Ultrasound

We had our ultrasound today to check on Peanut's growth and development.  Patrick and the twins came with us, so it was a busy room.  Peanut is looking good and developing right on track.  The tech check the spine, heart, kidneys and other body parts.  She didn't look at the boy/girl parts since we don't want to know.  Michael thinks he "saw something" when she was measuring the leg bones but I didn't see anything.

We had a hard time getting a good profile of Peanut because of his position and the fact that he had his arms and hands up by his face most of the time.   You can see three of the fingers by Peanuts mouth in the first picture and the arms by Peanut's face in the second one.  Only about 20 more weeks or 131 days to go.

Bed Time Trouble

Since moving Patrick up-stairs to his big boy room he had done well.  Until the last two nights.  He hasn't gone to sleep until 9 each night.  He keeps getting out of bed and/or turning on his light.  I'm not sure what to do about it.

Last night I stayed upstairs and did some work.  The moment I noticed his light on, I opened the door, told him no, turned the light out and put him back into bed.

Any other ideas of what might work.  I was up there close to an hour last night.  But at least he sleeps longer in the morning.

21 Weeks

Peanut's the size of a pomegranate! (Or for the men, about the size of a bottle of beer)

At 10.5 inches and about 12.7 ounces, she's big enough now that you've probably been feeling her movements.  As her digestive system preps for the outside world, she's manufacturing meconium -- the tarry black substance you'll find in her first dirty diaper (ew)!  If it's a girl, she's already got a lifetime's supply of eggs in her womb -- about six million of them!

Feeling Peanut move around all the time now, not just in the evenings when I'm relaxing.  Our ultrasound is this Thursday.  I'm excited to see Peanut.  It will be a full room as Michael, Patrick, and the twins I have for daycare are all coming with.  They, the girls, keep asking me when the baby is coming and if they will get to see the baby.

20 Weeks, Half Way

Decided to do this a day in advance since I had my appointment today.  Things are going good.  Haven't gained or lost anything according to my OB's scale.  I'd have figured at least an ounce or two but nope; exactly the same.  Everything else is normal; heartbeat has been around 145-150 each time.  Having an ultrasound on the 31st to make sure baby is developing properly.  No we are not finding out the sex of the baby.  I will also have to stop in sometime the next 3 weeks to do my Gestational Diabetes testing.   Peanut have been moving around a lot lately.  I don't remember Patrick punching and kicking much but my placenta was in the front and muted a lot of him movements.


Peanut's the size of a banana!
Baby weighs about 10.2 ounces and measures about 6.5 inches.  Peanut's got working taste buds.  Now, she's gulping down several ounces of amniotic fluid each day -- that's significantly more than before.

Birthday Party

Birthday party today!

Patrick had his birthday party today.  A lot of work for me though.  Patrick spend the afternoon with Grandma and Papa so I could clean and get things ready for the party.  Mopped the floor and scrubbed down all the chairs and tables.

Party started late this afternoon so Michael could sleep to about his normal time.  Family came as well as some friends.  Patrick was excited to see Phoenix as well as his cousins and Isabella.  Our daycare girls couldn't come but we celebrated earlier with them.

Patrick loved opening all his gifts.  I had a hard time keeping him out of them until after we eat.  He LOVED the Little People Airplane that he received as well as the Cars busy book.

I should be cleaning up but instead I'm watching The Lorax with Michael.  Dishes can wait.

He's TWO!

Patrick turns two today.  He's learning new things each day and I'm always amazed at the new words he says and how he can express what he wants.  I still have trouble every once in a while understanding what he is asking for.  Last night he keep saying "Toe".  Finally figured out he wanted me to cover him up from head to toe.  Done this many times but this was the first time he asked for it.

Not much going on in way of celebration today.  He is having a party of Saturday so today just a treat and one present to open form the twins I watch.  They can't make it to the party so we are celebrating with them today.  He also had a doctor appointment this morning, right away at 8:30.

Patrick did not want to be examined today at the doctors.  He did great stepping on the scale and standing still while he was being weighted (29 Lbs) but that was the end of his cooperation.  He didn't want to be measured for his height.  He's still just a little to short of the wall scale so I had to lay him down on the small roll up one.  He wouldn't lay still and kept moving his head from the top so we got a best guess of his height (35.5 inches).  Threw a fit when the Dr and nurse tried to hear is heart and lungs.  Cried and said the thermometer under is arm hurt.  He did like when the doctor used the light to look at his eyes but not his ears.  He ended up getting the flu shot and some blood draw to check his lead levels since our house is over 50 years old.  Poor kid, rough way to start your birthday.

The rest of the day went very well.  We celebrated with the daycare girls since they can't come to his party.  Patrick even got a hair cut.  Over all, I'd say it was a good day for Patrick.  Let the Trying Two's begin.

Insulation In

We added insulation to our house this evening.  During the house inspection, we were told that the attic didn't have enough insulation in it.  No big deal we could easily add some insulation after we bought the house.

