Cooper's Eye Appointment

Cooper's eye appointment was yesterday morning. They took us back and put drops in his eyes to dilate them. Since he has brown eyes, he required 3 drops in each eye. I have no idea what other eye colors require, but I thought it was interesting that eye color even mattered. I've had my eyes dilated before and they never said anything about the color of my eyes.

Then we got to sit in the waiting room while the drops took effect. Cooper used to be pretty good about sitting in my lap and looking around in situations like this, but he's getting to the point where he just wants down. So it was fun trying to wrestle with him while also dealing with Garrett who was being particularly stubborn and unagreeable yesterday.

We finally were brought back to an exam room and the doctor came in to try and examine his eyes. Apparently some one year olds are cooperative and just look at the light that she shines at them so she's able to examine their eyes while they're doing so. However, Cooper has "a past" with her (as the doctor put it) and he wasn't too happy to even look at her after having her probe his tear duct 2 different times in the past few weeks. So the nurse came in and I held Cooper down, while the nurse held his eyes open (one at a time) and the doctor did her exam. It was quick and relatively painless.

The doctor said she sees no signs of excess watering in his eye so the second probing apparently worked! She said it's rare for a blockage to come back by this point, so we should be in the clear.

He does have a slight astigmatism in both eyes, which is normal for babies who've had a blocked tear duct, for whatever reason. And it's also normal for babies who have a parent with an astigmatism (me. And my mom. And my sister. And my MIL. And probably many other relatives in the family.) So it was bound to happen. She wants to check him yearly to be sure it doesn't get worse, which would mean glasses at an early age. But other than that, it was a good visit.

On an unrelated note, Cooper finally cut his 3rd tooth yesterday. The other bottom, front tooth. I was afraid the top tooth and the bottom tooth that he already has were going to grow in and he would look like a hillbilly with one tooth on bottom and one tooth on top. But thankfully crisis has been averted.

And on a very unrelated note, I will be going back to the job I was doing at my church when I was pregnant with Cooper. I actually start next week, so I'm excited about that. And a little nervous about juggling everything, but thankfully it's just 10 hours a week so hopefully I'll be able to find my rhythm quickly and everything will be smooth.

9 (10) Month Check-up

Yesterday was Cooper's 9 month check-up with our pediatrician. Obviously, he turned 10 months old on Saturday, so we're a bit behind with this. It wasn't my intention to get behind with his check-ups, but with our doctor's office relocating and having to put off some of his early appointments, it's thrown our schedule off. Now that we've moved on to check-ups every 3 months instead of every 2 months, we're going to get back on track once he's had his 1 year check-up in June. (Due to vaccinations, there has to be x-amount of time to elapse between boosters and shots, which is why we couldn't just bump his schedule up once the doctor's new office opened.)

Anyway, I've digressed, per usual. The exam went really well. Of course the fun part of having a 10 month old while you wait in the waiting room and then again in the exam room, is that he's wanting down, down, down. So we ended up walking around the room multiple times before the doctor came in. Thankfully they have a big mirror in their exam rooms so that kept him entertained. They do have toys in these rooms, but, seriously? I'm not letting my kids play with toys in the doctor's office. What kinds of germs are on them? For Garrett, I usually try to bring some small toy for him to play with which is similar to what I know is already there so he won't be tempted to play with the germy toys. But I don't trust Cooper not to throw down any toy I might hand him, and do so repeatedly, so I was his entertainment. Thankfully our doctor doesn't typically keep us waiting too terribly long.

I'm not sure if I've shared this about our doctor before, but in case I haven't... While we really like him and he's very knowledgeable about what he does, it's taken us awhile to really connect. When Garrett was a baby, I felt like he criticized me at every turn and was constantly questioning me. I'm sure you're wondering why we didn't just find another doctor. To be honest, I thought about it, but ultimately didn't want the hassle. I've now figured him out and how he wants specific details when you're describing an illness or situation to him and that when he attempts to talk to my children, I'm not supposed to try and answer for them. We actually get along really well now and he's surprisingly complimentary of me at check-ups, mostly just saying that I'm doing a good job and doing exactly what he would want me to be doing. Had you told me he would have been this way back when Garrett was Cooper's age, I would have laughed at you.

The exam went well, he declared Cooper to be very healthy and doing great. The funniest part was when he was reviewing his measurements (20.5 pounds, 29.5 inches) he said that he was long and lean. Having had a child (Garrett) who has been in the 10th percentile for weight ever since he was 6 months old, I've considered Cooper to be a chubby baby. But he's actually in the 45th percentile for his weight, so I guess that really isn't all that chubby, just average. Both boys have been in the 90th (or higher) percentile for their height though. At one point, Garrett was 99th percentile, but I think he's dropped a bit from that.

