Getting Big

How quickly time flies when you are watching your baby grow up! David is almost 3 months old now and weighs a TON. He was 14lbs 6oz at his 2 month appointment and is well over 15lbs now. I love having a big baby - he doesn't feel breakable - but my back is killing me from lugging him and his car seat to work every day.

So right now David is still traveling with me to work. What was 4 hours a day is now 8 and he does relatively well with it. Some days are better than others but I'm beginning to feel guilty about keeping him in an office setting. We have started looking for daycare and actually have an interview this Sunday with a lady down the street. Hopefully she's wonderful and he likes her :) For the past two Wed. he has been with Aunt Jennie and absolutely loving it and was with Gammaw last Friday as well.

We have packed up all of his 3 month clothes since he has moved on to 6 month stuff - did I mention he was big? They are definitely starting to make some cute boy clothes! His latest outfit is a fleece vest set which is adorable. It's starting to get chilly here in the mornings (below 60) so having something to throw on him until it gets warmer in the middle of the day is essential. Of course bibs are needed now since he drools through everything! Where does it all come from?

The talking/cooing is in full swing now - David talks to everything and anything. As I'm typing this he is talking to his burp cloth that is sitting on the swing. The burp cloth is definitely carrying the conversation. He is even beginning to respond to Dan and I talking to him which is great!

What used to be occasional smiles are now social smiles especially to noises you make with your mouth and if you are particularly good with the noises you'll get a laugh as well. The laughing is the best part and trying to not laugh with him is tough. Heaven forbid you laugh though because he doesn't seem to understand and just stares at you waiting for the next noise.

We officially rolled from Belly to Back almost 2 weeks ago now and almost made it from Back to Belly a few days ago. He got hung up on his arm and couldn't get it out. We still hate belly time but are standing it for a little longer now that he can get his shoulders off the ground and look around. All in all Dan and I are in awe of how quickly he is growing and the new things he learns everyday.

Alan comes out to Maryland next weekend for a quick trip which will be great especially for Mom and then we get to take a much needed trip out to the great state of Arizona the week following. Dan and I are looking forward to it and this will be David's first plane trip so cross your fingers that he handles it well.

Till next time...

Smiles & Giggles

Every day that passes David gets more and more aware of his surroundings. He's starting to really show a personality and we love it! Such a content happy baby and its so nice to hear the cooing and giggling at the ceiling fan or the mobile on his swing.

In the past week David has really started the facial expressions and while I think they are on purpose its so hard to tell! He smiles at Dan constantly (I mean he is goofy looking!) and talks to me all day. I definitely don't get as many smiles as Daddy does though.

We are still going to work 4 hours a day and even there he is more awake and aware. He sits at my desk with me while he is awake and for his naps there is a playpen in front of my desk that he can sprawl out in. The other people in my office are great about having him there and a few women in the admin department are wonderful with him so I take him down there often so they can hold and play with him.

Well its been a week since his doctor's appointment and David's growth definitely hasn't slowed down. Tonight I am headed to drop off all the diapers he has outgrown at the Vernon's. Kevin had his baby boy on July 20th so hopefully they will get the opportunity to use them. We are now up to size 2 diapers and quickly outgrowing the 0-3 month clothing. Although I have found that Carter's clothing seems to run bigger than everyone else so at least he can still wear those.

Till the next time...

Little Man is 1 Month Old!

I really can't believe a month has already flown by! David is doing really well, he is a very happy little boy and only gets fussy every once in a while. He is currently sleeping in our room in his bassinet and while the first week or so was rough it has gotten much better and I'm getting around 6 hours of sleep per night. Dan sleeps through everything and David isn't loud at night so his sleep hasn't been altered much.

Dan went back to work after 1 week and has been working late of some Tuesdays. While he isn't home during the day he definitely makes up for the lost time in the evenings - holding and playing with the baby so I can get some things done around the house. I started going back into the office last Friday for 4 hours a day. David goes with me and everyone loves him there...well how could they not it is my child after all! haha. It's nice to have a purpose during the day besides just Mommy but 4 hours per day is really an 8 hour day between getting us both up/dressed/ready to go and commuting and getting home and winding down. But he seems fine with it so we'll continue doing this for another 3 1/2 weeks.

