Four Month Check-Up

Camryn had her four month check-up on Tuesday and everything came back great. She had blood work done to follow her liver functions, which had been elevated the past couple of months, but are now almost in the normal range. The doctor was happy with her growth, and said she's meeting all the developmental milestones.

Here are her stats:
Weight: 9 pounds, still small but gaining appropriately
Length: 22 inches, right on for her weight
Head: 42 centimeters, which is the 75% for her age!

My girl has such a big brain! It is helping her reach those milestones I talked about. Even with her big head she can hold it up for a very long time and she can sit up with back support now. She also stands with someone supporting her back, and loves to kick her legs and "dance". The smiles are non-stop and are now accompanied by squeals and giggles. She "talks" all the time to anyone that will listen. Lately, she has really started to vocalize and likes to hear herself scream as loud as she can; to the point where she is ear-piercingly loud.

We are not sleeping through the night just yet, but it is certainly better than the first few weeks. I know in time that will come along too.

Halloween Pictures

Here are pictures of Camryn dressed up in scrubs for Halloween...

3 Months Old!

Camryn is now three months old and the time has flown by! It just doesn't seem possible and yet she has changed so much.

As for milestones, she has great head control now and follows our voices and Brady's tail. She can sit up supported. On a good day she'll roll over from her tummy to her back, but usually just screams for tummy time. We are seeing tons of smiles everyday and the baby-babel is the cutest thing ever! Really, it is!

Her weight is up to 7 pounds 12 ounces and the doctor is pleased with her weight gain in the past few weeks. Finally! She is a very long baby (about 22 inches now) and her head has outgrown her newborn clothes! Whoo-hoo for the 0-3 month wardrobe!

She's now sleeping for up to 5 hours at a time during the night, which is great for me! I'm feeling much less like a zombie.

I've been back at work for a few weeks and she seems to be doing ok while I'm gone. Better than her mama! It helps me to know that Daddy, Grandma, and Nanee are taking great care of her when I have to be away.

I do have more pictures to post and will soon! Jesse also bought me a video camera and I'll have to post some short video clips of her just as soon as I figure out how!

Pictures of Cami

... for a size comparison!

A smile caught on camera

Cami with Grandama & Grandpa Arlen on Labor Day

Cami & Great Grandma at the Welcoming Party

Cami next to her cake that Aunt Marta made

The beautiful quilt that Great Aunt Krissie made for Camryn

Four Generations

The Second Month

It's hard for me to believe that Camryn will be two months old in just a couple of days! The time has flown by and I am very sad to say that I will be leaving her three days a week to return to work. I will miss her almost as much as she will miss the milk jugs! :) Last night we went out to dinner and were gone just under three hours.... well she nursed for 1 1/2 hours (mostly comfort nursing) after we got home and would have gone longer if I'd let her. So hopefully she doesn't want to nurse for six hours straight when I get home from work!

Cami is growing and changing everyday. She has mastered the skills of smiling and holding her head up, and she can recognize Mom & Dad's faces and voices very well. Now we are working on following objects and grasping them with her strong little fingers. A few times she has reached up and grabbed Dad's glasses right off his face!

Sleep is still a precious commodity in this house! Cami is not much of a nap taker unless she is riding in the car. I can get her to take some 10-20 minute cap naps on my shoulder a few times a day. So most days this makes for a cranky baby & Mommy by the time that evening rolls around! At night she will usually sleep for one 4-6 hour stretch and is then awake for 2 hours before we fall asleep for another 2-3 hours.

I do have some pictures to post, however my angel needs her diaper changed and then hopefully its back to sleep for a couple of hours! :D

The First Month...

Hello everyone! We are approaching Camryn's one month birthday and I'd like to share some photos with you. She weighs 5 lbs. 1 oz. today (unofficially) and is gaining each day! Her next "official" weigh-in is next Wednesday at the Pedi, and Monday she's scheduled for a public health nurse check. As far as sleep goes, it is getting better for all of us. Jesse can sleep through almost anything. Camryn will sleep up to 4 hours in a row some nights. I have a hard time with this, but I'm getting over the urge to wake her during the night. Now I just have to get used to all the little moans & groans she makes in her sleep! I am also happy to be a productive member of civilization again.... Cam & I had our first grocery shopping trip this week!!!! Ok, now on with the main attraction, the pictures:


A gift to Camryn with a card reading: Every kid needs a dump truck!


Brother Brady sniffing out his new little sis... this was around the two week mark when he finally warmed up to Camryn.