To put it in perspective, at 10 months old, Cooper weighs a pound a half more than Garrett weighed at his 1 year check-up. And he's only 15 pounds less than Garrett is now.

At the check-up yesterday, Cooper got 2 shots, which he only briefly cried about, and then had a blood draw to check his lead levels (which is standard at the 9 month check-up, atleast with our doctor). He didn't cry one peep for the blood draw. The funny thing about that is that Garrett reacted the same way when he had his blood drawn at that age. The lab tech had drawn blood for 4 babies before Cooper got there and she said she was just telling the mom before us that some babies don't even make a peep when they draw their blood. Then Cooper came in and did just that.

It's hard to believe that the next time we go to the doctor, he will already be 1!

Doctor Visits and Preschool

I promise I'll get birthday party pictures up soon.

Yesterday was doctor check-up day. Back when I was scheduling Cooper's 2 month visit, I realized it was only going to be 2 weeks before Garrett would need his 4 year visit, so I decided to just combine them both and save me the drive. Our doctor has moved his office further away than where it used to be. I don't love the longer drive, but I like consistency, so we'll be staying with him, long drive and all.

After I made the appointment, I told Keith to go ahead and take August 31 off of work because I was going to need his help taking the boys to the doctor. He never really took much time off after Cooper was born, so I didn't feel bad asking him to do this and he didn't mind.

Since we hadn't been to the new office yet, we brought along our GPS to be sure we found it. Of course it took us the absolute longest route to get there, which is frustrating when you're already running a little late and you're very OCD about being places on time, if not a little early. The new office is really nice and has separate entrances and waiting rooms for sick patients and well patients, which is really nice. They even have a separate waiting room for adolescents. You know, so the cool kids don't have to sit by the Thomas the Train table.

The nurse called us back and they immediately got us started. Keith and Garrett went with one nurse to get weighed, measured, blood pressure checked (crazy for a 4 year old!), while Cooper and I went with another nurse to get weighed and measured. Garrett weighs 34 pounds (which is only 2 pounds more than last year) and Cooper weighs 13 1/2 pounds and is 24 inches long. I don't know how tall Garrett is because it was too chaotic and dad was with him, not me. I'll have to get out my tape measure to see for myself. Cooper is 5 ounces heavier and 1/4 inch shorter than Garrett was at his 2 month check up, so they're pretty similar in size at the moment.

The nurse then took Keith and Garrett to another room to check his vision and hearing while the doctor came in to check Cooper. Keith said that Garrett's vision was better than his (and they had shapes that even he didn't know what they were called and Garrett referred to one shape as a radio, which we both thought was funny). The doctor said Cooper looked, acted, and held himself as if he is older than he is. He thought everything looked great for him. I do hope his tear duct unblocks soon because if it's still blocked at his next check up, we'll be referred to a pediatric opthamologist and they'll probe his tear duct to unstop it. According to the doctor, that is NOT pleasant. So here's hoping we don't have to do that. Then Keith and Garrett rejoined us and the doctor examined him. They had a hilarious conversation which included Garrett telling the doctor that he didn't have any friends at his birthday party and that his cake was yellow. Neither of which was true. He also cried because the doctor helped him put on a little paper gown. Apparently he prefers nakedness to a gown with firetrucks on it. The doc prescribed one more inhaler to add to the one he already uses, for cold and flu season because this is the time of year when he really struggles with keeping his asthma under control. I hope this additional inhaler will do the trick.

The shots were interesting. Garrett had to get 5! and Cooper got 3. Poor Cooper was looking at me, all smiley, and I could tell the second the needle went into his leg, his eyes got wide and then he started screaming at the top of his lungs. Garrett just cried a little and said "It hurts" over and over. Poor guys! Garrett recovered pretty quickly, though he does have a bruise and a small rash on one of his thighs (I'm assuming the rash is from the MMR vaccine). It took Cooper all of yesterday and last night before he started feeling better. He was very fussy and just wanted to be held. Thank goodness Keith was home because nothing would have gotten done. He seems to be basically back to normal today.

As for today, it was Garrett's first day of preschool! For the past 2 years, he has gone to our church's Mother's Day Out program 2 days a week. He's continuing that this year, but he's now in the 4 year old class which does a lot more preschool work. They even get together with the public school's pre-k and do activities with them once a week. He'll get to ride the bus, which I know he's going to LOVE! His first day was great. He knows almost all of the kids in his class from last year. He brought home a page where he wrote uppercase and lower case Y's, which was very impressive!

