I'm Baaaaacccckkkk!!

OK, I'm sure this will annoy most of you, but this is just a promise that I will return to this blog very soon with a complete recap of the past few months. I also promise to post regularly again and keep you up to date on the daily craziness of our life!!

Nutshell recap...all is well with our happy family of four. Kellen Patrick made a surprise early appearance (35.5 weeks) on February 6th. I'll post details of the delivery day soon, but suffice to say, he did amazing and even came home with us. After starting out at 5 lbs 9oz, he is now weighing in around 15 lbs at 3.5 months...LOL!

Larkin is a crazy little (well not so little either) munchkin. She's walking, talking, dancing, and is my personal mini-me.

I'm so unbelievably grateful. After talking with many people over the past couple of months that have followed this blog and missed my updates, I felt it was only right to come back to this...to continue to post as much about the happiness as I did about the pain...so that others can see it come full circle.

...may we never forget where we came from.

More soon...

Happy Halloween!!

Yes, I know Halloween is tomorrow, but who knows if I'll get around to posting then.

All is well here. I'm growing...straight out as a matter of fact, it's hilarious. I promise to post belly shots soon, there's definitely a baby in there now as I've passed from the "Is she or isn't she?" stage to "oh my God, is that lady pregnant again?" based on the wide-eyed looks I got at the mall the other day while pushing the stroller...LOL!

Anyway, we're cruising along here. Larkin is terrific, she has an ear infection actually, but you wouldn't know it by the way she is acting. Which reminds me of a PSA, have you seen those EarCheck monitors that are supposed to tell you if there's reason to see the dr. for an ear infection...PIECE OF CRAP. I was using that thing all weekend and early this week, and everytime it came up on the lowest "Fluid not likely" setting...and low and behold yesterday, fluid in the right ear. I plan on writing to them whenever I have a chance, in a couple of years most likely.

Many of you will be happy to know that I am EXTREMELY busy right now...every evening is spent working on my dissertation!! I am really working hard, and with a little luck should be officially graduating in August...but I've really got to keep moving. Someone remind me this will all be worth it in the end...

The good thing about it is that I work in the evenings after Larkin has gone to bed, so while I'm utterly exhausted, I don't feel like I'm missing any time with her, and that's very important to me.

OK, enough talking, just time for a quick glimpse at the cutest little chicken you'll ever see.

Tyrone Strikes Back!

Well we've had an interesting week. I had my perinatologist appointment on Wednesday. We decided it was best for Patrick not to go because it was a busy day for him with the last of the hurricane make-up games, he needs to save his days off in case Larkin gets sick or for when this baby gets here, and Dr. Kirshon's office is always running late so it can turn into a whole day thing!!
Plus, the 18week ultrasound is all about finding out the sex, and we already found out at our NT scan, right?
...
right?
....
so we thought!

It's a BOY!!!!!!!!!

Dr. Kirshon asked if we knew the sex and I told him, yes, you told us girl last time, to which he said "Did I? Did I say 80% girl?" I said "No, you said 90% girl" and he said "Well 1 in 10, this is a boy!" LOL!

Can you believe it???? There "it" was plain as day, no mistaking it!! We're having a boy, we're having a son.

The nurse was just as happy as I was I think. It was just such a surprise! So she put a piece of paper in an envelope that says "Congratulations, it's a BOY!" along with a picture of the "money shot". When I got home, I gave the envelope to Patrick and his response was "What?!? How did that happen?" LOL!

I think we're both still in shock, and this week has been so busy that we haven't had a chance to sit down and really talk about it and enjoy it. Hearing it has been like finding out all over again. You plan out in your head life with 2 daughters, you think you know what you're doing, and then you find out you'll be raising a boy along with your daughter! Craziness!!

I am unbelievably excited though, and this just feels right to me. WHEN all goes well in a few months, we will consider our family complete...who would have ever thought in just 2 short years that all of this would have happened. We are so very lucky!

I'm jumping out of my skin because I get to tell my parents in a few hours...they're on their way here for the weekend!!!

She's 1/2!!!!

Well on October 1st we celebrated Larkin turning 0.5 years old. ; )

Two days later we headed to the dr. for her 6 month appt. I still find it hard to believe that I gave birth to a petite 6lb2oz baby who at 2 weeks old was at the 5th percentile for weight (50th for height and 10th for head circumference). I always tried to make myself feel better by remembering she was two weeks early, but my how times have changed!!!