The happy family at 3 weeks!


Camryn enjoying "Tummy Time" in the morning.... some days she likes it, but others she just screams her head off.


Before our trip to the grocery store...


... and after! Believe it or not, she is actually fitting better in the humongous carseat!


Camryn getting ready for bed in one of her 21 year old cousin's "hand me down" night gowns.


She's tipping the scales at 5lbs. 1oz.!!!

Picture Update... Finally!

32 Week Belly Picture (Just before bed rest began!)


33 Week Belly Picture


34 Week Belly Picture with Jesse, Casey, and the beautiful cradle Casey made for the baby!


35 Week Belly Picture


A picture of the crib after being assembled yesterday in the newly wallpapered nursery.


Here's a close up of Brady next to the wallpaper border. Thanks Mom, Marta, & Sarah for doing such a beautiful job and not letting Brady eat too much wallpaper paste!

29 Week Belly Pic

All is going well with the pregnancy. The baby bump is now unmistakable. I'm actually 30 weeks today, but this picture was taken last week. The baby is growing and moving all the time. My next appointment is on the 15th, and I'll be sure to update you all and post more pictures!

28 Week Appointment Update

I had my 28 week appointment on Tuesday and all is well. I passed my 1-hour glucose tolerance test, so no gestational diabetes. The baby's heartbeat was right on and I'm getting kicks, punches, and movement left, right, up, down. The baby's position is still breech or transverse most of the time, but baby still has plenty of weeks left to locate the exit door!

Jesse and I are reading some books about labor & delivery and we watched an educational video last night at the recommendation of one of the midwives. We are signed up to take a childbirth class next month so that we can both go into this adventure fully educated.

The 29th week starts tomorrow and then we'll be into the third trimester! I can hardly believe it!

Belated 25 week Pictures!

I've been really bad about taking and posting pictures! So sorry! Here are some updates from a few weeks ago. I've been so busy that I haven't taken any more recently.



This was my 25 week belly shot on Cinco de Mayo wearing my FREE t-shirt from my favorite Mexican Restaurant! I'm so lucky it's an XL so it will accommodate my growing midsection.




Here is another 25 week picture. I was all decked out for the Nursing Gala at work! Whoot whoot! Go nurses!

I'll try to get some more pics taken and posted this week, as I'm taking a few days off work for "vacation"!

May 1st Ultrasound

Here are the long awaited ultrasound pictures from this week. The baby was being a stinker and not wanting to unveil its face for quite a while. The hands AND feet were up in front of its face for the longest time. Part of the positing is due to the breech position the baby was in with its head up into my rib cage and bottom on my bladder.

Finally the baby moved and we could see the face. The tech started snapping away with the 4D ultrasound tuned in, so we have many pictures of the face. Here is a sampling of the cutest shots:


Here are the stats on the baby: weight was 1 pound 9 ounces. I can't believe the baby has grown one whole pound in a month! The growth is right on target! We don't have a length, but babies at this age are about 12 inches long. All of the baby's anatomy looks perfect.

We will not be having another ultrasound for two to three months. That one will be for a growth check to estimate the weight at full term. I am very glad I don't need another ultrasound until then because this one killed my back and my hips! I can't wait for my chiropractic appointment on Friday! I also have a midwife appointment on Tuesday.

Funny Baby Names Link

Here is a humorous list of baby names that I came across today. I had quite a laugh reading it and thought I should share it with all of my friends and family.

BABIES NAMED A BAD, BAD THING

Enjoy! If you have not yet voted on the "Baby Name Poll" to the left, please add your input. We need all the help we can get! ;)

23 Weeks and Growing!

I am sorry I have not updated in three weeks! I can't believe its been that long!

My belly must be growing because my back has been giving me issues this week. It was bothering me all night long on Sunday night, after a long weekend of cleaning, laundry, and yard work. So on Monday when I arrived at work, one of the doctors from my office checked out me and baby: no bladder infection, no contractions, just muscle strain in my pelvis and low back. She also did an ultrasound and it showed that my uterus is pushing on my spine and the baby was in an awkward position. The baby's back was down with a butt on the left side of my belly and the head, hands, and feet were all on the other side (this is called a transverse position). During the ultrasound the baby turned its back to my stomach and was using my spine and kidneys as a punching bag, which may also have been contributing to my discomfort. At least I know what was causing it now. That made me feel a lot better psychologically.

