November is here

These last 7 weeks have flown by. Little A will be 8 weeks old tomorrow! It has truly been a dream to be able to stay home with my family for these 8 weeks. A is growing up big and strong. By our estimations (on a digital scale) he is up to around 8 lbs. He is finally fitting into newborn clothing comfortably and will probably be moving on to 0-3 month clothes really soon. Z has been doing great too. He loves being a big brother and I think he is becoming more accustomed to not being the only child. I have been trying to spend lots of one on one time with him while I have been off work so he doesn't feel forgotten. He has been doing great in school and I am excited to meet with his teacher next week for conferences. It should be interesting to see what she has to say. Z has nothing but great things to say about her.

A had his baptism this past Sunday. He was a champ and didn't cry at all during the service. It was great to be able to bring him out of the house for a change. Basically he has only left the house 4 times in his life! (2 times to the dr, once to mimi and papa's and then to church!) RSV season is coming so he really won't be leaving the house much this winter. I want to do what ever it takes to keep my little guy safe.

Here are some updated pics of the family:

Busy September!

And once again, I can't believe I haven't posted since August! We have been extremely busy with end of summer activities, kindergarten starting, and many other activities. In August, we went to the Lake County Fair, which Z just loved! He loves riding the horses and the fair rides. Z also began kindergarten at the end of August. I think I was much more emotional about the whole thing than he was. There was an orientation day in which we rode the bus to the school with the kids....I broke down crying before we even left the house. It was even worse on his actual first day!! He loves school, though, and seems to be doing well. He doesn't fight us on going to school, so I guess that is a positive first step.

As for me, I received a promotion to Accounting Manager for my company. It came with a nice pay raise and managerial responsibilities. I am glad that I have been given the opportunity to grow within the company. I will be exciting and challenging learning the new position.

And, saving the best for last, on September 10, at 8:08 pm, Andrew James decided to make an early entrance into the world. His due date was October 27, so he was about 7 weeks early. About 3 that afternoon, while at work, I started have some cramps. On the way home from work, I realized the cramps were about 3-5 minutes apart. I got home and tried to relax which didn't help. I called the dr and they recommended I go to L&D just to be on the safe side. The contractions (at this point, I realized that what they really were) were about 2-3 minutes apart and extremely painful by the time I got to the hospital. They finally got me in to a triage room, and it then took another 15 minutes for any one to come in. By this point, I was in tears b/c i am in so much pain. They check me and I am dialated about 4 and 90% effaced. They were going to try to get me some meds to stop the contractions but as we were discussing those my water completely broke. They were then going to try to get me on bed rest and try to hold off delivering for a few days, but I was then dilated 5-6. As we were discussing labor options (and I was still screaming for pain meds!), they couldn't find the baby's heart beat and decided I needed to go in for an emergency c/s right then. They would not even let my husband join me. Since I had not had an epi yet, they gave me general anethesia so I was completely knocked out during the entire procedure. When I came to, still in the OR, I asked what time it was. At this point, it was 11 pm and I had been in the OR for 3 hours. I knew something wasn't right. Well, come to find out that some tube that runs from the kidney to the bladder got "kinked" since they performed such a rush c/s. Therefore, they had to call a urologist in and he put in some stent that has to stay in for 3 weeks. I finally got to see my little boy at around 3am, when they were wheeling me from recovery to my room. He is doing awesome! He is breathing on his own and has been on only bottle feeds for the last few days. He was born at 8:05 pm on 9/10/08, 3 lb 15 oz, 17 inches. Just to give you a clue on how fast this went down, it was about 3 pm at work when I was cramping, husband and I got to the hospital around 7 pm, and he was born shortly after 8 pm. I am being released from the hospital today, but A will be staying a little longer in the NICU. I am hoping he will be able to come home within the next couple of weeks. I guess this gives me time to get adapted to my "stay at home mom" gig (that only lasts 8 weeks!!!) and give some one on one attention to Z before his brother comes home. I am very upset that I will be leaving today without my baby, but I know he is better off being watched around the clock by trained professionals. We will be at the hospital often, visiting and feeding little A. I am hoping that he continues the positive path he is following and comes home really soon! Here are some pictures of the little guy:

Wow....August Already?!?

Summer is flying by as usual. Tee ball ended in mid July. It was amazing watching how much the kids improved from the beginning of the season. Too bad the learning curve will have to start all over next year. I am officially done with coaching (for now). I figure it would be a little hard next summer with a 9 month old!! Z's next adventure will be soccer which will start in early September.

We went on vacation in July to Harbor Springs, MI. It was nice to have almost a whole week off with the three of us. I was enjoying every minute, figuring it will be the last family vacation before the new addition joins us. Z had a great time at the pool, beach and playing in Gigi's new Town & Country. I actually think the new minivan was the biggest hit of the whole vacation!

We are getting excited/nervous for school to start at the end of the month. I can't believe my little baby is going to be in kindergarten! He has grown up so quickly! He seems to be excited to go to school....we'll see what happens when the time comes!

We are also getting excited about the impending arrival of our new little boy. We have yet to decide officially on his name, but we have narrowed down the list. I would like to name him soon, so we aren't stuck calling him little bean for much longer! I have been attempting over the last month to get a 4D u/s to see the little guy's face, but he is pretty stubborn! We will try again next week and I will post pictures (if we are able to get any)!

I will try to be better about updating, but time seems to escape me any more (as I sit here typing at 11 pm on a Wednesday night!)

. OK, finally uploaded the pictures!!! Here is me at 28 weeks! We have scheduled the c-section for October 20, unless the little guy decides to come early!!!

June has come and gone....

