Andrew Update

This picture pretty much sums up life with Andrew these days! He is into everything, and when he's not actually "in" something he is running around like crazy.

He made a big transition this weekend. He is no longer sleeping in a crib. We put his crib mattress on the floor in preparation of getting him into a "big boy" bed soon. We figured we should start the bed move now so he does not associate "losing" his crib with "gaining" a brother. I think that would have kicked off the sibling rivalry with some gusto. The first night on the floor Andrew promptly rolled off the mattress in about 5 minutes (but kept sleeping). However he wasn't so sure about the new set up and woke up at about 3:30 very disoriented and was crying. But today, he woke up about 4:45 and just started checking things out in his room. He realized that he was no longer confined in his crib and dependent upon us parents set him free. He was really funny; he quickly turned on his light and started to do this baby babble narration of his freedom epiphany, so he was just chatting it up in his room with himself and checking out his toys. After about 10 minutes, he came into our room wanting to snuggle. I am hoping that as time goes on, he'll get used to the mattress and stay on it. When he's had some success with that, I'll be ready to move him to a proper bed. (Although I am not in a big hurry since his parent's mattress is still on the floor...)

Andrew's vocabulary has stayed about the same in the past month, but his physical fearlessness and coordination are really developing. Like I mentioned above he loves to run, in fact he now prefers to run instead of walk - he also loves to climb, climb, climb. He LOVES to play "basket ball". We don't have a proper hoop, but he improvises by throwing the ball into anything resembling a basket: onto a chair, behind the baby gate, on top of our bushes, etc. What makes it so interesting to watch (and what makes it a game rather than a ball free-for-all) is that he will do this with concentration and repeatedly. I think that a toddler basketball set will be on his Christmas List.

Andrew's physical proportions continue to mature and he is now becoming more boy than baby. (But he can still fit into the clothes we bought for him a year ago!) The roominess he needed last year for his tummy has been replaced with the length he now needs for his torso and legs.

Andrew's personality as always is very charming and loving. He freely gives out hugs to anyone who asks and he still likes to be cuddled when he's sleepy. We feel pretty lucky to be his parents.

Thanksgiving 2006

We had our first Thanksgiving as a threesome this year and boy were we excited to do it right! Here's a run down of the day:

6:00am The family is up!
6:30am Leslie begins cooking and Eric is on Andrew duty
7:00am Butternut squash is in the oven to roast
7:50am Turkey is in the oven!
10:30am Turkey is out of the oven! Andrew goes down for his nap
10:30am - 11:30am side dishes are finished: butternut squash puree, braised fennel, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy.
Andrew - still napping
11:45am - Thanksgiving brunched is served! Andrew - still napping
12:00pm - Eric and Leslie finish eating! Andrew - still napping

Overall the meal was a success; turkey was fully cooked (whoohoo) and everything tasted yummy (except the fennel - I'll try a different recipe next time). Now that we've got one good turkey day spread under our belt, I'm ready for company! Just need a little work on timing. Due to a slight miscalculation with the whole size of the bird/hours to cook, we were eating about 2 hours before we thought we would, but hey, that's ok.

The rest of the day was spent digesting and lounging - we talked to the family and watched football. So we did what 99% of the rest of the country did that day. We were disappointed not to be able to see our families in person, but traveling would have been a bit too much on our little bean.

Andrew got up about 2:00 and was ready to show his holiday spirit with his turkey day hat:

Out for another month

Our doctor called last night with his assessment of Tuesday's ultrasound. He said that things look about the same as last time and he is continuing to recommend reduced activity for another month.

In addition to looking at the hematoma, the ultrasound appointment included a very detailed anatomy scan that is typically done at about 20 weeks for most pregnancies. These ultrasound images have been sent to a perinatologist to review. (A perinatologist is a specialist in maternal/fetal health and has advanced training in diagnostic ultrasound imaging.) Our ultrasound tech is good at describing what she is seeing while she is looking at the baby and we already know that our little guy's anatomy looks great. He has 4 heart chambers, good heartrate, two kidneys, complete digestive tract, no marker for a cleft palette, complete brain anatomy, no evidence of spina bifida, umbilical cord is working properly, textbook growth rate, 10 fingers, 10 toes and 1 little boy part!

My next ultrasound will be in a month. This seems like a such a long time. It will be the longest I've gone without a peek at the little guy!

Belly picture about 19 weeks

Just about half way through this baby adventure! Physically I feel great, all of the first trimester fatigue and nausea are gone. That's the odd part of bedrest (one of the odd parts) - I really feel fine and it is a constant mental game not to just run out and go do all of the things I normally do. On the bright side, since I can't leave the house, I won't have to waste time running around to stores for Christmas shopping! I can just do it all online. Maybe I'll get a jumpstart on that today.

I feel the little guy kicking on a daily basis now, and that is very reassuring. If he's moving around, he's probably pretty happy in there.

Our next ultrasound is tomorrow - we're hoping for no bleeding/blood in the images, but we'll be very happy with any sign of improvement.

Yogurt Lover

Couldn't resist posting this picture. Andrew is thoroughly enjoying his strawberry yogurt. He started out well and was using his spoon properly, but he decided that the spoon method was a bit too slow. He soon realized that scooping the yogurt with his hand was the way to go!

Mamma Update

Tuesday's ultrasound was very encouraging. Baby is growing right on schedule and all his parts still look perfect. (Confirmed again that baby still has boy parts too :). The doctor said the area of bleeding is half the size as it was two weeks ago. That means 1.) no more active bleeding and 2.) taking it easy is really working. We are extremely relieved. Doctor recommends continued low activity, so I will be home for a few more weeks. The plan is to have ultrasounds every two weeks until everything looks completely normal.

Thanks everyone for your well wishes - it means so much!!