The baby also did not want to show us its face on the ultrasound, but the doctor tried to take a couple of pictures nonetheless. I would post them, but the look like a Halloween skeleton. She did get a great picture of the back of the baby's head and neck though! The baby also did not want to show "the goods" on the ultrasound, so the doctor doesn't know what we are having either. Good baby!

So the treatment is that I'm out of work this week to give my strained back muscles a break, and I'm supposed to be on bed rest, but its been more like chair rest. I cannot stand to lie down all day for a week! I did that yesterday and I don't think it helped my back at all. And for some reason, if I'm lying on the couch the dog thinks its time to play and feels the need to jump on me with all of his 40 pounds. I've been either sitting in the recliner knitting or sitting on the couch with the dog because he'll lie down if I'm sitting. Right now I'm sitting up at the PC with my feet up to give you all this update and I'm feeling pretty good. I have another chiropractor appointment in the morning, so hopefully I can get my back straightened out and rejoin the other productive members of society. I am definitely going to take it easier on myself, and I'm leaving the yard work to Jesse! My sister has offered to help me with the vacuuming and mopping, as both of those things bother my back in a non pregnant state.

I will try to get some more pictures loaded tomorrow. I did try to update my belly picture slide show last week, but the 'puter was being super slow at uploading. I'll try it again tomorrow, as its getting to be time for me to "rest" again.

20 Week Check-Up

I had my 20 week appointment on Friday and all is well! The baby's heartbeat was great and we could even hear the baby having hiccups on the Doppler. I thought the baby might have had hiccups the other night when I was lying in bed and was feeling the baby move a lot, but I wasn't sure. Now I know it probably was baby hiccups.

I'm feeling the baby move every day for the past week or so and it is a very reassuring feeling. I told Jesse that it feels more like the baby is tapping on my belly from the inside now, and he said that the baby is saying: "Hello out there, remember me? I'm hungry! Eat something! Drink more water please! Feed me!" I feel like I'm eating all of the time now, but I guess that's how I'm supposed to feel.

I have my first chiropractic appointment on Thursday! Thank heavens! My back gets so tense and tight after I've worked a long day or done a lot of work around the house, and I can't stretch out anymore. I also would like to do a pregnancy massage sometime! Ooo and a pedicure when the weather gets nicer! :)

Pregnancy Belly Pictures

I've created a slide show in the side bar to the right for belly pictures. Unfortunately, I think you can only view them if you have a high speed connection to the internet. My slow dial-up takes forever to load the images, so I can't test this out tonight, but I will. I hope some of you are able to view the slide show now. This is where I will upload new pregnancy belly shots in the future if it is working. What a techie I'm becoming! :D

19 week Ultrasound

Here are the pictures from my 19 week ultrasound on Tuesday. The first one is a 4D picture and the second one is a regular ultrasound picture. It was so cool the see the baby moving all around during the ultrasound and I could feel some of the movements too! Its amazing to me how much the baby has grown when I compare these picture and the first ultrasound picture.

All is well with the baby's anatomy and internal organs. The growth is a few days behind my due date, but still on track for a healthy pregnancy. The estimated weight from the ultrasound is 9 ounces. Jesse was excited that the baby was bigger than 1/2 a pint of beer! I am going back on May 1st (Dad's second favorite holiday!) for another ultrasound with the maternal fetal medicine doctor.

I'm feeling a lot more movement now. Yesterday while I was at work I felt 4 movements in a row that were distinctive taps coming from the baby, but they were probably kicks or punches.

My next midwife appointment is next week, and I'll keep you updated on anything new! Be sure to check out the bottom of the blog page for updated belly picture from time to time. I'll try to be better about posting them weekly.

17 Week Belly Shot!

The era of progressively bigger belly pictures has arrived for me. I did take a picture at 16 weeks, but you really cannot see much of a baby bump. This picture was taken on Tuesday at 17 weeks and now finally have time to post it.



All seems to be moving along well. I'm starting to feel the baby move more and more, but not every day yet. Yesterday, when I was at work, I felt a lot of movement, even when I was standing up.

I'm really going to need that chiropractor appointment this week though, as my hips are hurting everyday from my expanding midsection and the extra pull on my back muscles. I can no longer do my back stretches from physical therapy because they involve me lying flat on my back or flat on my stomach. The chiropractor and massage therapist are going to be my best friends for the next several months!

16 week Update

Ok, I'm really tardy in posting this update. Apologies all around!

My appointment was on Tuesday and everything was well. My blood pressure was normal. I've gained back a pound since my last appointment. All of my lab work so far is normal, including the genetic tests. The baby's heartbeat was right on track as well!

