An unexpected doctor's viist

Yes, we had a scare this morning. I had a little bleeding and it scared me to death. Fortunately, my doctor's office (the specialist) was able to see me and we went in. They drew blood again and that all came back normal. We were able to see the baby and her heartbeat on the ultrasound, too. We couldn't get a heart rate because the nurse said that puts heat on the baby and they don't usually do that. She did offer to count it, but none of us had a second hand to time it. But, she said it looked good. We even got to see the baby move her head! The nurse saw it first and asked if we saw it, but I had just asked a question and was looking at the nurse not the monitor. So, she watched it for a little and we saw her move. It looked like she was shaking her head yes, maybe saying "I'm okay in here mommy." That's what I like to think, anyway. We got a couple of pictures, but they're not very good as far as being able to see the baby. They were for measurement. And, she measured right on target. The nurse said that most likely, the bleeding was from a little pocket of blood that she showed us that is probably left over from when the baby implanted into the uterine wall. Sometimes, that blood is reabsorbed by the body and this hasn't been yet. I still have an appointment with my OB on Thursday, so it will be even more reassuring to have everything checked again, then. Hopefully, especially with today's scare, I will be able to have another ultrasound and we'll be able to see again that the baby is okay.

Baby picture

For some reason, no matter how many times I try (and I tried several!), blogger won't let me upload the baby's picture in my previous post. I've had this happen before and it let me put it in the next post, so I'm going to try. If I can't get it in here tonight, I'll try again tomorrow. Here goes...

Baby update

We went to the doctor again today for our weekly check-up. We had another ultrasound and the baby has grown a lot since last week!! Last week, she (hopeful thinking) was described as "a grain of rice" and this week, she's "about the size of a lima bean, not as big as a butterbean, but the size of a lima bean." How amazing is that??!! We were able to see the heartbeat again and it's beating fast and strong. However, we still couldn't find out the baby's heart rate. This week, the nurse who did our ultrasound didn't know how to do that with the machine. But, the heart was going great and we also saw the baby's feet and a possible arm bud. The feet are the white line on the picture, but she wasn't sure if what we were seeing was the arm bud or not, so I don't have a good picture of it. She also saw the baby's eye socket, though she couldn't get a good angle again for us to see it or to get a picture. We're still measuring right on target, so that's good, too. Our specialist also released me from his care today, turning me back over to my obstetrician now. He said that as long as my bloodwork comes back with good numbers tomorrow, I won't have to come in for weekly bloodwork anymore. They will re-check my auto-antibodies at 14 weeks to see if they are still high and, if so, I will have to stay on the Heparin until 20 weeks and be checked again then. If they are normal, I will be able to stop the Heparin at that time. I was concerned about how they would check for clotting disorders while I'm on the Heparin, but he said that the auto-antibodies are separate and the Heparin doesn't really affect them, it just keeps the blood flowing. I guess I need to do a little more research on that aspect of it. It did make me feel better to know that they can confidently do the bloodwork while I'm still taking the Heparin and not have to put the baby at risk by stopping it temporarily or risk getting skewed results from the Heparin. I have my first prenatal check-up with my OB next week and then I probably won't have to go back to the doctor for about 4 weeks. I'm not complaining because I'll do whatever is necessary for a healthy baby, but it will be nice to not have to drive 45 minutes each way and take a half day to go to the doctor every week. For a while, at least. That will all start again towards the end of the pregnancy!

Good grades and good behavior!

As you know, our oldest two boys are in school full-time now. John-William has always been a good student and has always enjoyed school. However, towards the end of the last school year, math was not his strongest subject. The main reason for that was that he would get in a hurry and not pay attention to what he was suposed to be doing. He would do addition instead of subtraction, etc. Usually, the math that he did was correct but it was not the problem that was on the test. When he did actually get one wrong, it was usually off by only 1, meaning that he got in a hurry when he was counting on his fingers and just missed it. This year seems to be much different, though! He brings home his math work daily and we go over it at night and he always has the right answers. On all of them! I've told him how proud I am and how much better he is doing this year. I don't know if it's just because he's a little older now, if his teacher has a different approach or if it's just a different time of the day (if I remember correctly, last year they did math right before they went out to play -- who wouldn't get in a hurry??) He had his first math test on Tuesday and he came home with a 100 A+!! And, he's not just doing addition and subtraction now, either. They're working on ones and tens and having to figure out the value that each digit represents. I don't remember learning it this way! He's also doing well in his other subjects. The lowest grade he has brought home so far has been a 95. I can't complain about that! I'm not posting a picture of his math test, however, because by the time it came home it was all crumpled up in the bottom of his backpack. We all know what a 100 looks like, though.