David had his 1 month well baby checkup yesterday. The doctor said he is doing very well. He has a little cradle cap on his forehead and should clear up soon. Put him on the scale and he is weighing in at 12 pounds and is 23 inches long. That puts him in the 95th percentile or something so we are all thinking he's going to be pretty tall and must get that from the Chialastri side of things. He has another appointment at 2 months for some vaccines and I have insisted Dan go to that one since at today's appointment David crying broke my heart.

All in all the first month has gone really well - we are continuing to learn things about each other and everyday gets a little bit easier than the last. Hopefully I will get better about writing in the second month.

Happy Birthday!

The day finally came! So at my 41 week appt I had asked my Doctor if they could push my inducement up and they said they would try but couldn't guarantee anything. I got a call on Thursday morning saying that I would be going in on Friday morning to have the baby. I was so excited but for the first time the whole pregnancy I was actually getting nervous for delivery. Anyway...

Got to the hospital at 7:30 Friday morning. I had been having mild contractions for the past 12 hours so I was hoping that the induction would go relatively easy since my body was already getting ready (I've heard some real horror stories about induction). I got my IV - they started fluids and they put the monitors on my belly for the babies heartbeat and my contractions. My doctor came in about an hour later and broke my water. Come to find out that they hadn't started the Pitocin (induction medication) yet and now its just about 9 a.m. I was at 2.5 cm at that point. My Mom arrived around 10 - by this time Dan is absolutely bored out of his mind. The TV only had 8 channels and you can only watch the same sportscenter so many times! His parents came in at about 10:30/11:00. I was still feeling really good at that point - the contractions weren't horribly painful, coming every 2 minutes - they were upping (is that a word) my pitocin to keep things moving - and we were all laughing a joking around...until 1 pm. Holy crap the contractions went from like a 3/4 to a 6/7 in about 2 minutes. I was breathing through them as much as possible but it was difficult to keep focused. The nurse told me that I could get my epidural at any time but not to wait too long because I may have to wait for them to be available. So around 2 pm the phone call was made. And 30 minutes after that I was happier then pumpkin pie! Honestly epidural = best invention ever! So at 2:30 I was 5 cm. Things moved really quickly from there. At around 4 pm my nurse checked me and I was at 9.5 cm. My doctor said to check me again in an hour since this was my first pregnancy that it would take about an hour. 15 minutes later I was in pain again and feeling like I needed to push...so back in came the nurse - she called the doctor and said we were ready. I started pushing around 4:30; had to stop for about 10 minutes because the doctor didn't think I was going to go that fast; and little Charles David was born at 4:53 pm.

He weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces and 21 1/2 inches long. He's a big guy just like his Dad! There is no doubt that he is a Chialastri except for his toes that's ALL mommy. All in all it was a great experience, I was happy with the birth and ecstatic to finally be able to hold my little man. We went home 24 hours later and have been adjusting to life with a newborn pretty well. He's doing really well and we couldn't ask for a more well behaved baby.

41 Week Appt

So yesterday was my 41 week appointment. It was soooo not exciting, although I will say its kind of fun to see the expression on peoples faces when they ask when you are due and you say last Wed. haha the little joys at this point! Anyway...I had a non stress test and the little man was moving and shaking. His heart rate was up around 160-170 for most of the test. The resting heart rate looked great 145 or so. Still stuck at 2 cm's but they are pushing up my induction to tomorrow so that I will have time to recover before we bury my Dad next week. I was scared that they weren't going to be able to change it but at the last minute they came through! So, tomorrow is the big day.