N at E's 2nd birthday party

Z and E at E's birthday party

Hard to believe another month has past! We are almost to the mid way point of the summer! We have been doing the normal "summery" things around here: yard work, swimming, trips to the beach, etc. Z is doing well in tee ball...he can hit it well and his fielding is improving (well, at least he is not sitting on the field any more, he actually stands up for the whole inning!) The rest of the team is showing remarkable improvement as well!

Z attended a camp at the Farm Park called "Once Upon a Farm". They learned all about the different farm animals. He really enjoyed milking the cow and making fresh ice cream! He is now taking swimming lessons a day or two a week with a friend of the family at Mimi and Papa's pool. He grew so much over the winter that he can now touch the bottom and walk around the shallow end of their pool! It is so much easier than carrying him around!

We are heading on vacation to upper Michigan in a couple of weeks. It will be our last vacation with just the three of us. I am looking forward to some family time and some R&R!

I am also in disbelief that I am almost 6 months pregnant! This little one will be here before we know it! I am almost done with his bedroom. Just some decorating to do. And I just need to pick up a few of the basics: diapers, wipes, burp clothes, etc. After going through about 1,000 boxes of Zs old clothes, I think we have at least the first little while covered! We are getting so excited to meet our new little man. Z was actually able to feel him kick tonight!

Baby and me at 23 weeks

Wow. That month went by fast! I swear it seems like I just did an update last week! A lot has happened since the last post. I guess the first big thing was my nephew C was born on Mother's Day. He was 1 day before his due date, and came into the world at 20 inches and 7 lb 8 oz. He is a little cutie and, between him and his big sis have been keeping my sister on her toes!

On May 15, Z "graduated" from pre-school. Mommy of course cried her eyes out. It seems like it was just his first day there! I can't believe he is going to kindergarten at the "big school" next fall. He is growing up so fast!!
Z's first t-ball game was May 17. He really enjoys hitting...we are still working on the fielding part. He seems to enjoy picking flowers or playing in the dirt more than paying attention to the batter. I am hoping that'll change as he gets older and understands the game.

That same day, Z's cousins from NC came into town with his Gigi and great-grandmother. We also had Z's 5th birthday party for kids. The clown was great and everyone seemed to have a good time...especially the adults...the party didn't wind down until about 11 pm!!

The following Monday we went to Kalahari with Z, Daddy, Gigi, G & W (Z's cousins), great grandma and me. It was a good time. Z was a little scared to go down the big slides but his cousins had a blast. On day 2 there, he did finally go down one of the slides, but said it was too fast. I am just glad he tried it. His favorite part was the basketball pool. My least favorite part was trying to find a cool maternity swimsuit. Apparently they don't make those! A day after getting back from the waterpark, Z's cousin G got sick....then her brother W got sick the next day. So most of their vacation was spent on the couch, on Motrin. They both seemed to be doing better when they left on Saturday.

Z's cousins went home during Memorial Day weekend, but Gigi and great grandma stayed that next week. It was nice to spend time with them while they were here.

Today was our 19 week ultrasound at the hospital. According to the ultrasound tech, our little boy is "so cute". She repeated this a few times, and I think she knows what she is talking about since she does this for a living! It was so nice to see the little guy swimming around. According to the ultrasound, everything is going really well. And he is up to 12 oz!!!!! I am almost officially 1/2 way through this (probably my last) pregnancy. I am enjoying starting to feel my little soccer player kicking up a storm. I am getting very excited and anxious to meet him in October! It'll be here before we know it! (He must know I am typing about him...he just kicked me again!) I will try my best to be better about posting!!!

My big ol' belly at 19 weeks......

Z's 5th Birthday

Wow! I can't believe my little boy turned 5 yesterday! These last five years have flown by! I still remember rocking him to sleep as an infant. I try to hold him like that now and all he screams is "Mommy, stop it! I'm not a baby!" He had a good time at his "adult" birthday party yesterday. We just had his aunts, uncles and grandparents who live local over for dinner and cake. And of course, presents! He had a blast! In a couple of weeks, when his cousins from NC get in to town, we will be having a "kids" birthday party, complete with a clown!

Yesterday was also another milestone, Z started Tee Ball! And silly me signed up to coach. It was nice have at least 9 out of 10 of the 5 & 6 year old's listening (take a guess who wasn't listening to the coach!!!) It is going to be a fun season! There are kids with all different abilities and experience on the team, so it will definitely be entertaining as well!

Since I last wrote, I have officially made it to the second trimester of this pregnancy. I am definitely showing, and actually had someone at work on Friday ask if I was having twins! OK, I don't think I'm that big! But I am bigger at this point than I was in my pregnancy with Z. We are getting really excited to have our "big" ultrasound sometime in the next 4 weeks. We will be finding out then if it is team blue or team pink. I was thinking girl for a while, but now I am having my doubts. I am just hoping for healthy at this point! I had a couple of requests (silly people!) so here is a pic of how big the belly has grown.

4 weeks:

14 weeks:

Weekend

Well, it was a pretty uneventful weekend here. The weather took a turn for the worse Friday night, but luckily Z and I were able to get up to the Maple Festival for some rides and food before the storms moved in. Z had a great time and we ran into one of his friends, Jenna, there. Saturday I got to visit with my sis and my nephew. It is amazing how well he is doing after having such a rough start to his little life. I believe he was in the nicu (the first time) for about 93 days. My sis and her hubby are true troopers. I can not even imagine going through what they have gone through. N is a lovey cuddly little guy now. He is up to around 15 lbs (starting weight was around 2 lb 4 oz) and he is doing great. He's a recent picture of the little guy....he really could be playing for the Browns some day!