At 6 months, we are now...
19lbs 6 oz that would be the 90th percentile
26.5 inches long that would be the 75th percentile
42cm head circumference that would be the 45th percentile

She's in 12-18 month clothes if you can believe that! She's sitting up on her own (although has a tendency to teeter over in pursuit of a soccer ball or rattle that gets too far away from her), she can get across the floor fairly effectively but tends to go backwards quite a bit, and she has A LOT to say. They just told us yesterday at daycare that she and another baby (cute little babygirl, 3 days older than Larkin and probably half her size...LOL!) were sitting in their Bumbos having a hilarious conversation. They said one would talk and then the other would wait and listen while the other talked and every now and then apparently someone would say something funny because they'd both start laughing...LOL! No wonder she gets bored with us on the weekends, we don't speak her language ; )

Return to Normalcy

Everything is pretty much back to normal now. It took about 2 weeks before we had power and were all back under the same roof, and a few more days after that until we got cable/internet, but all is well!
I really owe you some new pictures of Larkin. For now, here are a few of my favorite proofs from her session right before the hurricane, she was just over 5 months in these pics!!

Stupid Hurricane

Well I've been away from my blog because I've been away from home...what a mess after this stupid hurricane!!

Early last week it looked like Ike was going to head further south, straight for my parents. So we made jokes all week about how grandma and grandpa were coming back to visit. Then the damn thing turned and kept inching closer and closer to Houston. By Wednesday, the panic was starting...In the time it took me to go to the bathroom, Patrick had consulted with my mom and had decided that she would be picking up me and Larkin the next day. The whole thing was just a mess....

So Mom got to Houston about mid-day on Thursday, we packed up, and off Larkin and I went south. Patrick had school all day and then had to work on boarding up the house, getting everything out of the backyard, etc, so he finally made it down there about midnight. We didn't even get a sprinkle or a breeze where we were, but luckily DirectTV had decided to carry a local Houston channel so we could watch everything that was happening.

Patrick headed back on Saturday afternoon once the storm had passed. Starting Thursday, you couldn't get through to any Houston-based cell phones, but thankfully text messaging worked most of the time. The last we heard from any neighbors was at 3am, and that was to say our house was fine, but a tree had gone through one of the other houses. Patrick got back to see that besides some windblown plants in the backyard, we were fine (our neighbors with the tree will be gutting the house and rebuilding, it was pretty bad). Needless to say there was no power, so Larkin and I stayed with my parents.

We continued to live with my parents for an entire week! School was cancelled, so Patrick had no reason to sit there in the dark so he returned to my parents on Monday afternoon. Yesterday morning (Thursday) we came back to Houston because I needed to go back to work. Because we STILL had no power, I had to leave my sweet baby girl behind...and spend my first night (except for those two nights in the NICU) without her. Luckily, "grandma's house" is her "normal" right now, so I wasn't too worried...but I definitely felt like a part of me was missing. Patrick picked me up from work last night and we went to the movies (what else is there to do!), we also went to Target and then headed home to the dark. The cats were happy to see me as I'm sure they were convinced that Patrick had buried me in the backyard. Woke up this morning and I'm back at work. Patrick is picking me up at 3 so that we can make it back to my parents before Larkin has to go to bed. : ) I can't wait to squeeze my little munchkin!!!!

I am now the last person in my lab WITHOUT power (4 more people got power last night), and we didn't even see the utility trucks anywhere near our neighborhood. We'll spend the weekend with my parents, and then figure out what to do on Sunday. We're in the "power restored by Monday" zone, but I'm not very optimistic at this point. I don't want to spend more time away from Larkin, so maybe on Sunday I'll start to think of creative ways around the power issue for her...taking it one day at a time at this point.

Oh, and Lathonya has a new name.... Ka-a...pronounced Kadasha...let's just say we did not make that name up!!! LOL! We'll just call her K for now...LOL! She's doing great, and the flutters have begun...which is really helping me bond with her...plus, the pooch is getting bigger. More pictures on Monday, so if we have power, I'll post the 8w.12w.16w comparison. Can you believe I'm almost 16 weeks!!!

Cross your fingers that we get power this weekend!!!!

Cerclage #2 is in!

My cerclage went off without a hitch on Tuesday. Thankfully (for us) Gustav stayed east, and all went as scheduled. My surgery was scheduled for noon, but when we checked in at 10am, they were already calling for me from the OR. So with a quick check-in, changing, checking the baby on the doppler, goodbye to Patrick, set up the IV, go over the procedure, talk to the anesthesiologist, joke with Dr. Swaim, and I was wheeled into the OR at 11am! They're NEVER early...LOL! It went terrificly, and apparently Patrick ran into Dr. Mac in the hallway, and he was thoroughly confused as to why I needed a cerclage. Dr. Swaim explained to his shock I'm sure...LOL!!

