Eventful week

What a week we had last week. I was home with Jack while Eric's parent re-cooperated from an upper respiratory cold. I was with him Monday - Thursday am. It was so nice being there with him and I was able to get some work done while he played. Tuesday night we were up from 2-5am because he had a bad dream (I think) and then we were up just as long Wed night/Thurs am.

Jack was starting to get stuffy and had a runny nose. I thought it was the flu mist he got Tuesday afternoon. Turns out it was a respiratory virus that he picked up somewhere. Wed night around 1:45 am, he woke up crying and coughing and had a hard time breathing. Eric and I tried to run a hot shower thinking the steam would help his breathing but Jack was too upset and would not calm down to allow it to work. He kept telling me that he needed medicine and that his throat was hurting. I gave him water and noticed he was shaking. At that moment I told Eric that we needed to get to a hospital. It was the longest ride of my life. Jack was struggling, crying, coughing, and very upset. We finally get to the ER and the triage nurse said he had croup. This is something Eric knows about well. He and both of his parents suffered with this when they were children.

Once we got into a room, the staff gave him a breathing treatment, which opened up Jack's airway and he was able to breath within a few minutes. His O2 was 93 so they decided to give him steroids to open things up a little faster. Once Jack could breath easily again, he was so happy and chatty. The doctors observed him until 4:45am and we went home. Jack was asleep before we hit the highway. We were told that croup is caused by a respiratory virus and because children have small airways anyway, the irritation and swelling in that area can cause difficulty breathing. Cold air can help open things up so we'll try that should this happen again. It was such a scary thing to go through and to see your child in panic is worse. He is now suffering through the cold but doing much better. We were both up by 8:30am and other than an occasional cough, you couldn't tell anything happened. Jack was his happy self.

Sunday we decorated pumpkins and they turned out pretty well. Tonight we will trick-or-treat by visiting family in the area. I can't see Jack going up to a strangers house and I think he'll like seeing people he knows. He is going to dress-up as a Carolina Panther. Pictures to come!

The baby is doing well. I think I felt movement over the weekend but can't be sure. I didn't feel it again so it could have been something else. I have an appointment tomorrow that should be uneventful. I will talk to the doctor about not inducing. We'll see what he says. I also have my hematologist appointment on Thursday. He will just test my blood levels and I will likely not have to see him again until Feb or so. At the hospital Jack said he thinks we will have a girl with pretty hair. :) We'll know soon enough.

I think the morning sickness is gone! 15w2d

I woke up on Saturday with NO SICKNESS! None! It just hit me while I was making breakfast, that I felt normal, and I felt pretty great all day. Sunday rolls around and I still felt pretty good! Here we are on Monday and I think I might be cured. :) It was 15 weeks on the dot last Saturday.

Jack and I also listened to the heartbeat on Saturday and it was 151...still thinking it's a boy. So the only things that are still sticking around are feelings of being tired even after 9 hours of sleep and this bad taste in my mouth ALL THE TIME. This is definitely pregnancy related. I didn't have it with Jack but it started soon after I got pregnant with #2. Yuck!

Next week I go in for my 16 week appointment. It will be pretty routine but one step closer to seeing my baby again on November 11!

Not feeling exactly like I thought I would be

Throwing up in the car, on the way to work is not exactly how I thought I would be feeling at 14w4d. Fortunately I had a grocery bag. I have been off of the prometrium for two weeks now and this week has been pretty bad. I was feeling much better by 13 1/2 weeks with Jack. Could this mean a girl? I stopped taking my B6/Unisom cocktail for the nausea because I WAS feeling better. It looks like I'm going to have to start taking that again. At least I know this will eventually end - I just hope it ends way sooner than delivery day.

Jack has names picked out: Sir Topham Hat if it is a boy and Sir Topham hat Girl if it is a girl :) For those not schooled in the Thomas the Train cartoon, Sir Topham Hat is the Director of the railway and Jack LOVES Thomas. He also likes the name, Jackson Leo Hudson, which he doesn't seem to mind sharing. :) Jack still seems excited. I told him we would have to get through Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, his birthday, and then the baby would come. He brought me a little heart sticker and said it's Valentine's Day! :) He is so sweet.