I'm getting a chiropractic referral for my sciatic pain as I know it will continue to bother me as time goes on and will most likely get worse.

I had the alphafetal protein blood work drawn after my appointment and I will get that result on March 24. That is the test for open neural tube defects like spina bifida. March 24 is also the day I go to the maternal fetal medicine specialist for the full anatomy scan. We are still not finding out if this is a boy or girl, so you'll all have to wait on that one!

I'm also starting to feel some kind of movements now and then. I've heard other women describe these early movements as "flutters" or "butterflies" but that's not exactly how I would describe them. Its more like a strange gas bubble, stronger than a gas bubble, and it occurs in the wrong place to be gas so I know its something else. I don't know if that makes sense to anyone else, but that's the only way I can describe it. I was definately feeling those strange movements last night when I was eating my birthday cake! Apparently this baby likes chocolate cake with coffee ice cream just like mama! (Thank you for the cake, Marta! It was delicious!)

Snow Day

Today we are having a nice relaxing day at home with the snow falling softly outside. I'm so glad that I don't have to drive to work today in this muck as I'm sure the roads are not great. I think we have 3 inches so far and it's still coming down.

I have been out a few times today with Brady Monster. He seems to think that the snow falling from the sky wants to play with him and he goes crazy when the flakes are flying. We might get the snowshoes out later and go for a romp in the field.

My energy seems to be returning! I have felt so lazy the last couple of weeks falling asleep on the couch at 8 o'clock. I'm also embarrassed to say that my housekeeping has fallen in line behind eating and sleeping, but I'm hoping I can catch back up today. Jesse and I have already tackled a few housekeeping items this weekend and we're planning on moving the office equipment from the spare bedroom downstairs to the "new" office space today.

My appetite has finally returned and I seem to be hungry all the time. Best go fix myself some lunch!

Take care! Alyssa

Test Results

Yesterday, we received the results of our First Trimester Screening -- combined ultrasound measurements, blood work, and age calculated risk done at 12 weeks. The results were "negative" which means there is a very very low risk for Down's Syndrome or Trisomy 18.

And my magnesium and potassium levels have finally returned to normal, only 3 short weeks after my GI illness.

Now I don't have any more blood work scheduled until my 16 week appointment! Yeah!

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Here is the "Announcment Card" for all to view!

Here is the Valentine's Day card that we gave to the grandparents, great grandparents, and aunts announcing our pregnancy.

12 week Ultrasound Report

On Thursday, we went for our 12 week ultrasound. The purpose of this ultrasound was supposed to be for measuring the nucal translucency for risk of Down's Syndrome, but this little babe was not cooperating for the measurements. We were in the ultrasound room with the tech for over an hour, so needless to say we got to see our little one from many views: sticking out its tongue, sucking on its fingers, waving, kicking, scratching its head, and doing back flips. I had no idea babies were this active at 12 weeks. I think our hands are going to be full between this babe and the Brady-Monster!

So finally after over an hour, the tech was able to get the measurements she needed. The overall growth was right on target. Whoo hoo! From what I could tell, the measurements were all good. I had my blood work drawn after the ultrasound for the first trimester screening. We'll get the results of the nucal translucency scan and blood work next week.

As far as the rest of the ultrasound, all looked good. We could clearly see a face with lips, nose, two ears and two eyes, two arms, two hands, two legs, two feet, bladder, stomach, heart, spinal column, and brain. The placenta looked good as well. I've loaded the pictures so you all can a little bit of what we could see.

Updated Brady Pictures: 5 months old

Here are a couple of updated pictures of Brady that I took tonight. I've been lax is getting new pictures of him posted. So sorry! Isn't he the cutest puppy ever!

He's been a relatively good pup, except for going out into the field and eating cow manure filled snow balls a couple of times. I'm just thankful that he has not taken to rolling int the cow manure yet, but I'm sure that day is coming. Luckily he loves having a bath!

12 Week Update

I'm now 12 weeks pregnant today, and I'm really starting to feel pregnant. It is such a blissful feeling.

I had my OB appointment today with one of the midwives at the group, Mary Beth. She is new to the practice, but I really like her personality and I enjoy working with her so far. Everything went very well. All of my lab work from 2 weeks ago was normal. The best part was listening to the heartbeat with the Doppler... what a sweet sound! It was fast, like 170 beats per minute, and Mary Beth said, "There she is!" I'm not convinced its a girl just yet, but only time will tell. And yes, we will all have to wait until August to find out!