Well, today was the day.  We quadrupled the amount of insulation in the attic so that it meets the suggest R-factor for the area we live in.

That's right, QUADRUPLED.

Each inch of insulation is equal to about 3.2 R-factor.  No idea why it's called R-factor but anyways.  We only had 4.5 inches which equaled an R-factor of about 14.  Our recommended R-factor for Wisconsin, 49-60.

Huge THANK YOU to my in-laws for helping out.  It's such a blessing.

I'm so strange, but I'm exited about the fact that we added insulation.  Patrick liked climbing on it.

19 Weeks, almost half way

Peanut's the size of a mango!

At about 6.0 inches long and weighing in at about 8.5 ounces, she's getting there!  Peanut is developing a protective coating over her skin, called vernix caseosa. It's greasy and white and you may see some of it at her birth.  Working on her five senses. Nerve cells for her sense of taste, hearing, sight and smell are developing in her brain.

Feeling great and feeling the baby move.  Mostly just at night when I'm relaxing or going to bed.  My appointment isn't until next week and then we schedule my ultrasound so we can see Peanut.  I'm still hoping to get it in before my birthday but I'm not sure how busy they are.

Patrick's birthday is on Thursday and his party is this coming Saturday.  He knows it is coming and seems to be excited.  When we do calendar with the twins each morning we count how many day left until his birthday and it is on the calendar with a special date card.  He will point to it and say birthday.

True Life Confessions

1. I've heard you become clumsy when pregnant but never believed it since I didn't with Patrick.  Well . . . I've broken two glasses in a matter of three days this week.  I think I need to buy some plastic ones.

2. I love it when Michael is home and will shower with Patrick.  Saves money on water and I don't have to do anything!!

3. I've never eaten brussel sprouts but did tonight.  I love them.  They are like mini-cabbages.  Patrick loves them as well.

4. I don't know how I managed to do it but Patrick loves broccoli, brussel sprouts, and carrots.  Hope I can do the same with this next one.

18 Weeks

Peanut's the size of a sweet potato!
She's about 5.6 inches long and about 6.7 ounces now and she keeps on growing rapidly.  Can you believe she's yawning, hiccuping, sucking and swallowing?  Peanut's twisting, rolling, punching and kicking, too -- and she's big enough that you might be able to feel her doing it!

Suppose to have a Dr appointment yesterday but it was rescheduled to the 21st.  I'll be 20 weeks then; half way there.  I think I can feel Peanut every once in a while, but not positive.  I'll be scheduling my ultrasound on my next appointment as well.  Can't wait to see the baby.

Basement Trouble

When we bought our house we knew there was some water leakage when it rained hard.  Other than that, we thought our basement was good to go.  Well, we've noticed that on the back wall there is a large crack.  It runs the length of the back wall and is straight across.  Michael says that the wall is starting to strain and buckle due to the pressure from outside.

We'll need to have this fixed as soon as possible.  We had a basement inspector come and look at the house.  It looks as though it will cost about $20,000 to fix.  This was just one estimate and I think we'll have to get a few more.  We obviously don't have that kind of money saved up.  Our credit card debt is much larger than I want/like it to be as we had some unexpected expenses this year; water heater and dishwasher both needed to be replaced.

Being a stay-at-home-mom, we have to live one income.  I do bring in a little extra money watching the twins but we basically have to live off the one.  With a new baby coming, we are trying to save money to pay for these doctor bills as well.  This has made us tighten our belts and is harder to squirrel away much in savings.  Michael's job does provide for over time but it isn't always available due to the production demands.  Michael has been looking into a possible apprenticeship with his work to become an electrician.  While this would be best for the family in the long run, initially his income would possibly drop due to the work schedule.  He could still possibly work overtime when he signs up for it.

I've talked about a few options but are not sure the right way to go.  I really don't want to get a loan from the bank as we already have a lot of debt and are trying to pay down the credit cards.  I don't want to get a home equity loan as again, we already have a lot of debt.  I'm mostly worried about having a set  amount due each month; just incase we are extra tight one month for some reason and don't have the full amount.  Not sure if we have much of an option right now though.  We'll have to sit down, look at our budget, and see where else we can make cuts.

17 Weeks

Peanut's the size of an onion!  For you men out there, Peanut is about the size of a hockey puck.

Baby continues to beef up. Now she's about 5.1 inches long and weighs about 5.9 ounces.
Share this with family and friends.  Her rubbery cartilage is now turning to bone.  And she's growing some meat on those bones -- putting on some fat.  She's growing a stronger, thicker umbilical cord, too.

Feeling good, had a wonderful Christmas time and really enjoyed being with family.  Looking forward to next week when I have an appointment.  During this appointment I'll schedule my ultrasound and most likely my glucose tolerance test.  Hoping I pass this time and don't have gestational diabetes.