Jackson also came home with a good report on Tuesday. The elementary school teachers give out recognition notices for good behavior in class. Jackson got his first one on Tuesday. I've attached a picture, but in case you can't read it, he was recognized for: "being respectful and courteous; displaying a highly commendable attitude; participating in a positive manner; and being very cooperative." That describes him to a T!

Superguy's Party Supplies

In case you're wondering who Superguy is, this is a conversation I heard walking in the door a few days ago:

Jackson: "Don't do that anymore, Michael."
Michael: "Call my name Tuperguy!"

He still has that 3-year-old lisp, so his s's come out as t's. But, he informed his older brother that he was Superguy. So, that's what we call him now (sometimes). His birthday party is in 3 weeks, so we went to the party store yesterday afternoon to pick out his party supplies. What did he pick out? Madagascar, of course! Part of me thought he would choose Superman, part of me knew that he wouldn't. He did get excited when he saw Superman, but he also got excited over Strawberry Shortcake (he doesn't even know who she is, much less that she's a "girl" party), Sponge Bob, Cars (the movie), Hot Wheels, dinosaurs, frogs and lizards, Batman, Scooby Doo, Nemo (last year's theme), Elmo and probably a couple of others. As we walked down the aisle, there was a different design about every 2 feet and each time he saw a new one he would say, "I want that one!" When we got to the end, I asked him which one he wanted and he said, "I want all of them!" It was so sweet. But, we finally narrowed it down to one and he chose Madagascar. Today he told me he wanted a Scooby Doo party. I told him he chose the Madagascar supplies and said that he wanted that and his reply was that he wanted both of them. Madagascar it is, though. So, now to send out the invitations and prepare for a 4-year-old's birthday party.

We have a heartbeat!!

Here's the baby -- the little white blob in the black circle.
We had our doctor's appointment today and we were able to see the baby's heartbeat! What a relief! I have been so worried since last week's appointment when we could only see the yolk sac, but no baby yet. Today, we saw the baby and the heartbeat was just a little blip on the screen. It's too early to be able to count the heart rate, but we could see it beating. Next week, we should be able to tell how fast it's beating. Next week, we also meet with Dr. Long (we usually only see a nurse practitioner), to discuss his plan for me -- how long he'll continue to do "early pregnancy monitoring" and when he'll re-test my auto-immunities and monitor my bloodwork. Right now, because of the LAC antibody that they discovered in February, I have to take baby aspirin and Heparin everyday to prevent my blood from clotting around the baby and cutting off the blood supply. So for now, I have to go in for weekly bloodwork to make sure that everything is okay. Next week, we'll get an idea of how long that will continue and when he thinks he'll release me to my OB. Speaking of which, I was advised today to go ahead and schedule my first prenatal check-up with my OB, so I'll be seeing two doctors for at least a little while. That's okay, though, if that's what it takes to get a healthy baby here! The picture to the left shows a more close-up picture of the baby -- the little blob in the right side of the black circle is the baby. There's also a very lite "halo" there that is the yolk sac. That's where the baby is getting his/her nourishment from right now.

What??

Michael had a bagel with cream cheese for lunch today and when he was finished, he was going to the potty before naptime. I looked up and just started laughing at him. He said, "What??" and put his hands up in the air. I had to pick him up to look in the mirror so he could see what I was laughing at.

I made it through Jazzercise!

Believe it or not, this pregnant mama went to Jazzercise tonight and made it all the way through! I hadn't been in 2 weeks, so I wasn't sure how I would do. There have been a lot of changes in me and my energy level during those 2 weeks, so I was a little nervous. I really thought that tonight would be the confirmation that it was time to cancel my membership for now, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that was not the case. I did tell the instructor tonight that I am pregnant so that if she saw me slacking off or if I had to leave the gym to catch my breath, she would understand why. My sister goes to Jazzercise with me, so I've been okay with the fact that the instructors didn't know about the pregnancy up until now. But, since my belly is pooching out a little and I wasn't sure how I would do, I told her tonight. I'm glad to know that, at least for now, I can keep up and continue to do this fun class that gives me energy and helps me feel good about myself -- I know that I'm at least putting forth an effort to be a little more healthy and I actually get an hour to myself to do something for myself (when the kids don't go with me, that is!). And no, I'm not posting any pictures of me doing Jazzercise or in my Jazzercise clothes. Be glad!

Too tired to do anything

I was too tired to do anything yesterday, so I just took a nap! I guess motherhood and pregnancy will do that to you. I had so many things I wanted to accomplish in the house, but they had to wait. I got a little done last night, but not nearly what I had planned. There's nothing real exciting going on here right now.