While Garrett was at school, I was spending my first block of time with just Cooper. I've had an hour here and there with just me and him at home, but this was a 5 hour block of time. It went really well. My goal during this time is to get him to be more independent and figure out ways he can entertain himself. Of course this will get easier as he gets older, but right now he wants to be held a lot and I've attempted to do this as much as I can, but I need to start minimizing that time in order to get more work done around the house. A lot of things have been going undone or waiting till the weekends when Keith is here and I really don't like to do that. So this morning was really good. Cooper did well with doing his "stations". I also took him with me from room to room as I cleaned, so that gave him different perspectives as well. He even took a nap that lasted an hour and a half in his crib! Those are pretty rare, so I'm in hopes that it's the beginning of a new trend.

I couldn't believe how much I was able to get done with the interruptions from Garrett. All my laundry is done and put away, my house is picked up, dishes clean, supper was made before lunchtime! I know that sounds crazy, but I had decided to do a meatloaf. At first I was just going to mix everything up and get it ready to put in the oven this evening, but then I decided to go ahead and cook it so I would just need to reheat it tonight. It feels very nice to have all of this done.

My next post will be how that I've not been able to get anything else done because my children wouldn't cooperate.

(Not so) Brief Update

Our pediatrician's new office called us yesterday to say that the opening date has been pushed back yet again. Initially they were supposed to open July 6 and we were scheduled for Cooper's 2 week check up that morning. Then the doctor personally called the Friday before and said construction wasn't going to be finished by then and we rescheduled for the 16th, which would have been more like a 1 month check up than a 2 week check up. He asked me a few questions over the phone to see how things were going and felt comfortable with waiting a bit longer for Cooper to be seen. It's not like he hadn't already been seen a couple of times after the hospital because of the jaundice, so we knew he had put on some weight and everything else was looking ok. Then the office called again (and called me Mrs. Cooper and referred to Cooper as "Dungan". Yes, I know Cooper is a last name, but who in their right mind would name their kid Dungan?! That's a crazy last name, let alone to give a child that name as their first name.) They told me that the opening was now being pushed back to the 20th AND they may not have all their paperwork for Blue Cross until August 1st, and guess what? We have Blue Cross insurance. So, the doctor said he wanted Cooper to go ahead and see one of the other pediatricians at the old office, just for this check up. I went ahead and schedule Cooper's 2 month check up while I was on the phone with them (and Garrett's 4 year check up will be at the same time. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around having a 4 year old...) Let's hope everything is all straightened out at the new office by the end of August. I hope our pediatrician is going to be extra nice to us after dealing with this hassle.

On top of all this, I called the old office and scheduled an appointment with another pediatrician who I was familiar with. A few hours later, the receptionist called and said that doctor wouldn't see us since Cooper wasn't sick and isn't her patient! I explained to the receptionist that our pediatrician (who had been at this practice for 5 years or more) was the one who told me to call and schedule this appointment. So the receptionist, of course, has to call me back. 45 minutes later she calls and says that one of the other doctors would see Cooper. Does there have to be this much involved in making a freakin' doctor appointment?!

This morning we finally had Cooper's 2 week check up only 10 days late. He weighs 10 pounds (!) and is 22 inches long. Both put him in the 80-something percentile and his head is in the 99 percentile. I really liked the nurse, but the doctor was a little odd. I'm glad we're sticking with our old doctor. When he checked Cooper's hips to make sure they felt good and nothing was dislocated, he was really rough! Our doctor checked them when we were there for a jaundice check and he didn't do it anything like that. Cooper never cried once during that exam, but he cried several times with this doctor today. Then the doctor kept asking me if he was easily consolable. I was like "Yes, except when he's being tortured. Who consoles easily after that?" He didn't even cry that much when they had to prick his heel again for the PKU screening.

Thankfully we're done with that and won't go back to the doctor for 6 more weeks. It should be fun taking both boys for check ups and having both of them get shots. I'm definitely making Keith come with me to that appointment. Today, I did it on my own and it went ok. There's just so much stuff that you have to cart around when 2 kids are involved, rather than 1. Especially when one is a newborn. I can't imagine having my boys any closer together in age than they are. Garrett does so well with helping me and staying with me when I can't hold his hand. I don't know how some of you other moms did it with a newborn and a toddler!

I will try not to post without including a picture, even if it has nothing to do with today's blog. It's mostly for my mom's benefit. :)

Doctor's Appointment and a Trip to the Movies

I almost wasn't going to blog about today's doctor's appointment because seriously?  They're getting more and more monotonous and there's only so many times I can say "weight-normal, BP-normal, urine-normal, heartbeat-good.  The end."  Not that I'm not completely and totally, 100% thankful for having a normal pregnancy.  If nothing else, my trip to the hospital 8 weeks ago taught me to be thankful for it.  But now that I'm getting down to the wire I have to realize that this very well could have been my last doctor's appointment and then I would would beat myself up later for not having blogged about these minute details.  I'm extremely doubtful that I won't be seeing my doctor at least a couple more times during this pregnancy, but you just never know.  