We report to the hospital at 7:30 am. I'm nervous but excited at the same time and I really don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight, hopefully the fact that I didn't get any sleep last night and didn't take a nap today will help the situation. Of course I'm worried if I packed everything and got everything ready or if I have forgotten something. I gotta stop - nevermind Everything is ready to go. BLAH! Although I do have to laugh because I've had contractions all day, so the little man waits until I'm forcing his eviction before he decides he's ready to go (nothing like his father I swear!). I'll post pictures tomorrow! YAY

40+ Weeks

So I didn't update after my 40 week appt mainly because I was pretty emotionally drained. It's like running a marathon - concentrating on the finish line (June 17th) and then getting there and its a fake ribbon or something. Its frustrating and on top of that it feels like this kid will never come. Oh and if I hear "he'll come when he's ready" one more time I'm going to lose it. So basically I don't know when he's going to grace us with his presence and my doctor won't induce until 42 weeks so he may end up with a July birthday. He wasn't supposed to me late!!!! Brat!

Alan, Sandy and the kids fly in next Friday. I know everyone is excited to have them here, Dan is ready to drink and carry on with Alan. Poor guy is surrounded by estrogen in our family now so it will be nice for him to have another man in the house to watch sports and drink beer instead of watching HGTV!

My 41 week appt is on Wed....hopefully I don't make it to that appt.

39 Weeks - BLAH!

Okay - I'm officially done with this child. Yeah Yeah I'm sure he's cute and all and he's my kid so I'll always love him BUT he has officially made me mad. No progress in the last week and all the "contractions" I've been feeling aren't "real" contractions (which by the way I tried to explain to my doctor 2 weeks ago that I didn't know the difference). UGH! He's never coming out and I'm going to be like Bonnie on Family Guy - Pregnant until Season 7! Sadly I think that rant actually made me feel better.

Anyway, the appointment today was fine. Doctor was late...surprise surprise. No progress, fundal height measuring fine, go to find heartbeat - still looking - can't find it. Rush over to sonogram room...There's the little bugger laying there practicing his breathing and kicking me. Happier than could be. So everything is fine, scary for a second but great none the less. Heartrate was at 129. Till next week....

38 Weeks! Woohoo

Had my 38 week appointment today, I saw a different Doctor today and she was on time....shocker! Anyway, baby looks good - heart rate around 140 so she was happy with that. Before she checked my progress of course she informed me that most first time moms go late and that I should prepare myself for this. I get so tired of hearing that - ugh, yes I know, I won't prepare myself to go late because I don't want to and leave me alone unless I'm in labor!!! Anyway, I feel better now. I'm making progress and currently at 2 cm and of course as she leaves..."I'll see you next week...if not sooner". Why do they do that??? Seriously you just told me that I'll most likely go late now you give me false hope that I may go in the next week. I hate them! haha until next week....

37 Weeks

Every Wednesday is doctor day from here on out to my due date. The doctor I was scheduled to see today was out sick so unfortunately I got to see my non-favorite doctor of the bunch...again! I swear its unbelievable, I like all the doctors in the group except this one and I have to see her the majority of the time from here on out. ugh - she isn't a bad doctor but she cannot be on time. I think it's impossible for her to do! 20 minutes late again this morning and I was the only one in the office. According to the nurse she was stuck in traffic - yeah right just like the last 10 times I've seen her! Anyway....I digress.

37 weeks - My fundal height is fine, some extra fluid in there so he's still well protected and happy. Starting to make some progress even though it doesn't mean he's coming anytime soon its nice to know he will eventually be escaping! The swelling is getting worse and I'm not sure if I will ever see my ankles again :(

Until next week...

36 Weeks

Well we have finally hit the home stretch...the last month! Had my 36 week appt today and got to see our little guy on the sonogram. We didn't get very good pictures since he's head down and curled up pretty tight. The one picture she did print out is of the back of his head (that's one for the books ;). Other than that everything seems to be on target and looking good.

The swelling has begun and unfortunately the tossing and turning at night is only getting worse. Dan has pretty much had it with me at this point. Hopefully he will decide to come a little early - even though I doubt it - it would be nice!

