gavin, not dogs, close though!

It was 87 degrees, so even though it LOOKED like fall here at Bates Nut Farm, it didn't quite FEEL like it...haha, I guess down here we have to take what we get!

Here are some pics!

20 Weeks HALFWAY!

WOW! I have to admit, the time is kind of flying by. It is funny how different yet the same everything is this time around compared to last time. Sleeping has been much better since I pulled my special pillow out of storage...my sister-in-law recommended me buying this when I was pregnant with Gavin, which I did, but wasn't able to use much because Ryan and I were sharing a full sized bed and space was a bit limited. Now that we have upgraded, I am taking full advantage of my pillow and it has been awesome. The only thing is that switching from side to side can get a bit awkward. I still have to pee pretty much every hour, but I think having this pillow allows me to get comfortable and get into a deeper sleep and not waking up as often and then noticing my need to pee...if that makes any sense?

Here is the amazing pillow I am talking about:

It's pretty glorious.

Overall, I am still feeling pretty good. I can definitely feel that the baby is growing and making itself at home. About two weeks ago or so I finally felt the baby kicking on the outside with my hand, and Ryan was finally able to feel this past week. The other night was a fun one as the baby was going crazy rolling around. Speaking of bladders, I will say that the coincidence of sneezing and having the baby roll or jump on your bladder at the exact same time is rather tragic.

Gavin is doing pretty good. He has been a bit cranky the past couple days and I have seen a side of him that not many people should see. Let me just say that I had a wooden train set go flying at my face, missing me by a few inches. I don't think that will be happening again anytime soon. I am hoping I scared a little bit of Jesus into him. Throwing train sets at his mother...geesh...

He can say, or repeat rather, the entire alphabet! I am so proud! I made a video of it on Ryan's phone, but I was having problems uploading it to YouTube to share, so I'll try and get it up because he is so funny. He has to clap and celebrate himself every four letters or so.

Peek a boo! Gavin thinks this is hilarious. I can't wait until he accidentally does a summer-sault, I'm sure his face will be priceless.

Ryan is also doing well. We are waiting on some exciting news that I can't wait to share, but mum is the word until we get something official.

I've been wanting to put a wreath on our door since fall has started but couldn't find the right one. My friend Sarah and I decided we were going to make our own, and I am so happy with out mine turned out, we were both proud of our craftiness! The flowers are clipped on so I can take them off and change it up for the different seasons. 

Gavin | Shriner's Update

Gavin Update & Misc. Odessa Vacation Stuff

We had a check-up at Shriner's for Gavin's foot this week and we were very pleased to have good news! His foot looks great and though it is still a bit tight, we will not have to do casting again and it looks like no more surgeries are in our future! We were told at our last appointment that we might be looking at a surgery to straighten the tendons on the top of his foot (they curve inward slightly) when he was about four years old. Obviously, this is still a possibility, but the doctor said it didn't look severe enough to be corrected with an operation.

It's been a while since I have mentioned anything with Gavin's foot so I'll do a bit of a refresher on his treatment and clubfoot in general.

ALL of you should be familiar with the fact that Gavin was born with clubfoot. I honestly cannot remember if I wrote a blog post specifically about club foot or not, but just in case here it is again...

From Shriner's website here is the definition of clubfoot:

Clubfoot, known to doctors as talipes equinovarus, is a congenital (present at birth) abnormality of the foot.  A common birth defect, clubfoot occurs in approximately one out of 1,000 births in the United States. Clubfoot describes a variety of foot abnormalities in which a newborn’s foot is twisted inward. The actual term, “clubfoot” refers to the way the foot is positioned at a sharp angle to the ankle, similar to the head of a golf club.

 If like me, you probably think of a super deformed, elephant type of hoof when you hear clubfoot. I was in total denial when the doctor suspected clubfoot when Gavin was born. When he got the "official diagnosis" at Rady's Children Hospital in San Diego, I cried like I just found out my son was never going to be able to walk and would be deformed forever. I had no idea what clubfoot really was and how common it seems to be.

There are several ways to treat it, but there is the best and newest way which is with casting and stretching. This is called the Ponsetti Treatment. When babies are first born there bones, ligaments and tendons are easily manipulated. When they put a cast on a child with club foot, they are literally moving their bones and manipulating them to grow and strengthen into the direction you want them to grow. It is quite amazing really.

The old way of treating it was with surgery, and from what I have heard from those who have either had it or from research online, it wasn't pretty. Most people would relapse at some point and would be very limited on activities they were able to do, either at all or because of stiffness and pain. Our doctor at Shriner's actually studied under the doctor who developed the new way of treatment, Dr. Ponsetti, and the casting and stretching takes away the odds of relapse by more than 50% compared to surgery alone.  So, it's a pretty big deal.

So our treatment with Gavin has involved casting every week for a total (two separate treatments) of 10 weeks and then he wears orthopedic shoes at night every night until he is about four years old (when relapse is least common). He also had a very minor "surgery" to lengthen his heel cord/Achilles Tendon. It was a minor surgery that the incision was so small they couldn't even put a stitch in it to close it.

Once Gavin graduated to wearing the shoes at night, he will go back to Shriner's for check-ups every four-six months. They check the flexibility of his foot and make sure he is meeting all the milestones appropriate with his age (in relation to his foot, e.g., walking, running, jumping, etc.).

We saw several different doctors throughout this process and Shriner's was by far the BEST out of all of them. They take the time to explain everything and also give us choices in what works best for our son's treatment. Our other doctors always dominated the conversations and never gave us any real options when it came to OUR son's health and treatment.

So, now you are a little more educated on club foot and how Gavin is doing!

Quick Picture Post..more to come, check back for update.

Several months ago we purchased tickets to go Blue Whale watching down here in San Diego, out of Mission Bay. We decided to wait until my parents were down here so we wouldn't have to pay for a baby sitter for an entire day, got to save the money some how, haha!

The tour was three hours long (yes I did have the theme to Gilligan's Island stuck in my head) and I would estimate we went about 10-15 miles off the coast of San Diego. We could still see land easily, and it didn't take us too long to get where we eventually spotted the whales.

In total we saw about 10 blue whales and 2-3 gray whales. It was so cool! We weren't able to get extremely close, but when an animal is that big, being 100 yards away is more than ok with me! There is no way that words or photos could do it justice. Seeing those whales was incredible and definitely crossed an item off of my checklist. I never thought I would be able to see the biggest animal in the world in my lifetime. I love it!

 

These are a few photos from our trip up in Odessa and our road trip back down to California. We were able to drive with my parents in their motor home from Washington to San Diego. We took highway 395 which went through the Tri-Cities and then down Eastern/Central Oregon and down the Eastern part of California. It was gorgeous! It actually didn't take that much time in comparison especially for all the windy mountain roads we drove on. Once we got to Reno, we cut across California to get back to I-5 and connected in Sacramento. We were able to see our cousins and finally meet their daughter who is only a few months younger than Gavin. She is also pregnant again, and we are two weeks apart with our pregnancies. We know how to plan things in our family, haha!

Our new little neice, Alma Joan. She is so precious!! I loved getting to hold and snuggle her! It is crazy how fast they grow up, I felt like a newbie all over again holding her in comparison to Gavin. I have to retrain my newborn mommy skills!!