Gideon Update

Gideon saw his allergist for his first check up today since his initial visit a month ago. The doctor was pleased with his progress. Nearly NO sign of eczema and he went from 3-6 poopies a day to 1-2 except 3 on the day after I flubbed and gave him a buttermilk biscuit. He says to keep doing what we're doing as far as food goes and we can lighten up on some of the hidden dairy ingredients. We think Gideon's eczema wasn't completely gone because of his swim classes. I loved the docs response to my telling him that the eczema came back when his swim classes started *shrug* "what're ya gonna do, the kid's gotta learn how to swim." I LOVE reasonable doctors. So he gave us a bunch of information on doing hydrating skin treatments at home, what lotions to use, what hydrocortizone cream to use, what antibiotic cream to use if/when it gets angry...

He also cautioned us that he really thinks Gideon will develop more allergies, that the eczema gives a pathway to the immune system and all that. Not to say he's going to end up allergic to everything but the doc REALLY stresses the use of a multi-vitamin + zinc and daily probiotics to help fight allergies and help him from developing more allergies.

Also, he says Gideon has every symptom of a dust mite allergy he just isn't testing positive for it. The doc thinks he will someday. So we're going to get an extra air filter for the house. The doc was also great here saying that the Honeywell brand is the only brand tested and proven to be useful in this area and not to bother spending more than $150. Anything over that is overkill and a waste of money. Good to know.

ALSO - I mentioned at one point that I couldn't lift anymore and after he was done with Gideon he turned and asked "So, how are YOU doing?" and I told him about my placenta previa and velamentous cord insertion. Know what he said? Didn't think so. Anyway, he said his daughter had the SAME conditions. BOTH! I was amazed since I've met many that have had one or the other but never both. But she did have both and had to be extra, extra cautious and he said they celebrated every week that passed and in the end she ended up having TWO ultrasounds each WEEK to check on everything but carried to term. The baby was small (well, 6 lb which isn't entirely small) but is growing like a weed now and is a month old.

He told me we do NOT have to do a no-wheat trial and we don't have to see a GI specialist and to bring Gideon back in 6 months for his next check-up and that if I need anything to just call. He was so nice to say that he understands that getting around is going to be nuts for a while and that he's perfectly willing to do whatever we need to over the phone.

Lastly, when we first got to the appointment Gideon got all excited about getting out of the van and when I opened the door he threw his sippy cup out. Wouldn'tcha know it bounced and then rolled half way under the mini-van parked next to us. Arg! There was no way I was going to be able to fetch it. But then a car pulled in a couple spaces down and a scruffy man with a cigarette in his mouth hopped out. He was my angel for the day and was more than happy to get down on his belly on a dirty parking garage floor to get Gideon's sippy cup for this ol' pregnant lady. God bless him!

Praising God today for small and big steps with Gideon's health and wonderful doctors and strangers who are angels.

Happy Birthday, Gabe!

We have been having unseasonably warm weather here lately. I'm not complaining mind you (though it does make me wonder what is in store in the next couple of months). It meant that we got to move part of Gabe's birthday party, which we had today, out of doors. What a pleasant surprise. :)

Officially, Gabe turned 6 years old at 11:55PM last night. Six years ago after a three-day induction process and two hours of pushing I finally held my first born. I was so tired I didn't care. OK, I cared. I was smitten but I also couldn't hold my own head up I was so exhausted. Not an exaggeration. I did very much enjoy that first night as I think he was super exhausted too and we slept for hours and hours nestled together. So after that little walk down memory lane, we continue with today's tale.

Gabe requested a Zelda themed birthday party. They don't really make much premade for Zelda parties (where as last year I got lucky with the Mario theme). Still, I think it went all right. We started with a "find the Tri-force Gem" game. I made and hid yellow triangular Tri-force gems around the back yard. The children's task was to find three gems and return them to me to earn a shield.


It really was a pretty day for a hunt type game in the backyard.


Zion picked the purple shield and then ran circles around the yard with it.


Gabe insisted on the red shield and then attempted to color the whole thing brown.


Isaac decorated his with fish.

The line up. Gabe, Isaac, Zion, Jordan (a friend of Gabe's from school) and Jonathan. After decorating their shields Gabe got to choose which was his favorite and award that person with a sword. Gabe chose Jonathan's shield as his favorite.


After the games we moved on to gifts. Gabe had a penguin Pillow Pet on his wish list and was excited to get it.


He got a 100 Bible songs and story book from Isaac and family.


We got him Mario Party 8 which later the boys had lots of fun playing.



The Zelda cake. This year hoping to keep it on the cheap and easy I did the cake myself. Nothing fancy or inspiring but a pixelated version of Link, the hero from the Zelda games. Gabe chose cherry chip cake (my favorite so how could I argue), I slather it with vanilla icing and used M&Ms to create Link.


