It's Been a Crazy Two Weeks!

Well, two weeks ago Megan started running a fever out of nowhere--104+. Part of her issue turned out to be a urinary tract infection, although the fever went away before the UTI was diagnosed. She's finishing up a course of antibiotics now, and she seems to be on the mend.

Then, last week, I started feeling some cramping and went to the doctor. Turns out I have a low-lying placenta that appears to be causing some of the cramping, likely combined with all the lifting of 22-pound Megan that I did the week before. So I've spent the last 5 or so days "taking it easy" while piecing together care for Megan (of course, daycare has been closed--great timing!). Luckily, I have a wonderful group of people around me who have been just terrific. P.C. has been such an angel. Nancy has been here almost as much as I have, and has been totally amazing, and her daughter Miriam has been such a help too. My cousin Stephanie and her family spent time entertaining Megan. My mother-in-law has spent a lot of time here. And my friend Maureen was here for several hours as well. I gotta say, we are so blessed to be surrounded by such loving, giving people. Here's a picture of Miriam helping to give Megan a bath. I was able to wash Megan's hair without tears. I wish Miriam could come help at every hair washing...

I'm feeling better today, but still trying to take it easy so it stays that way. Here's to some calmer times!

Update on The Kids!

("Kids"--I love it...)

First of all...IT'S A BOY!!!!!! We got the news on Friday. Very exciting...and certainly very different for a gal (me) who grew up with girls. But I'm looking forward to it. P.C. is very excited, too. The ultrasound went well--we saw all 10 fingers and toes, and everything looks good. The amnio was tough because the doctor had trouble getting the amniotic fluid out--little Sprout kept moving around--which meant prolonged uncomfortableness for me. But things are now back to normal. Test results should be in in about a week or so.

Megan is changing daily. This weekend, she started saying "book" (with an emphasis on the hard "k" sound). And on Saturday morning, when P.C. went in to get her, she was standing up in her crib--a first! She's getting up a little earlier now--I think it's because she wakes up, stands up, and can't get herself back down. So we're working on that. (The difference between 5:50 a.m. and 5:10 a.m. is huge when you're sleep deprived!)

UPDATE: 3:35 p.m.--The baby has just started to kick. Oh, how I love that feeling...even as it gets bigger and kicks so hard that I can't catch my breath...it's like a little secret that only the two of us share.

12-Month Checkup

Megan had her 12-month checkup yesterday. The vital stats:

Length: 30 inches (76th percentile)

Weight: 22 pounds, 11 ounces (73rd percentile)

Head Circumference: 18 1/2 inches (94th percentile)

In other news, Megan is allowed to eat any and all foods, as long as they aren't chokable (like hot dogs, popcorn, etc.) She tried milk last night and really liked it--she must get that from her daddy! She's also in the early stages of feeding herself.

And she's crawling like crazy! She's slowly getting the hang of pulling herself up. Here she is after she pulled herself up in the Pack & Play. (FYI, we're trying to get her used to the Pack & Play for Sprout's arrival, because there will probably be times when we'll have to use it. [Great idea, Mom!] So far she seems to like it--we've had her in it for about 5-10 minutes at a time each day.

I go on Friday for my amnio and ultrasound. We will find out if Sprout is a boy or a girl!

Happy Birthday Megan!

Megan turned a year old yesterday. Can you believe it?

I think Megan's daddy likes her. What do you think?

Megan loved her cake...yum!

And she had fun opening a few presents.

Here's Megan showing her mommy and daddy how old she is.

We have been so blessed this year. Here's to another great year with our baby girl!

The Point of No Return

(Look at this face. Can you imagine she can scream like any of the best horror movie queens?)

Every night, just after dinnertime, Megan enters what I call the Point of No Return. She gets so tired and it's like a switch is flipped and she becomes a crying mess. I get her ready for bed--whether or not she'll scream in the bathtub is a coin toss--and then hold her in the rocking chair, where we read, say prayers, and sing songs. At some point, she quiets down and cuddles with me in my arms. (I have to say that's the greatest part of my day--that and when I'm singing to her and she looks at me like she couldn't imagine how lucky she is to have me as a mom. I need to keep a mental picture of that in my head and save it for when she's a moody teenager!)

When it's time to get into bed, I stand up and move toward the crib. And the wailing begins. This has gone on for a couple of weeks now, and the window of screaming appears to be shrinking. When she first started, she could scream for up to 45 minutes. Tonight, she did about five or so.

I'll go in once to make sure she's okay if she's really screaming like crazy, but I try not to. If I do, I'll pick her up and cuddle her. If she quiets down (which she usually does), I call that her "critical error," because it means she's perfectly fine and not in any pain, so back down she goes. And the screaming commences.

I know it's all for the best, and that she needs to learn to fall asleep without me, but I have to say, it's a real test of my will!

11 Months Old!

Megan turned 11 months old on July 2. Hard to believe she's almost a year old!

Lots of stuff going on this month. She's becoming more mobile--although scooting appears to be her method of choice--and she's babbling like crazy, even adding "bye-bye" as a word.


And she's tried new foods. Egg yolks, strawberries, cheese blintzes, cantaloupe, and avocado. She really liked avocado, but as you can tell from the picture below, she go quite messy! (Her runny nose didn't help matters...)

Here's Megan about to give her daddy a kiss!

Guess What?

Megan's going to have a little brother or sister!!!!!!! Due January 12th, so probably late December, given Megan's early arrival.

And no, this wasn't an in-vitro baby. Apparently the fertility doctor did one heck of a job with my reconstructive surgery!

We're very excited. We were waiting to see if this would happen, and it did! How about that?

I'm 95% thrilled and 5% terrified about how I'm going to manage two kids 17 months apart. But as P.C. said, two years ago we didn't even know if we could have one! So I guess, like with one, we'll figure it out.

As for Megan, she's currently going through the "I'm going to scream every night when you put me to bed" phase, which is a real test for us. Poor thing--she screams like a crazy person, and when I go in there, she quiets down and then screams harder. Fun! I just keep telling myself that it's a stage. It's a stage. It's a stage. The good news is, she's getting really verbal and wanting to stand up and she just keeps changing every day.

In the picture above, the baby (We're calling it "Sprout" this time around) is facing front. While we were looking at him, his top hand was waving. So funny!

I'm so happy to share the good news!!!!