I should have gone to the doctor on Monday, but seeing as how it was Memorial Day, the appointment ended up being today instead.  As I said, everything was good, Garrett went with me, probably for the last time.  At each appointment, my doctor asks me if I have any questions and I seriously cannot think of anything to ask.  I feel like I should have a list of questions, but I honestly don't.  We've already discussed the issues that I've wondered about and, at this point, any other question I might consider asking would just result in him guessing as to the answer.  Of course he has no idea if I'm going to go into labor early or how much the baby will weigh.  It would just be speculation on his part, so I don't bother asking.  Though today I did ask him, once he starts doing internal exams (which could be at my next appointment), would he want to induce me if I was showing progress.  When I was pregnant with Garrett, at my 39 week appointment I was dilated 3 cm and we scheduled my induction for the following week.  I was curious if something similar would happen this go around.  And he basically answered yes.  He did say the hospital does not encourage inductions before 39 weeks if you're not dilating, which I wouldn't want to be induced if I wasn't making some sort of progress on my own, so that's not a problem.  But he did say if he checked me and I was 4 cm, he would send me to L & D and get things started.  Though I would probably request to go to the hospital the following morning rather than heading straight there from his office.  

So that was basically my doctor's appointment.  At the next one, I will be exactly 38 weeks, so I feel pretty sure that will begin the internal exams because I know that's when I had my first one when I was pregnant with Garrett.  I know us women usually avoid being examined internally at all costs, but at this point in a pregnancy, it will be a welcome examination.  Weird, I know.  I have been having the occasional contraction combined with the usual Braxton Hicks contractions but nothing painful or consistent.  They do take my breath away, but not because they're painful.  It's hard to describe.  The way everyone outside of my family talks, they're all expecting me to go into labor anytime now.  I don't think it will happen early, but that's just my take on it.  

After the appointment, Garrett and I went to see "Up", the new Disney Pixar movie that came out today.  I felt bad because Garrett missed his last day of school which is Splash Day where the kids get to play in wading pools and slip n slides, but I knew I couldn't handle sitting outside for all of that unless I was allowed to sit in one of the pools and that probably wasn't going to happen.  We went to the very first showing at our local AMC theater, got a bucket of popcorn and a large Coke to share.  It's so nice that he's almost 4, I don't feel quite the guilt of allowing my almost 4 year old to drink Coke, as I would a 2 year old.  I was surprised by the number of people at the movie at 10:00 am on a Friday when school hasn't let out for the summer.  And there was only 2 other preschool kids in the whole group, the rest were teenagers and adults, which I found odd because if I had a choice, I would have seen something not animated.  

I didn't know anything about this movie beforehand and the little that I had seen about it, it looked strange, but I figured it would be the better choice between it and "Night At The Museum 2", though I'm sure Garrett would like that one too, he liked the first one.  I won't give anything away about the story, but I will say I was not prepared for it and there were several moments that caused me to tear up and a couple of others that I was outright crying and trying not to make any noise and be the weird lady crying during a cartoon movie.  I would love to hear from the rest of you once you've seen it to see if it was just my crazy hormones causing me to cry or if it really did have moments of sadness.  I will definitely confess to the hormones being a little crazy right now.  I just finished a book that caused me to cry many times and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt those parts were not sad in the least.  

Doctor's Visit and Mother's Day

Getting the boring stuff out of the way, my doctor's appointment this morning was, again, the basic stuff.  Everything looked good, Garrett was well behaved, and I'll see the doctor again in about 2 and a half weeks.  After that appointment, it will be a weekly visit till D-day.  Hard to believe we're already at this point!

My Mother's Day weekend was greatness!  Keith had been asking me periodically what I wanted for Mother's Day and most of my responses had to do with spending time together, either just us, or the 3 of us as a family.  (My Love Language is Quality Time, with a good dose of Acts of Service thrown in there, in case you couldn't tell.)  And Keith enjoys quality time as well, but I guess he figured that he also should get me something tangible, so he kept hinting around trying to get me to tell him something I wanted.  I really couldn't think of a specific item that I was needing or wanting, so I wasn't much help, but from the things that he said I suspected he would be getting us a new TV for our bedroom.  

We're one of the few families in the US who do not have cable or satellite and instead watch our TV via antenna (not bunny ears or tin foil, by the way, but an actual antenna that we've put in our attic rather than on the outside of the house.)  What this means is that when all the TV stations switch to digital signals next month, the TV in our bedroom will be rendered obsolete.  Yes, we can buy a converter box that will make it work, but this TV is 19" and 10 years old, that I had in college.  I should confess that it has a nice, melted spot on top of it where I had a lit candle sitting on it back when I was in college and the candle melted all the way down and the candle holder got hot enough that it melted a hole about the size of a silver dollar in the top of the TV.  It looks lovely.  And this TV does not have the ability to be hooked up to a DVD player, so really, we'd rather have a new one.  (Just FYI, the antenna picks up digital signals, so our living room HD TV works perfectly fine.  There's no way you can tell that it's coming through an antenna except for the smaller number of channels.  And hey, it's free!)