One of the nurses was explaining my history to another nurse and it cracked me up "She went through years of infertility and miscarriages to finally get her daughter, and now they can't make it stop"...LOL!

Anyway, minimal spotting Tuesday and yesterday, nothing so far today. No Tylenol or anything after, just some napping and a lazy day at home with Larkin yesterday.

I'm still avoiding the maternity clothes, but my pants are starting to ask for mercy so we'll see how long that lasts!

12 Week Visit with Dr. Kirshon

So it was time for our 12 week ultrasound with Dr. Kirshon on Wednesday. I wasn't nervous at all in the days leading up to it, but somehow when I pulled into the parking garage, it all hit me....hard. Unfortunately, Patrick and I had to take separate cars, so I arrived first and had some time to myself.

I think I had truly still been in denial that I was actually going to have another baby, that I was really pregnant, that things could actually work out AGAIN when they had failed so many times. The odds just never seemed in my favor. So as I sat there in the car, feeling like I was going to throw up (and morning sickness has mostly left me this week), I realized how absolutely terrified I was that they were going to tell me that something was wrong, that this one wasn't viable, or that things didn't look good, that there was some sort of horrible defect. After all, this one wasn't conceived in the wonderfully controlled environment that Larkin was. I wasn't faithfully taking my prenatals or extra folic acid, I was playing soccer, tennis, and running, I was drinking full caff Starbucks (which yes, now I know is ok now that they've posted their caffeine content online : ) ), wine, I even had a massage a couple of days before I found out I was pregnant...I did EVERYTHING wrong!

And so in that moment of panic sitting in the car, I bonded with this child. For the first time I realized that I needed this one to be ok. I needed this one to be as strong and amazing as Larkin...but most importantly I realized that I NEEDED this one...

It never fails that Dr. Kirshon gets called to the hospital right before my appt. Even though my appt was at 8:30, he didn't walk in the room until 9:30. Boy was he surprised to see us, but he seemed absolutely giddy, which is saying something for him...LOL!

He gets right down to business. Of course, I start crying when I see this whole baby. I remember thinking that after Larkin's 12 week scan..."I made a whole baby"...well I made a another one. : )

Everything was just perfect...2 arms, 2 legs, great NT measurement (1.2mm), nasal bone present, great heartrate (163 bpm), and boy was this one feisty! Larkin just sat there kicking her leg and hiccuping. This one....would do total flips!! Boy am I in trouble! I hadn't even had any sugar or caffeine that morning!

And then Dr. Kirshon caught us completely off guard! He asked us if we wanted to know the sex! I knew that sex differentiation began right around 11-12weeks, but it's rare to get a good glimpse. Well I guess this one flipping all over caused a great view because Dr. Kirshon said he's 90% sure that we're having another girl!!! He did a couple of closer views, and I could even see the three lines, so I'm pretty darn sure we have another girl in here.

So on that note, from this point forward Tyrone shall be referred to as Lathonya. Funny back story there. Many of you know my real name, but it may amuse you to know that the 2nd choice name for me (picked by my grandmother) was in fact Lathonya....just imagine me with that name...can't do it can you?

I felt bad at first wondering if everyone was counting on me to have a boy. Patrick seemed to care less, he was just so relieved that she was healthy. Financially, it's terrific. All we need is another nursery and everything to go in it, but we have all the clothes, bouncy seat, swing, etc. And I never had a sister, so I'm glad that Larkin will be able to have that. I just hope they like each other...and that they don't hate me too much when they're teenagers.

I cried a little to Patrick and said I was sad because most girls hate their mother at some point in their lives but never seem to go through the same phase with their dad. He said that he thinks all kids go through general "parent hating" phases regardless. But I think it's the fact that my mom and grandma had and still have a horrible relationship. And Mom and I really only became close in the past 4 years...really once I started dealing with all of the infertility and losses. I want something different for my girls...so all I can do is vow to do a better job, right?

I'll try to post the scan pictures sometime this weekend! But for now, I'm feeling better, I'm feeling attached, I let the cat out of the bag at work (which is also helping me to bond, it's so much easier not to have to keep the secret), and I'm even starting to get poochy already!!! Well poochy compared to this time with Larkin at least. We took a picture on Wednesday, so I'll work on posting that, too!!!