Beginning of the Show Season

Saturday was our first truck show of the year. It was hosted by Wolfpack Racing and held in Upper Marlboro. Only a few trucks made it out - Dan, Kevin, Sheldon & Mr.Chip and Trev rode with Sheldon. The show was small and for a while we really thought that we were going to be the only trucks/cars at the show but slowly people started to show up. I think we all left around 2 pm to head up to another show in North County. We were only spectators at that show since it was only for cars 1977 or older.

All 4 trucks from the Wolfpack show won trophies and the proceeds from the show went to Relay for Life so it was great to support another local club and Cancer. Our next show is Saturday in Mayo, MD - Back to The Beach. The whole club is coming out for this one so it should be a good time.

31 Weeks!

Finally down to single digits! Only 9 more weeks to go, well from Wednesday - today its 8 weeks and 5 days or 60 days or 1,455 hours but really who's counting?!? My appointment this week was normal, not a big fan of the doctor I saw (she's the last one in the practice I've met) and she was more interested in my lack of spleen then the fact that I'm growing a child. I'll blame it on the hormones but it just struck a cord is all. It may have been different if she could have linked it to the pregnancy like...'hey - you don't have a spleen so we will need to put you on antibiotics' but no she was more interested in talking about what I should do after pregnancy and with my primary care physician than anything else. Anyway....

Everything looked good - weight is a little higher than we all want but it's all in the belly so I'm not concerned. Blood pressure is holding steady at 100/60 so happy about that. I've been having some horrible pain at night and in the mornings that cause me to waddle but other than that still going strong.

We traded in the Jeep on Wednesday as well after my doctors appointment. Dan took away my car buying rights after the Jeep purchase. I can't say that I blame him that thing was in and out of the shop everyother month! So now I'm cruising around in a Lexus LS430. This thing is huge!!!! More room than the Jeep had by a ton, the carseat fits in the back with no issues, we don't even have to move the front seats up and I could easily fit my entire house into the trunk (Dan and I included). It's hard going from an SUV to a Sedan but it's comfy and I enjoy driving it (still have the 8 cylinder) so in the long run this was the best choice for us.

Other than that - Starting in May I have a doctors appointment every Wednesday until my due date except the 2nd week in May so we are coming down to the final stretch and both Dan and I are ready to meet our little man.

28 Week Appt

Normal Appointment last Wednesday, everything looked great except my weight (of course) so I'm trying to eat better. Got a letter in the mail on Saturday from my Doctor stating that I had passed my Gestational Diabetes test but that I am anemic so I have started on extra iron pills which are absolutely disgusting. I have Dan cut them in half to see if only half a pill will give me the boost I need. I have another doctors appointment in 2 weeks so hopefully they will test me again and we will know more.

I finished the baby blanket I was making last night! YAY! As Dan says I actually completed a project which is an accomplishment alone (I'm clearly nothing like my father). My belly is getting bigger and the hot flashes more frequent. I'm very happy that I will be delivering early in the summer, I don't know how pregnant women make it through the heat.

Other than that we are happy and counting down the days...

25 Week Checkup

This morning was my 25 week appointment. My typical visit:

Pull into hospital parking garage 15 minutes early.
See someone really creepy on the way to the elevator.
Go Down 5 stories - walk over to office building.
Huff up 2 Flights of steps because the elevator takes FOREVER!
Sign-in (completely out of breath) and wait 10 minutes to be called back.
Step on Scale and grimace at the weight gain.
Blood Pressure - usually low.
Urine Sample.
Sit in room for 10 minutes.
Dr. Finally comes in.
Listen to the babies heartbeat.
Measure my Growing Belly.
Pay $10.00
Off to Work.

Now you tell me - what do I pay $10 for? I can do all that at home - a lot quicker and a lot cheaper!