OK, back to the topic at hand.  I assumed a new TV was in the works, so I was excited.  On Saturday morning, Keith and Garrett headed out to buy my gift and run some errands.  Garrett had told me the night before that I was getting a necklace for Mother's Day, so I had no idea if he had heard this from Keith or if he was just making it up.  He has the knack for saying things with such conviction that you assume it's the truth, but that isn't always the case.  While they were gone I was able to clean the kitchen and mop the floors, along with organizing the cabinets in our laundry room.  It was a productive morning.  (And yes, I'm nesting.  Thank you for asking.  Or as Keith said the other day I'm "building my nest".)  

Keith and Garrett came back a few hours later and Garrett ran in the house shouting "Surprise!  Happy Birthday!".  He had his holidays a little confused.  Then Keith walked in with a Nintendo Wii.  I was thoroughly surprised.  We had talked about getting one last Christmas, but never did and I think that was the last time it was mentioned.  Keith is not into video games.  They don't really appeal to him, so I know this was bought solely with me on his mind, which makes it that much sweeter.  It took a little work to get it hooked up, Keith was thoroughly impressed with my electrical engineering abilities.  He sat back and held a flashlight for me while I dug around in our cabinet to get everything connected.  

Once everything was hooked up, I turned it on and proceeded to set up our family Mii's.  That was hilarious.  Garrett kept saying "That does NOT look like Momma!" or Daddy or Garrett.  I told him we were just doing the best we could.  I was going to name myself Lydia, seeing as how that is my name, but Garrett insisted my name was Momma, so that's what I went with.  My how life changes when suddenly I'm the Momma in the game instead of that designation being given to my own Mom.  I bowled the first game and once Garrett saw what it was all about, he took over.  He's spectacular at pitching, terrible at batting, takes a lot of work (and a sweet forever) to bowl a full game by himself, along with being a pretty good boxer (provided he's paying attention to what he's doing and not attempting to play some unseen game with the joystick on the nunchuck controller.)  Keith bowled one ball for Garrett and once he discovered that you actually have to go through the motions of bowling and that the sensor picks up how fast or slow you roll the ball, he was pretty impressed and will probably play a little more frequently.  But so far he hasn't actually played a full game of anything yet.  I was excited when my sister told me that I can download the original Super Mario Brothers to play.  I LOVE that game!  And Keith was excited when I told him we can download the internet channel and surf the web on the TV.  He's always wanted to be able to do that.  Now he wants to know if they sell some sort of computer mouse-type controller so that he can feel like he's on the biggest computer ever.  

  

Right now we just have the basic Wii package with the Wii sports game, but eventually we'll add another controller or two along with additional games.  I'm excited to get the Wii fit because I've heard a lot of good things about that.  It will go into my workout rotation once I'm no longer pregnant and actually working at losing weight.

I will briefly share the rest of our weekend now that I've rambled on (for 16 pages, FRONT AND BACK.  Name that show!).  After playing with the Wii, we went and ate lunch at Jalapeno Tree, which is a local Mexican food restaurant chain.  We had never eaten there before and it was ok.  I've had better Mexican food, but I've definitely had worse as well.  We took Keith's mom some flowers for Mother's Day and visited with his family for a bit.  (I sent my mom flowers too for those who were wondering.)  Then on Sunday we went to church and had lunch at Baker's BBQ afterwards.  Garrett spent most of the afternoon outside with Keith while Keith fixed the a/c on his truck and Garrett played.  I mostly relaxed inside.  Then we noticed Garrett's eyes getting red and puffy so he came in because apparently he's allergic to something outside right now.  He took a shower and some Benadryl and went to bed a little early.  This morning his eyes still look a little red, but not as puffy (and by red, I mean underneath his eyes are red, not his eyeball.  He's always done this with allergies, but they've never swollen up like they did.)  This morning I gave him some Children's Claritin and that seems to be working even better than the Benadryl.  After he went to bed, Keith mowed our yard, which was another Mother's Day present for me, as far as I'm concerned.  He had spent all day outside working on his truck and then proceeded to spend more than 2 hours on the mower because he knew the tall grass was bugging me.  

I hope all the other moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day!  It's so nice to feel appreciated.  I'm going to have to be sure we celebrate Father's Day early because this year it falls the day before my due date and I would feel badly if we end up spending it in the hospital or with a newborn, so we'll have to celebrate the Sunday before.  I already know what I'm going to get for Keith, I would post it because he never ever reads my blog, but on the off chance that he might over the next couple of weeks, I'll keep it a secret.  But as far as he's concerned, what I'm going to get him will be every bit as exciting as a Wii, so I can't wait to see his reaction!  (And Keith, if you are reading this, no, it's not a '69 Camaro.  Sorry!)

