Heart Murmur

Noah's pediatrician sent him for an EKG to see if he has a heart murmur. We had the appt on Wed and Noah did really well. Not only did he pass the EKG and oxygen tests, he was pretty content while we were there. He was talking and smiling... he is such a cutie... take a look.



The cardiologist said Noah has a heart murmur, but that it appears to be "closing tonight - it's THAT small." I was thrilled with the news. He has a follow-up visit in March to see if the tiny hole has indeed closed. Fingers crossed, all is okay.

Sleepy Time

Meet Noah Andrew...

Noah Andrew arrived on Friday, September 25, 2009 at 4:19 p.m. He was 10 days early... here's the reason why -

I had my weekly OB appointment the afternoon before he arrived. I ate chicken fried rice that afternoon for lunch (a rare craving) and then went to my appointment. The nurse took my blood pressure about four times because it was unusually high (REALLY HIGH). So they checked my feet - yes, they were REALLY swollen (but they had been for several weeks). And because I had a headache earlier that week, the doctor wanted me to be immediately admitted to Women's Hospital. Then he told me I would deliver my son the next day...

I started to panic. I thought I had about 10 more days to mentally prepare for labor! I literally just watched the birthing DVD the night before while Brian was at the Rays/Mariners baseball game. I couldn't believe this was happening. After I was admitted, medicine was given to begin the dilation process. I didn't sleep that night - due to stress and pain from the contractions... I just sat in bed watching Brian snore in the tiny recliner he had to sleep in that night. ;-) Late morning that Friday, I was in severe pain. Asked for the epidural and it took what felt like an ETERNITY for the doctor to come administer it. That was painful, but nothing like the contractions I was feeling at that point. I just wanted the pain to go away, so who cares about having a HUGE needle in your spine!

After dilating to 10 cm, there were several nurses telling me to push and push and push. I was scolded for not pushing hard enough... After an hour plus of that, the head nurse wanted to get my OB on the phone for an "evaluation." Her face was very serious and that worried me. Come to find out, Noah's heart rate dropped significantly every time I had a contraction. Given this, my doc came in immediately and ordered an emergency c-section. I was rushed to the operating room and was told I would have my son here in about three minutes. I started crying because I was worried for Noah. The doctors and nurses were so kind to me - they tried to comfort me and assure me Noah would be okay. Brian made his way to the operating room a minute before Noah arrived (he had to drop off our bags to my mom in the waiting room since the nurses wouldn't watch our stuff and we'd lose our room immediately). Sure enough, within minutes - Noah Andrew was here! And we were relieved to hear him crying.







Noah is such a sweetie pie! He rarely cries (unless he's been waiting for some time for a bottle to be made or he needs to be changed). And even so, he doesn't really cry - just gets fussy! We are very blessed to have such a wonderful baby. Words cannot express just how much we love our little guy!

Baby's First Chair

Don't you just LOVE it!!! Go Gators!

Level 2 Sonogram Update

The past week has been beyond stressful... ever since I received the call that my second AFP test returned positive (as the first did), I haven't been able to breathe, sleep, or relax. With support and many prayers from family and friends, we got through the week and had a successful sonogram this morning. All I could do is tear up whenever the technician told us "the spine looks good" or "the brain looks great."

It's amazing how much of our baby boy they examined, which I'm most thankful for. He has five fingers and toes on each hand and foot, heart and organs that look good, and bones/eyes/mouth/nose that looked good as well. What a sigh of relief!!! He was constantly moving, so it was a bit difficult for the tech to get the pics she needed, but she was very patient. :) She was able to capture all the areas she needed to and after the doctor reviewed them, we got the thumbs up.

The baby currently weighs 15 ounces and has a heartbeat of 148 beats/min.

We have another Level 2 sonogram in 8 weeks to ensure the baby is growing properly in utero. At that time, I will be 30 weeks along. I can't wait to see our little one again...

Thanks to each of you for your many prayers and positive thoughts. We couldn't have gotten through the week without your support. We love you!

Here are a few pics from today ~

Latest Ultrasound Pics

Last Friday evening, we had our 2nd ultrasound appointment. Since I was almost 19 weeks at the time, the doctor was optimistic we would be able to find out if the baby is a boy or girl... Lucky for us, our lil' one is NOT shy and bared all pretty quickly. So, the tech said she was 100% it's a BOY!





My belly is definitely expanding - quickly! It's cool to know that people know I'm pregnant by looking at me, and not just thinking I've packed on some poundage. Oddly enough, while my belly is getting bigger, I haven't gained any weight during the pregnancy (yet). I'm sure that'll change at our next doctor's appointment in two weeks. At some point, the scale is going to move up and up (especially with all the food I've been inhaling lately). My appetite has definitely resurfaced the last two weeks. I'm still pretty tired all day, every day. And I still LOVE taking naps and going to bed earlier than usual.

We are so happy to be having a baby and so excited that it's a boy!

Blessed & Overjoyed

Brian and I are over-the-moon to be expecting a baby this October! It is something we've hoped and prayed for - for a very long time. Just when we thought it was another failed month - Brian asked me to take a home pregnancy test. We had one left from months prior. I honestly didn't think we had conceived. Maybe I was just too bummed about our miscarriage a few months before, that I just couldn't believe I was.. Even after the HPT came back with the joyous words - PREGNANT - I still was afraid to get excited as we did previously. So, this time, we kept the news to ourselves - until we were about 10 weeks along and had our first appointment and ultrasound.

Given the positioning of the screen, I wasn't able to see much of anything until the tech printed some pics. I've included some of the pics below...





Brian was able to see the baby moving - boxing, actually. He's started calling our baby - "lil Chuck Liddell" - as in the UFC fighter. Ha-ha! I love seeing Brian so excited. I like to call our baby jellybean.

The tech tracked the baby's heart rate at 168 beats per minute. The tech thought it was too early for us to hear the heartbeat, so we didn't get a chance to hear the heartbeat until a few weeks later at my next OB appointment. When we actually heard the heartbeat, I was simply giddy with happiness. It was such a special day for us!

We are loving every minute of this pregnancy... overall, I've felt pretty good. Just a few battles of nausea. I've been really tired, so I take plenty of naps, whenever possible. My cravings have dwindled a bit. For a while, I was craving green olives on everything. And one time, I REALLY wanted a Whopper with cheese from Burger King. And let me tell 'ya, that was the best Whopper I've ever had! :-) I've had trouble sleeping, so I finally purchased a pregnancy pillow last week. It's been a tremendous help in alleviating the back and body aches I had while sleeping. What a fantastic purchase!

We are looking forward to what lies ahead. In a few weeks, we have another appointment. I don't think we'll find out the baby's gender until the appointment after next... we can't wait to find out! I think it's a girl, but we'll have to wait and see!