Gabe took his time blowing out the candles. Wasted no great effort in attempting to blow them out all at once. Or after two. Or three...


Zion loved the cake. Ate hers and asked if she could have Gabe's leftover piece as well.

I allowed Gideon a bit of cake and some of his rice milk ice cream. The cake likely had a bit of dairy in it but he's been doing so much better I felt a little cheating for a birthday was OK. His next allergy appointment is Friday, by the way.



Jonathan and Gabe have a sword duel. The birthday boy v. the shield decorating winner. I don't know that anyone won but they looked like they were having fun.



The after party. I know. A bunch of raucous partiers are we. My dad and Rob observing the kids trying out the new toys, and some "old". That's about as wild as it gets around here. :) I am really enjoying the leftover birthday cake though.

Pregnancy Update and A Smile

Just a few thoughts of note. On Monday I had my first appointment with my midwife since the ultrasound. She confirmed that I do have complete placenta previa and said it won't move. Not, it's "unlikely" to move but that it "won't". I kind of feel OK about this because that means the cord won't be compromised by the placenta moving. Of course, I'm also majorly bummed because I have no chance of a natural delivery. I will for sure (barring a miracle which God could supply) be having a c-section. My midwife, Nancy, said that she would set up an appointment for me to meet the doctor who will be doing my c-section when I am about 30 weeks along. If there are no other complications with the pregnancy (like bleeding) the c-section will be when I'm about 38 weeks along.

Let's do a little math here. You know, just for fun (cause everyone who knows me knows that I would do math just for fun - HA!).

The baby is due June 29. 38 weeks is 2 weeks early that = 14 days. June 29 minus 14 days is June 15 (right?). That means that my c-section could be the day before my 8th wedding anniversary. Not how I would ever plan on celebrating. I only mention this because I just realized it today.

Apparently Zion only just realized my belly is getting bigger. Odd since it practically smacks her in the face anytime I turn around. But yesterday she put her hands on either side and said "Wow." I said, "Yeah, it gets bigger as the baby grows." I expected some comment that could be construed as an insult to an adult but would be an innocent observation to a child. No. Instead I got "That. Is SO. Cool." Yeah. Yeah, it is cool.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Was it a good one? Do you shudder in disdain over the commercialism or embrace the day with all things pink and red and heart-shaped? I admit that I don't so much enjoy holidays that are based on spending money on sweets and useless trinkets. I want the kids to receive something more than sugar and plastic. Thursday night I was headed out to knit (Rob took the kids to swim class, what a guy!) and received a sudden inspiration of giving the kids Valentine's Day cards but signing them from God. So Saturday night Rob and I sat down and considered what He might have to say to our children. We told them how lovely they are, creative, loving... and then signed each card "Love, God". We left each card at their spot at the kitchen table so this morning when we sat down to breakfast they found them. They loved them, it was awesome and felt so much better than leaving them a card from us or little candy hearts or whatnot. I'm not against treats and such but this just felt so good. I hope to make it a tradition from now on.

After breakfast we went to church and it was a lovely service. Zion was super thrilled to go to Sunday School again and Gideon seems to be doing just fine as the only one of our kids in nursery at the moment. The message was especially appropriate considering that our pastor was simply maintaining a schedule of teaching about the book of John and didn't alter the dates. Today we were in chapter 13 which, among other things, has Jesus telling his disciples (us included) that others will know we are Christians by our love. Love, love, love. The theme we tried to talk to our children about all day. What can we do to show love? To show others we care for them.

After church we went out for a special lunch at Applebees. Gabe blessed the meal and asked God that we would be able to show people love today. What a sweetie. We got to show our waitress love today by repeatedly forgiving her continuous errors regarding our order. ;0)

Later in the day we celebrated with another special meal, a tradition started by my mother. Pink food for Valentine's Day. Last night Rob made such a great dinner (chicken, roast vegetables, asparagus and crusty rolls) that I suggested we keep it simple and have pancakes. It's one of the kids' favorites anyway so why not have a meal everyone will love on a special day? Add a few chocolate chips and a few drops of food coloring to tint them pink and voila - the perfect pink dinner.

We had a lovely day and I hope you did too. Remember on this day most of all, Who loves you the most.

Overheard

From the bathroom when Gabe and Zion were supposed to be washing for dinner. Apparently Zion who is potty training decided to do her business before washing. All I heard was Gabe say "You can't do it like I do because you don't have a p*nis" (and I asterisk that because I don't want anybody randomly Googling that word to find my blog that way).