Doctor's Appointment Number 1000, I think. Does that sound right?

Of all the days to have a doctor's appointment, mine would be today.  The day when it's pouring down rain outside, accompanied with lightning, thunder, and high winds.  Fun!  I'm always hoping to drive in that kind of weather.  Thankfully I had already arranged for Keith to go in late to work so he can stay home with Garrett this morning, so it was just me out enjoying the hydroplaning and flooding rain.  Since Keith was home, I drove his truck rather than my SUV.  I always feel like I'm driving a tank when I'm in his truck, even though it certainly isn't the biggest truck on the road, it just has that tank-like feeling.  Because I have all kinds of experience driving tanks, as you all know.  It is 4 wheel drive though, which could come in handy with all the rain and wind and such.

Anyway, I managed to make my way to the doctor's office without incident, enjoyed walking through the parking lot, soaking my feet with every step.  I wore capris and flip flops because I hate having the hem of my jeans get wet and I don't own any waterproof shoes so I might as well just let my feet get wet from the get go.  I had barely sat down in the waiting room, when the nurse called my name at the door.  I always feel bad when that happens because there were at least 3 other women in the waiting room who were already there when I got there and I was already being called back.  Thankfully none of them tried to trip me as I walked out.

I did the usual pee in a cup, blood pressure, weight check and then went to the exam room.  Since Garrett wasn't with me, I was able to ask (and remembered!) all my questions that I've had recently.  One was about getting my tubes tied vs. having this new procedure done called Essure which is also a new form of permanent sterilization for women.  I asked my doctor which one he would recommend for his wife and he said "I would stay out of her way and let her make her own decision."  ha ha  Good one.  I think I've decided on the tubal, but I still have a few more weeks to nail that down.  I also asked about the swine flu and whether or not it was something I should be worried about.  He said, in his opinion, there will be quite a few cases that will come from this, but he doesn't see it spreading into the epidemic/pandemic proportions like a lot of the media is making it out to be.  The frustrating part of this is that we just got done with flu season and now we're supposed to stay on the look out for this swine flu.  

On my way home, the rain had let up some so I was able to actually listen to the radio.  Right in the middle of the morning show I was listening to, the Emergency Alert System started in with their buzzes.  (Isn't there a better sound they could use for this?  Something equally attention getting, but less annoying?)  After the buzzing, they said that there was a tornado warning for my county.  Lovely!  So the rest of the drive home was spent watching out for funnel clouds.  

Thankfully I made it home in one piece.  Now we're spending the day catching up on laundry and trying not to make too big of a mess while we're stuck inside all day.  Not easy to do when finger paints are involved, but we'll do our best.

(Yet Another) Baby Appointment

Are you tired of reading my doctor appointment recaps yet? Well, get nice and comfy because they're about to start coming more frequently. Yes, I have now reached the point where I have to start going to the doctor every 2 weeks. It's hard to believe I'm that far along already.

Today's appointment found me accompanied by my small, 3 1/2 year old companion. He hasn't been to the past 2 appointments, so he was more than ready to join me today. We had the talk about sitting quietly and I grabbed a couple of toys and snacks that would hopefully hold his attention.

We had just sat down in the waiting room and Garrett had found a couple of fun toys in their toy basket, when the nurse came to call me back. Somehow my blood pressure was normal and for the first time I did not lose any weight, I didn't gain any, but I didn't lose any, so that was good, I guess. Peeing in a cup = loads of fun. I was amused by a new addition to the numerous signs in the restroom. It said "If you drop your cup in the toilet, please inform the nurse. Do not attempt to flush the toilet with the cup inside." This world contains some very intelligent people if a sign like this is now required in the doctor's office restroom.

My doctor is a training doctor, so I'm never surprised to see a trainee accompany him into the exam room. Today he was with a general practitioner who is brushing up on his ob/gyn "stuff". I don't really know the correct terminology nor how this process actually works. Anyway, my doctor had the trainee find the baby's heartbeat with the Doppler, while he and Garrett had an interesting conversation about how Cooper is in my belly, as well as being in Garrett's belly. The trainee had a hard time finding the heartbeat, so my doctor took over and explained that since I'm 28 weeks, the heartbeat would be higher than where he was checking, and he proceeded to find it immediately. I asked him most of the questions that I had intended to ask (one I completely forgot to write down and therefore completely forgot to ask, but I'll be seeing him again in 2 weeks, so hopefully I'll remember then.) We also discussed the fact that while 2 pregnancies can be very similar (which mine have been) the 2 babies involved in the 2 pregnancies can be, and usually are, very different. Garrett rarely had me questioning whether or not he had moved enough when I was pregnant with him. However, I can go for long periods of time and not feel Cooper move much at all. He certainly can't be accused of waking me up at night or kicking me until I'm uncomfortable. Of course I'm uncomfortable for other reasons, but not due to frequent movement on his part. I'm very interested to see if his mellow attitude in utero will transfer over to being a laid back baby like his dad was. I know that's not always the case, so I'm not counting on it, but it would be a nice surprise nonetheless.