Cerclage is still scheduled for Tuesday as long as Hurricane Gustav doesn't rearrange my schedule!

PSA Friday- Vaccinations...

Well it's Friday, so I'm sorry to be so serious, but I thought it was a good time to get this out there.

First, let me say that I am not at all preachy about what I think about vaccinations. I obviously have an opinion (every parent does!), and given my profession, maybe people on the fence would actually care about my opinion, but I rarely offer it unless blatantly asked. I honestly have no idea if any of my friends/acquaintances have decided to forego their child's vaccinations because #1 I'm not nosy like that and #2 it's their choice. However, keeping this in mind, I do feel like it's my responsibility to at least voice where I stand on the issue.

Larkin is 100% compliant with the recommended vaccination schedule, and I plan to keep it that way (barring an illness that would push her a couple of weeks here or there). Now I know some parents like to break it up and not have to deal with their child getting 5 shots in 2 minutes, and I completely understand and respect that. If Larkin had shown any issues beyond the point where we left the exam room, then I certainly would have thought to do the same...but she apparently could care less...LOL!

I won't go into details, but many of you (most of you?) know what I do for a living. Suffice to say that I'm a scientist who happens to specialize in pediatric illness. This makes me privy to some information, but most of what I based my decision on is publicly available information. And again, those of you that know me well also know that I will research the HELL out of anything that I have a question on. So naturally, I did a ton of research on the vaccination/autism issue as the data was being released. Again, you can see where I stand on it.

So now finally, the word has started to get out (and by out, I mean on the nightly news) that maybe we're starting to see some repercussions from the decrease in immunized children. Measles is the latest culprit. I can also tell you that we're seeing A LOT of pertussis (whooping cough)...it's been on the rise for awhile, but something strange is happening now.

Now to sidetrack for a second, I highly recommend that everyone reading this consider getting a pertussis booster themselves. I'm guilty of not remembering to do it after Larkin was born, and now I have to wait until after Tyrone is born. I'm making Patrick and my parents do it. I highly recommend it because our little munchkins are not fully immune until after their 6 month shots, and we can easily have a mild persistent "cough" without ever realizing that we are actually bringing pertussis home. Just something to mention at your next family dr. visit...ok, that's all the preaching I'll do on that one.

Back to the topic at hand...
So here's my issue. Someone doesn't want to vaccinate their kids, and they believe it's their right to protect their children from some harmful effect of the vaccine. But then that child becomes a vessel for these diseases, again, that was their parent's decision, but if that child somehow comes in contact with my 4.5 month old who is on schedule with her vaccines but hasn't acquired full immunity yet...then could my child suffer (and let's be honest possibly die, these diseases are not something to play around with in an infant) based on someone else's decision?

That's what has me riled up today. None of us of childbearing age know what the world was like when these diseases ran rampant, but I'm sure we all have stories from our grandparent's generation. My grandmother lost 2 siblings before they were 5 due to disease...diseases that could be completely prevented due to the wonderful medical advancements called VACCINES!

So I'll just say one more time, I did my research, Larkin is vaccinated. You have to make your own decision, but I hope you take the time to critically analyze every single study out there and make a truly informed decision.

PSA over. ; )

A Day of Firsts: High Roller and Poop Oops!

We managed to switch Larkin to the special formula yesterday without a problem. She did give that furrowed brow look when she first started drinking, but "Mikey" ate the whole thing anyway. She still pooped, but we knew it would take a day or two to work.

Anyway, I headed upstairs to get her in the bath not knowing what was ahead of me. I was running the water to get it to temp, and she was laying on her towel on the floor. She rolled onto her side (which she always does), then rolled back. Then I thought to myself "That little sneak is going to roll over when I'm not looking". So I looked back at her, saw her get on her side again, and then poof, there she went..as if it was so easy she could do it all along (which I'm pretty sure is the case). However, the minute she got on her stomach, she popped up on both hands, picked up that head, hiked up those legs and looked around like "Hmmm, I bet I could get somewhere if I tried"...boy are we in for it! LOL!

So a good 5 minutes after that first, we got another...first tub pooper. LOL! I heard it, I saw it, I picked her up and watched it drain out of the tub. When Patrick walked in, she was still suspended in mid-air. Thank goodness for that Clean Water tub (it drains the entire time so not only does the temperature stay constant, but dirty, in this case very dirty, water runs out).

She seems to be doing better today, so I'm thankful for that!!