Anyway, everything looks great and on track for my due date so far. The baby is around 13 inches long and weighs about 1 1/2 pounds (at least I can blame him for some of my weight! lol). Next appointment is my Gestational Diabetes test so I get to drink "fruit punch" an hour before I get my blood drawn. Hopefully I pass because the test I'll have to take if I fail is a 3 hour fasting test and I definitely don't want to do that!

I am closing in on the 3rd trimester and I now get to see the doctor more often! Woohoo! Won't be long now before we get to meet our little guy.

21 Week Appt.

So this morning was my monthly appointment. Nothing exciting happend so that's a good thing. The doctor and I went over signs of preterm labor (although being my first time I don't know what contractions really feel like) and she measured my belly and listened for the heartbeat. It was very strong and very loud - the baby is getting BIG! Other than that everything looks great - the doctor said that everything at the ultrasound a couple weeks back looks good and hopefully it should be smooth sailing from here on out. I will be watching my blood pressure though since it has dropped to 95/50. They say it's normal to drop during pregnancy but I will still keep an eye on it. Next appointment is in 4 weeks. Only 4 1/2 months left!

The Verdict is In....

So this morning we had our level II ultrasound to see the anatomy of your little baby. I was so nervous last night that I couldn't sleep at all, I kept waking up and waking Dan up. So as it always goes I finally fell asleep about 30 minutes before the alarm went off which really meant I hit the snooze for another 20 mintues and was late getting out of the house.

It was really awesome to watch since you could see everything! I mean we saw the 4 chambers of the heart, the bladder, the stomach, 2 kidneys, a liver, lobes of the brain, every bone in the spine, legs and arms. There are 2 of everything there is supposed to be so we are grateful for that. The baby is measuring right on target so the due date is still sitting at June 17th. The heartrate was 152 bpm and weighing in at a hefty 8 ounces! Unfortunately it took a little longer than it should have since the baby loves to lay on its back (wonder which parent that came from?? here's a hint - I'm a side sleeper). Every time I turned the little bugger turned too so it was hard to get a good shot of the spine.

But, there was one thing that was very clear so if you don't want to know what the baby is stop reading now.

The legs were wide open as the baby was sleeping and we saw the 2 legs and then we clearly saw something in between...it's a boy! Dan is ecstatic and I'm sure I'll never hear the end of it since he has insisted from the very beginning that it's a little boy. He wouldn't even discuss girl names no matter how much I tried. So we are excited and get to go shopping now!!!

17 Week Appt.

Well this morning was my monthly appointment. I'm now 17 weeks and 2 days, the time is really flying by. The appointment was really quick since the doctor was late for work this morning and seeing that I was her first appointment I didn't get seen until 20 minutes late. I heard the heartbeat which, unfortunately took a little bit of time since the little one was all over the place. The doctor would get it for a few seconds and then s/he would move to a new, more comfortable place. Everything looked good and she was surprised to see that I was still in normal jeans.

I also did my second trimester blood screening (ewww...). This was the first time that I have had my blood drawn, by myself, sitting up without passing out. It was quite an accomplishment and I will say that I'm very proud! The poor phlebotomist; she probably thought I was a nut job since I wouldn't stop talking about the cat on her calendar and snow. Oh well, whatever it takes to stay upright.

Dan will be coming to my next appointment on Thursday the 15th of January (which is also Dad's birthday). This is the big sonogram appointment where we will hopefully (cross your fingers) find out the gender. So until next week....

Goodbye 2008

To celebrate the ending of our horrific year we headed out to TJ's house to hang out and watch the ball drop. There was a ton of food, a bonfire, ice luge, pool table, and darts...basically enough to keep everyone going until midnight. It was WAY too cold out (20 degrees) for me to watch the outdoor festivites of football and the ice luge so I stayed inside with the other women and Heather's new baby girl. She's adorable and so well mannered it's unbelievable. Everyone behaved themselves and Dan and I headed home around 1 am.

We hope everyone had a wonderful New Year celebration and made it home safely. We are very excited for what 2009 is going to bring us and hopefully since 2008 was so harsh to us this year will be better!