The past week or so, I've had several comments about my baby belly, or lack thereof. I don't know why I don't pop out as soon as a lot of pregnant women, but I've tried to explain to those who've questioned my size that I'm actually noticeably pregnant this time in comparison to what I looked like at this point in my last pregnancy. So I thought I would post a picture from each (wearing the same shirt, no less!) as a comparison. (And just as an aside, my weight is within 10 pounds of being the same in both pics.)

7 months pregnant with Garrett, at our Sunday School baby shower.

6 months pregnant with Cooper.

When I was pregnant with Garrett, I never took profile shots until I was 8 and 9 months pregnant so that's why the only shot I have is from the front.

It really is hard to believe I only have 12 weeks left until my due date. Maybe I'll be as lucky as my sister and get induced 2 weeks early as well! On Friday (or Saturday depending on how the day goes), I'll hopefully be sharing pictures of my newest nephew. My sister will be induced then, so I'm very excited for her and can't wait to see pictures of him.

And now I'm off to make fun of David Caruso on CSI: Miami.

12 Week Check-Up

This morning I had my 12 week check up at the doctor. With Christmas parties coming up, I've already booked my babysitters and didn't want to ask anyone to watch Garrett for me this morning as well as watch him when we have a party this weekend or next week, so I decided to suck it up and take him with me. Knowing that I will be having these appointments atleast once a month between now and June, it's only natural that eventually he will have to come with me to an appointment or two. Monday morning is definitely the best time to go to the ob/gyn. We sat for maybe 5 minutes before the nurse came out and got me, so that was nice. I was a little apprehensive about having my blood pressure checked while my 3 year old was sitting on my lap, but surprisingly she said it was normal.

Then I had to weigh. As I stepped onto the scale I remembered that I had my cell phone and keys in my pocket. Not smart. But again, surprisingly, I lost 7 pounds this month! Pretty shocking since I don't think I've been all that sick. Plus, last night I ate a few frozen waffles and pancakes because I was having a weird craving. I figured those would show up on the scale this morning, but that didn't happen. I should explain that when I was pregnant with Garrett, I ended up weighing 2 pounds less when I checked into the hospital compared to what I weighed at my first pregnancy appointment. For whatever reason, I tend to lose weight in pregnancy. Since I have it to lose, it doesn't concern my doctor, so that's nice.

As most of you know, the next step at the pregnancy doctor visit is peeing in a cup. This is truly fun when you have a 3 year old in the bathroom with you. He told me he needed to poop in a cup after I was done. I convinced him to hold that thought until after I saw the doctor.

Unfortunately this was one of those appointments where you have to strip down for a complete exam. Again, lots of fun with the 3 year old in the room. Thankfully I had a sucker in my purse, so that managed to get him through the first part of my exam. During the second part, my doctor started laughing, always something a practically naked woman wants to hear. He explained that he happened to look up at Garrett, who was sitting behind me, and he had his shirt lifted and was looking down at his stomach while my doctor was examining mine. After a question/answer session, I was free to head down to the lab and have my bloodwork done. Garrett sat on my lap while she drew my blood. He made a few comments about my "boo boo", but he was mostly interested in the rubber glove that the tech gave him to play with.

After that we were ok to leave. I was loaded down with formula samples, that may or may not expire before this baby is even born, as well as the paperwork that I have to fill out for the hospital. Overall it was a good appointment and I'm glad to know that Garrett can behave himself in that setting. I don't plan to take him to every appointment, but I'm sure he will accompany me a few more times before this baby arrives.

Oh and he told the lab tech he was having a baby sister. That's the first time he's ever said that.

Update

This morning was Garrett's 2 year check up. First off, I just want to ask, why does stepping onto a scale result in a huge ordeal for a 2 year old? I mean, nothing bad is happening, they haven't given him a shot (yet), all of his clothing is still intact, nobody is even touching him (except for me trying to force him onto the scale). I do not understand his fear of stepping up onto this small little platform. I mean, if it's the one inch height that is scaring him, then why does he regularly climb on top of the kitchen table? That's something to be afraid of. I don't think I'll ever understand what's going on inside my child's head.