Today went much more smoothly at school. Thank goodness!! Jackson decided he was ready for the drop-off instead of being walked to class, so I did as I was "supposed" to and went through the drop-off line this morning. That's the first time I've ever let two out at the door! He wanted John-William to walk him to class this morning, so John-William went head-first into big brother mode and not only walked him to class but gave him a goodbye hug, too. They may argue, but they really do love each other and are very good brothers to each other and Michael. John-William told me what a big boy Jackson was this morning and that he didn't even cry when John-William hugged him goodbye. They both make me so proud!

A Rainy Saturday morning...

turned into a beautiful Saturday afternoon! Of course, waking up to rain on Saturday almost always means going back to sleep. Which was exactly what I did this morning and it felt great! We were all very tired from a long week of travel, play and getting back to school. The boys had to get up about an hour and a half earlier on Thursday and Friday than they had been getting up! I wasn't planning on it being such a huge difference in time, but with us being out of town we were all sleeping in a little. Anyway, we slept in and got some rest today. Then, we took the boys over to my parents' house (Ninny and PawPaw) to ride the 4-wheelers and play in the pool. My brother, sister-in-law and nephew were there, so we visited for a while and had a nice time. Michael rode the 4-wheeler by himself for the first time today! He rides with his brothers and Trent (my nephew) on a regular basis, but he drove Grady's (my other nephew) 4-wheeler all by himself today. He was very excited. By the way, that rain that we got this morning was much needed and appreciated. We've been needing a respite from the heat and dry weather so badly and we're very glad we got it. So glad that we didn't hear one complaint about waking up to a gloomy-looking Saturday or the fact that we didn't think we'd be able to swim. Of course, the sun came out and warmed everything up, so the boys did play in the pool for a while today, too.

Jackson's First Day of School

For some reason, I can't upload Jackson's pictures into the post about the first day of school. So, I'm posting them now so that you can see him, too. That's John-William in the background. I told you he started the crying!

A Beautiful Sunset

After we watched dolphins swim, we were headed back to the shore when the sun started setting. It was so beautiful to see from the water, especially with the very distinct colors of blue and orange. This picture really doesn't do it justice, but I thought it was so nice that I'd share.

Our Trip to the Beach

We spent a few days at the beach and just got home on Wednesday (yes, the day before school started!). We had a really good time just being able to spend the day with the boys and relaxing. We went on a dolphin watching expedition, rode go karts and bumper boats, played miniature golf, played arcade games and spent several hours on the beach and at the pool. We also went crabbing at night and the boys had a blast using their flashlights to look for crabs and small fish to catch in their nets and carry around in their buckets. Some of the "small" fish are so big and strong that they can't be contained -- they jump right out of the bucket! Michael didn't like that very much when one jumped up and hit his face. He decided he didn't want to carry the fish in his bucket anymore.

The First Day of School

Yesterday was the official first day of school and John-William started second grade. He did so well on his first morning back to school and I was so proud of him. His teacher was a first grade teacher last year, so he knows her and is comfortable with her and he already knew most of the kids in his class. He is a very good student and really enjoys learning.

Today was the first day of school for Jackson, our kindergartener. School did start yesterday, but they split up the girls and boys for the first two days since this is the first time that many of them have ever been away from mom. The girls went yesterday and had a tea party all day long. Today, the boys went and they were in "camp out" mode all day long. He even told me how to make s'mores when he got home. However, the day didn't start as well as I had hoped. He started out wonderfully. He was excited about going to "big school." The teacher had some worksheets for them when they got into the class and since we had already delivered all of his school supplies, all he had to do was get out his crayons and start coloring. Then, I told him to give me a hug goodbye. (John-William was already crying at this point, for some reason that we never figured out and neither did he!) Jackson gave me a huge hug and wouldn't let go. He buried his face in my side and the tears started rolling. It took several minutes of him crying, me crying and trying to tell him that he was going to have a great day before the teacher finally pulled him off me and I had to leave with him screaming. That was extremely difficult! We walked John-William to class and snuck back down the hallway to check on Jackson. We couldn't hear him crying anymore and Adam peaked in the window and he already settled down and doing fine. I hope Monday morning goes much more smoothly!

My first post

Well, I'm a newbie at blogging, so I guess I'll learn as I go. I'm a mom of three boys and expecting our fourth baby next Spring. We will unconditionally love any baby that God blesses us with, but I'm hoping we have a daughter this time. This will be our last baby and I would really love to complete our family with a little girl. I'll be posting lots of pictures and activities with our three boys who are ages 7, 5 and 3. For now, I'm just happy to get this started and now I'm headed to bed -- this mama is tired!