I also got the results of my blood work that I had done at my general practice doctor as a follow up for "the illness". My potassium level's back to normal, but my magnesium level is still lower than normal for me, so I have to have it checked again next week. I'm getting to be a better and better patient as far as being stuck with needles is concerned. I still hope this doesn't turn into weekly blood work!

My next appointment is on Thursday for the nucal translucency ultrasound and blood work (just a finger stick, thankfully!).

Second Appointment Update (10 weeks 2 days)

My second appointment was yesterday afternoon for my "nurse counsel" visit. She reviewed my medical history, family history, genetic history, and vital signs. Everything looks good so far! I had actually lost 1 pound from being sick, so that puts my net weight gain at -1, which is nothing to be concerned about at this point.

Then she reviewed the options for genetics testing, which were overwhelming to me. I agreed to get the cystic fibrosis carrier testing, since that just a simple blood test for me. Then she reviewed the options to test for the risk of Downs' Syndrome, Trisomy 18, and neural tube defects. This was the overwhelming part! I guess I knew I would need to have make these decisions at some point, but I just didn't think I would have to consider them so soon. I did decide to sign the consent form and set up the first trimester screening (risk of Downs' Syndrome & Trisomy 18) for the 12 week nucal translucency ultrasound and blood work. If I do that part, the I also need to have more blood work done at 16 weeks for the risk of neural tube defects.

I came home and discussed the tests with Jesse and gave him the information as well. He thinks it should be my decision to make, since I'm a nurse. I think I'll go ahead with the testing, but I just don't feel 100% about it all right now. I don't really have questions about the tests, but I just don't really know what I will do with the information that I receive from testing. My main motivation for testing is that I'm inherently an information gatherer and planner. I've always felt that more information helps me to plan better. However, I have learned that not all things in life are under my control.

I have an appointment with my midwife next week. I'm planning on gathering my thoughts until then, and if I still have concerns I can discuss them with her. At that appointment I will get a full physical exam and she will review my prenatal blood work, which I had drawn yesterday afternoon.

I'm feeling better from my GI illness, but not 100%. I think it might be from my electrolytes being a bit wacky. I'm still on a pretty mild diet: ginger ale, water, Gatorade, crackers, applesauce, and bananas. I did add yogurt and a cereal bar today for some protein. I also started taking my prenatal vitamins again last night, but then I didn't sleep well, so I might lay off them for a few more days.

Morning sickness???

Warning: this post may have too much information for you if you have a weak stomach!

So on Tuesday I was feeling rather blah during the day, and by dinner time I had no appetite and could not even look at anything food related. I wasn't even able to drink water because ingesting anything by that point was revolting to me. Jesse told me that it must be my morning sickness really kicking in at 10 weeks, and that's kind of what I thought as well.

I went to bed around 10pm and was unable to sleep because my stomach hurt so badly. At 11pm I woke up after I must have dozed off for a bit, and the vomiting began! Ugg! That lasted for 4 hours before I finally fell asleep on the couch. This was not morning sickness!

By the morning I was so dehydrated, and of course the vomiting started again when I tried to drink some liquids. By 9:30am I finally decided that I needed to go to the ER for some IV fluids. Normally, I would just suck it up and deal with illness, but I knew that a long period of dehydration was not good for me or the pregnancy. My dear baby sis was kind enough to take me, and I ended up being there for about 5 hours. After some anti-nausea medicine, 1.5 liters of IV fluids, and electrolytes in the IV, and some sleep on the uncomfortable stretcher I was starting to feel a touch better.

On the ride home I was able to keep down 8 oz. of ginger ale, yay! My diet for last night consisted of some Gatorade, water, more ginger ale, and a little applesauce. Today, I've managed a whole banana and some more fluids, and I'm feeling much more like myself! Woo hoo!

I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon to check on the little one, and then some plans with my husband this evening.

Brady is growing like a... TREE!

Here is my long overdue pic of Brady at Christmas time playing under the tree. He is getting HUGE now! In this picture he weighed about 15 pounds, and now I'm sure he's over 20 pounds! He loves playing in the snow and we went snowshoeing on Sunday.

First Ultrasound

Jesse & I had our first ultrasound appointment on Friday, January 2nd. All looks good so far... the little peanut was measuring 7weeks 1day and we could see the heartbeat. The doctor gave us August 18th as the due date. Oh, and she said, "There's only one, I hope that's okay!" LOL, there is no way I could handle that! I mean, after all, it sounds like we're going to have Irish twins in the house as it is! Brady's first birthday will be in August!