Monday, July 25, 2011

Baby update: 38 weeks

Baby Olsen, July 25, 2011 (squishing his own nose) 
Here's the latest peek at our little guy. Since he had his fists up against his face, this is the best view we could get, but it's still fun to see. Look at those chubby cheeks! I'm having ultrasound weekly now to keep an eye on how Baby is doing. ("Advanced maternal age," you know.) So far, he's doing great. The ultrasound is for a "biophysical profile" that looks at various characteristics, including movement, breathing, muscle tone and amniotic fluid. He got an 8 out of 8 points both last week and this morning. He also did fine with his "non-stress test" which is just listening to his heart beat and making sure it picks up when he moves. Believe me, he moves! Aside from me being incredibly bored by having to sit in an empty room waiting for enough little lines to be recorded on a sheet of paper, it's certainly nice to know that he's doing well. The doctor doesn't expect him to make his grand entrance for at least another week, so I probably have time to still get pictures on the nursery wall and birthday presents for a certain big sister who will be turning 3 in two weeks.

At this point, I'm pretty much sick of being pregnant. It's hot. I'm pumpkin shaped. I'm tired of heartburn, sleeplessness and conversations about my physique. On the other hand, I'm more than happy to take another week or two to get ready for Baby. There's always some other baby shirt or blanket that really ought to get washed before he uses it. There are more than enough pages in Erik and Anna's sadly out-of-date baby books that need to be completed. My grand plans of stocking the freezer with meals haven't even begun to materialize. Oh yeah, and I hate labor. HATE labor. No getting around that one. Plus there's that year of sleepless nights on the other side of delivery. (Dear Medical Community, the irony of the "back to sleep" campaign is that implies that a baby on his back will sleep. Not in this house.) It's a mixed bag. I can't wait to snuggle the little guy, but I'm happy to wait till he's good and ready. I would, of course, appreciate if we could avoid any more 100-degree days between now and whenever his birthday will be. That would make the waiting a lot more pleasant!

One more thing, yes, he does have a name. It's his middle name that's up in the air, but the list isn't too long. Since you already know that he's a he and he's a cute little thing, you'll just have to be patient on the name issue until there are some additional statistics to go with it!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

My kids are awesome

 My kids are awesome. I know I complain far too much about how overly-energetic they are and how they are always, always testing limits. Both true. On the other hand, out in the real world, they are amazing.

This morning, Anna had her 3-year old checkup, which I scheduled a month early in case Baby Brother decides to take up all our time in a few weeks. Erik came along because we generally travel in a pack. With the help of God's gift to mothers, i.e. the Sesame Street podcast on the iTouch, he was the most patient non-patient ever. Anna followed directions splendidly standing and sitting and what have you to get weighed, measured, and generally evaluated. Height and weight and all that was fine. There were just two little things...

In the course of going over the school physical forms, the doctor noted that Anna had never been tested for lead. Since we live in a pre-1978 house, that's relevant. So, we were directed to get her blood drawn before heading home. The lab for such things is in the same building in the doctor's office, which should have made it easy. Unfortunately a) the lab was having computer problems and b) we were all too well-behaved for anyone to notice we had been waiting for AN HOUR. By the time we did get in for the main event, the ladies working there were astonished that I had had two kids in the waiting room for all that time and they didn't even notice. Fortunately, the basket of books my kids had never seen before was all they needed to keep occupied. I'm sure the other folks waiting were equally enthralled by my multiple readings of Olive, the Other Reindeer, or bored enough to be very quiet while I read. Oddly quiet. Eek. Anyway, once Anna was up for her turn, she couldn't have been a better patient. She sat on my lap and calmly put up with the experience without a peep. Did I mention they were drawing her blood. No problem at all. Acutally, it was Erik, who himself stoically endured all his 5-year old shots without a whimper a few months ago, said he was scared and looked like he was about to burst into tears. Guess we was nervous for his sister, which means he really does like her. Yea!!!

Unfortunately, we need to put all this good behavior to further testing tomorrow. Listening to Anna's lungs, the doctor heard a heart murmur and wants an EKG done to see if it's a developmental issue or a medical problem. I'm trying not to worry because at about the same age Erik had a heartbeat irregularity and went through the same procedure. Nothing abnormal turned up. Besides, this weekend our own little Anna offered this bit of wisdom: I happened to say "I'm sad" in conversation and she said, "Don't worry, Mommy. Jesus is always with us." Gulp. I don't deserve these kids.

Erik at the 4th of July parade.
 (I'm not really sure what he's doing.)
Well, keep us and our various medical issues in your prayers. We will keep you posted.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Baby update: 34 weeks

Not much to report in babyland this week. I had a check up this morning. From the nurse's point of view, it was probably eventful in that I acted like I was going to pass out when she was listening for Baby's heartbeat. Anytime I lay on my back or even lean back with my feet up, I feel ill. So, that got me a nice cold cup of water and a sucker. The doctor blamed the way Baby is sitting, but didn't seem concerned. Otherwise, everything else is fine. In fact, everything is so unremarkable and so little is being done at these check-ups that it almost seems like a waste of time. Better to be an unexciting case than have oodles of questions and problems, of course, so don't mind my griping.

Jamieson has just taken the "big kids" to Grandma and Grandpa O's house for an overnight. So I'm going to take the opportunity to tidy up a bit (and have it stay picked up for a few hours!) and then have some real quiet time of my own this afternoon. Tonight, Jamieson and I will head out for an anniversary dinner at a restaurant without a kids' meal!

Happy Independence Day!