We finally managed to get him on to the scale long enough to see that he weighs 26 pounds (he's always been on the thin side) and by this point I'm sweating as if I've run a marathon. And this is just the beginning. He screams when they insert the thermometer into his ear for 1 second (hey kid, the ear is much better than the alternative...), he screams when they wrap the paper measuring tape around his head to see how big his brain is, he screams when we lay him down on tissue paper and they measure him (36"=3 feet tall!!). There was a lot of screaming going on and we hadn't even made it to the examining room. Of course we waited for about 25 minutes or so before the doctor came in, and let me tell you, that 25 minutes is really 2.5 hours with a 2 year old in a small room with nothing but the toys in his diaper bag (which he's played with approximately 1 billion times) and a few books that are way too long for his attention span. So, this results in Momma making a poor choice and digging out one of those super-bouncy balls. This is very good entertainment, but not really practical in a small doctor's exam room. I could just see us becoming the reason for a sign in all rooms that reads "no balls allowed". There's already a list a mile long of things that aren't allowed in those rooms and I'm sure there's a story behind all of them. So I finally managed to get the ball back and put it away before the window was broken or the doctor walked in right in the midst of a super bounce resulting in breaking his glasses or worse. Of course this resulted in the BIG ONE (tantrum wise) and I'm sure everyone within a mile radius thought he was getting his shots, but alas, he was just throwing a fit.

Thankfully our doctor's office has seen fit to lock all of the drawers and cabinets in these rooms because Garrett checked them all multiple times just to be sure they hadn't miraculously unlocked to reveal a hidden stash of awesome toys. At one point Garrett was screaming bloody murder (because I wouldn't let him color on the walls) and I'm trying to shut him up, but my husband (oh wise man that he is) says, "No, just let him cry, maybe that will get them in here faster so they can get us out of here." Wonderful thinking. Of course that didn't work, but eventually the doctor came in. Now, let me just say, I do like my son's pediatrician. He seems very knowledgeable about a lot of kid stuff and he's always talked to Garrett and been nice, but every once in a while he says stuff that makes me feel like a total moron. After he came in he started talking to Garrett, he was asking him if he had a birthday party and what all he got, so I, being a mom, started prompting Garrett to respond. Of course the doctor gets on to me, telling me to stop it and let Garrett answer for himself. I was a little mortified, but of course Garrett didn't answer one question, except when he asked how old he was, he tried to hold up 2 fingers. But I didn't want the doctor to think that we didn't have a birthday party for him so I was trying to help and encourage Garrett to answer. This is just one of many times that he's done this. Don't ask me why we still go there, it's just too much of a pain to try to find another pediatrician, and like I said, he does know what he's talking about, he just doesn't have a very good bedside manner.

So, after this pleasant exchange we move on to discussing various issues (Garrett has excema and also holds his breath sometimes when he cries and then passes out). Then the lovely physical exam comes. The doctor looks in Garrett's mouth, throat, ears, diaper, etc, and the entire time Garrett is screaming as if he's being tortured for information (Where did you hide the remote! If you don't give up this information we will look in your ears until you crack!) Finally the moment comes (dum, dum, dum) shots time! But, thankfully, we lucked out. Garrett was supposed to get the Hepatitis A shot and a blood draw to check his lead levels. Well, there's apparently a national shortage of Hepatitis A vaccines so he didn't get one, but he still got the blood draw. That went pretty well. Though I feel sorry for the ladies who have to do it. I'm sure it isn't fun drawing blood from someone who is screaming in your ear. You definitely need a steady hand for that job.

So, we are now done with check-ups for an entire year! For those of you who have had kids somewhat recently, you know that the first 2 years consist of quite a few check ups so you get to know your pediatrician on a first name basis. But now we can go back to being nameless people in the crowded waiting room. Barring multiple illnesses over the next year, we won't be seeing him much. Though we will have to go back whenever his office gets a hold of some Hepatitis A vaccines, so that should be a fun day. With his breath holding problem, any time he gets a shot, he always holds his breath, which kind of makes the nurse panic a little and she repeats over and over "breathe, baby, breathe". I'm used to it now, so it isn't a big deal. I think he will be an Olympic swimmer some day because he can hold his breath for an eternity before he does eventually pass out. He'll have to figure that out exactly, we wouldn't want him to pass out while underwater.

So, just a lesson for those of you out there who may be exposed to my child over the course of the next few months (he's supposedly going to outgrow this by the time he hits 3, so less than 12 months to go!). Yes, he holds his breath and passes out (occasionally), but this is not uncommon and, according to our doctor, happens in approximately 20% of all children. So please don't look at me as if my child is a freak whenever you hear about his breath holding spells, or if you're one of the lucky ones who gets to actually witness one of these blessed events. He's perfectly normal, just needs a little closer watching whenever he gets worked up. Just put out an arm to catch him whenever he passes out, and then everything is back to normal (until the next episode). ;)