I think I might have felt the baby moving around. It's hard to tell and still so early but it's possible! The picture posted is me at 14 weeks.

NT Scan went great! 12w5d

We got to see our precious baby today! I can't believe how much it has grown in a week. :) I've posted pictures below of his/her hand and profile. We saw him moving around more and saw his hands in front if his face. The tests went great and there is a very slim chance of the baby having Down Syndrome or Trisomy 18, which is a chromosomal defect.

The tech also asked if we wanted to know the gender and I said no and then asked her if she could tell. She said oh yeah, it's pretty obvious. :) I'm thinking boy! The heart rate is 157. I would love another sweet boy.

Eric and I also told Jack last night. He was so cute. I stuck out my belly and said do you see my belly? What do you think is in there? He said, Jackson Leo Hudson! haha I said no, you're out here. Then we showed him the last ultrasound and I asked him what that was. He said, a baby. I said, do you think that baby is in here? He said yes! Then he asked where its mommy was :) I said I'm its mommy and this is its daddy and you are its big brother! He just got this big smile on his face. :) Then we were talking about what he was going to teach the baby and how he was going to help. He's so sweet. Then he changed the subject and played with his trains. :)

So, all looks well! My next appointment is October 27 and then the anatomy scan is November 11.

NT Scan 11w6d

Last Friday I had my NT Scan, which is where the ultrasound tech looks at the baby to see if there are any signs of Down Syndrome. They measure the thickness of the skin on the neck and then they look at the nose bone. Eric wasn't able to come because he had a test, which was a bummer for both of us.

So, I go in for the ultrasound and see that the baby is directly on its head! I mean completely upside down! He (I say he b/c it's just easier) was upside down with his neck against me and looking away. We tried everything to get him to move. We pushed on my belly, I walked, jumped and wiggled around but nothing. Even after all that there was no movement! He was still in the same position. I did see him move a leg and squirm a bit but that's it. I guess he was perfectly

comfy where he was. I did get a few pictures. They aren't that great but I'll post one profile picture below.

So, because they couldn't get the measurements, I get to go back Thursday to try again. And the best part is that Eric gets to come with me! So, more pictures to come.

First OB appointment 11w3d

I finally had my first ob appointment at 11 weeks 3 days. After waiting for an hour in the waiting room, I finally saw the doctor. We just went over the normal stuff. They like to induce around 39 weeks instead of 38 like they did last time. That is fine with me because I want this baby to stay in there as long as possible. That will put me at April 1. That will help with planning Jack's birthday party and I'll be able to pull that off before the baby comes.

First the nurse listened for the heartbeat and she found it pretty quickly. It was 164, which is higher than what Jack's was at this same time. His was 155. I still think it will be a boy, which I will love. :) I am going back on Friday for the ultrasound and am really looking forward to it. I can't wait to see how much the baby has grown. I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

We haven 't told Jack the news yet but have been talking about babies in general. The other day we asked him if he would like to have a baby in the house and he said yeah. We also asked if he would like a girl or a boy and he said girl. (that changes frequently.) He said he would let the baby sleep in his crib and play with his toys. I can't wait to tell him that he will be a big brother. I think we're going to wait as long as we can...maybe once we find out the gender or until he asks why I'm so big. He hasn't said anything so far. He will be such a wonderful big brother.

My morning sickness seems to be improving. I can stop taking the prometrium on Sunday, which should help with the nausea. I feel sickest at night instead of all day. I see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Hearing the Heart beat 10w 4d

I'm not as good this time around at blogging. You are much busier with toddler and I guess that's why. I pulled out my doppler to see if I could hear the baby's heart beat. When they looked at the doctor's office they pushed hard and looked low so that's what I did. Low and behold I found it! It took me a few minutes but I heard it beating at 169 bpms. It brought the biggest smile to our faces. I've tried a couple of times since then and haven't had as much success. I think I hear 2-3 beats and then it's gone. The baby must be moving around a lot in there. Plus I am so much bigger at night and bloated and that doesn't help. I did hear it Saturday morning so I was happy.

Tomorrow I have my first OB appointment and they will listen for the heart beat there. Friday we have the NT scan (ultrasound) and I can't wait! Here I am at 11 weeks.