Tuesday, December 20, 2005

A quick baby update for those who are interested. We had some more excitement with the pregnancy where I actually took another trip to the hospital with Nick sweetly by my side. More and more contractions - which are not unusual at all since I have them every day now, except this time they were regular - about every 7 minutes. After about 3 hours of having regular contractions I called the doc and he had me come right in. I really had a feeling that everything was fine, but when there are more than 4 contractions an hour you are supposed to call the doc. I really waited a while because 1. I felt I was fine apart from the pain of contractions and 2. I WANTED things to be fine, but ultimately Nick and my Mom made me call. So I went in and, indeed, I was contracting away regularly so after some monitoring and tests they gave me Turbutiline with some Visterol (spelling?) to stop the contractions. Yuck - I did not like the Turb stuff but the Visterol supposedly tempers it. The Turbutiline made me very shaky - I looked as if I had sat out in the frigid weather we are having as I sat there and quivered. The magazine I was holding shook, the blankets shook. Whole lot of shakin' goin' on. They also did a fetal fibronectin test which came back negative - which is good! It means delivery was not imminent. So, after meds and some more observation, I was allowed to go home! And then they gave me a prescription for Nifedipine to stabilize me further so now I am on that around the clock. The baby is terrific - super active and a great heartrate and growth so I am not worried. I am still pretty restricted as far as activity goes, but at least I am home, so I am NOT complaining. Just trying to keep this baby cooking! This is such a different experience from being pregnant with Kate! But still a blessing! I am so excited to meet our little baby boy! But he just needs to stay in there for a while longer. Thanks to all for prayers, emails, phone calls, and even fun magazines mailed to us all the way from Great Britain for some great, new reading material! Lucky me!

Saturday, December 17, 2005

For those who check the blog regularly for updates, I have to apologize for not posting in so long. One would think that I would have much more time for such indulgences since I am now much more restricted in my activities per doctors orders.....alas, I either run out of steam by the time I think of a posting or I am otherwise occupied. Plus, with the fact that I have not been out and about as much, there is not as much news! I have been pretty boring as of late! All is well and the baby and I are fine - and Nick and Kate are wonderful and helpful and very understanding.

Kate continues to provide endless entertainment and, since most of you check the blog for Kate updates, I hope you don't mind a couple of quick stories:

"What does Kate say?"
Kate LOVES to tell you "what animals say". And, thanks to her favorite kids program that talks about exotic animals, her supply of animal sounds is extensive and interesting. She will gladly answer when you ask "What does a Dog say?" (Kate's answer: woof, woof) or "what does a rooster say" (Kate's answer: cockadooooooooo). However, her favorite animals sounds are those of the more international variety as opposed to domestic or farm. For instance, according to Kate, a humpback whale says "awooo, awooo" in a high pitched tone. A macaw says "sqwaaak, sqwaaak" in a very loud and rough voice. A jaguar says "rrawr, rraawwr" in a growly voice and a sloth makes some sort of high pitched squeak indescribable by the english language...you have to hear it. So Kate just LOVES to play the game "what does a ______ say". The other night, her Uncle Patrick was naming every animal he could think of. We always finish off with "what does a bear say" because we find her answer to be funny - she makes a growly face and says in increasing volume with each word "A bear says bear, Bear, BEEAAARRRR". I guess Bear and Grrr sound the same to her. Last night, though - Patrick then asked for the first time - "What does Kate say?" just to see what answer she would come up with. Kate, who had been hopping around imitating animals of all kinds, quickly composed herself, stood very sweetly with her hands folded and with her huge eyes looked up and said "Kate says 'I LOVE YOU'. MELT MY HEART. She is too much.


"I Need Bless Yous"
The other day Kate was following me around the house saying "I need bless yous, Mommy. I need bless yous! Where are the bless yous?" I had no idea WHAT she was talking about. Finally, she found a box of tissues on the bookshelf in my bedroom and grabbed them and said in a very relieved and dramatic voice "Oh, THERE you are Bless Yous! I FOUND you!!!!!" I started laughing and Kate said "Mommy, do you need a bless you?" So tissues are "bless yous".

Well - those are just a couple of quick stories that I, of course, find to be sweet. Hope they make you smile! All is well here - my folks are in town for the holidays and it is WONDERFUL having them here. Kate is absolutely in love with her "Nia and Gramps". Last night we were over there for dinner and when it was time to leave Kate announced that she was staying to "sweep at Nia and Gwamps house". My Dad is off on a business trip tomorrow, but we will have him back for Xmas before he returns to Miami for work.

Well, it is LATE and I am rambling. I will post some more pics very soon. Lots of holiday activities coming up, so lots of pics to be taken. Keep checking for updates. Also, FYI for all of you who are being so WONDERFUL and sending out terrific holiday cards - THANK YOU! We LOVE getting them! Nick and I really struggled with the decision that we made to NOT send a holiday card this year....but we will be doing another mass mailing soon when the baby arrives, so we will consolidate greetings and announcements then. ;) That does not change our wish for all our friends and loved ones to have a joyous and happy holiday season and a new year of peace and happiness!