As I'm chuckling to myself I hear Rob, who is also in the kitchen with me, say "I fixed a p*nis today." More laughter on my part as he explains that at his job they have a machine (apparently girl ones and boy ones) that tests diapers. Said unit had a leaky ...uh ... unit. *smirk*

Pictures

For no reason at all. My only regret is that I didn't get a picture of Gabe with his newly absent teeth. He has lost two recently and has two more that are loose. I don't do well with loose teeth. It's just the wiggliness of them, I keep telling him that he's not allowed to wiggle them in front of me - to no avail. But here's Gideon and Zion.

You can always tell when Zion has had a good nap by the state of her hair when she gets up. This one was probably a 6-7 out of 10. And her poor face was still red from her cold and her constantly rubbing her face. All better now though.

Gideon is learning all about computers. Gotta start 'em young. That way they can become programmers and start supporting you at a much younger age. Moments earlier he had his hand on the mouse and was clicking the button but when I picked up the camera he stopped. I think he thought he was in trouble. Ridiculous.

Today we did "watch" (and knit and eat and...during) the Super Bowl. Rob put an Elmo video on his laptop so Gideon would stop begging for Elmo. "Elmo?" "Elmo?" "Elmo?" "Eh eh eh eh eh elmo?" All the while looking at you with this face, this face that that you can't resist. At all. Not even a little. While we ate dinner the video was paused. After dinner Gideon found the laptop with the frozen in time Elmo and promptly clicked a button and unpaused it. Ummmm. Yeah. Maybe he's learning a little too fast (especially since he'd never seen it done the way he did it and he just walked right up and did it, no playing around first).

The Cutest Thing Ever.

Rob does bath times with the kids. I love that. It gives me a few minutes of peace downstairs but I can still hear the fun and giggles coming from upstairs. Always, Gideon is out of the tub and jammied first then "released" from the bathroom. He immediately goes to the baby gate at the top of the stairs and starts calling "Mommy!" pause "Mommy!" pause ... until I come up the stairs to participate in the rest of our bedtime routine.

Tonight after a few "Mommy calls" I heard a sad wail. As I approached the top of the stairs I could see his sad face, bottom lip pushed out, a single tear starting to drop from one eye. I asked him "What's the matter?" to which he replied "Daddy no-no me." It was a good few minutes before I could stop laughing - while I kissed him and dried his tear of course. Even now it puts the biggest smile on my face. I still don't know what Rob told him no-no to.

He also has the very cute though somewhat unsanitary habit of using the rabbit's water bottle as a cleaning station. He reaches through the bars of her cage, taps the ball of the spout a few times and then walks away rubbing his hands together as if he's just gotten a squeeze of anti-bacterial goo.

Pregnancy Update

Today I am exactly 19 weeks along. Nearly to the halfway point. Yesterday I got to go to that half-way ultrasound where they check the measurements and organs, chambers of the heart, peek at the brain and all that. The kids got to see their new baby sister/brother. They were more interested in the variety of equipment in the room than the blob on the screen though. That's OK, I didn't expect them to be as fascinated as Rob and I were.

The baby looks great. S/he is right up in the 95% for this age. Rob and I both turned out heads when the u/s (ultrasound) tech checked out his/her nether regions. We still want to be surprised.

We did come away with some news that has us lifting up some extra prayers. The doctor who evaluated the u/s has named two conditions that he discovered.

1) placenta previa - this is where the placenta is so low in the uterus that it covers the cervix. As I said during the visit "the Fire Department would not approve, the exit's blocked". Yeah. Hard to deliver a baby when there's no way out.

2) velamentous cord - Someone should just disable Google for pregnant women. Follow my advice, don't research this. There is nothing comforting to be discovered online. I believe reality is less scary. I also believe that God is still in control and knows all about this and how it's going to pan out. So basically, what this means is that the cord, instead of being attached in the center of the placenta (which is kind of shaped like a pizza) it's attached precariously at one edge.

Typically this means that the baby only gets to take advantage of 1/2 to 2/3 of the placenta which results in low birth weights and premature delivery. Well, as I mentioned above my babe is in the 95%. Go baby! The baby is so big that the doctor suggested bumping my due date up by a week. I mentioned that an u/s done at about 8-9 weeks had the baby spot on for size at that date so he left my due date alone.

In regards to problem #1, this is something that often rights itself by delivery. When the uterus grows and stretches the placenta gets shunted to one side and the exit has been cleared. One possible problem with the placenta moving is that this could cause the cord to be compromised. As much as I'd love to have a natural delivery at my local birth center I'd prefer to give birth to a live baby in a non-emergency situation. So BIG prayer there. If that placenta decides to move, it REALLY needs to take that cord with it.

For the time being, the next 6 weeks to be precise, I'm on "pelvic rest" (nookie is a no-no) and forbidden to lift. Anything. Yeah. I laughed too. I am eliminating what lifting I can but it would be impossible, without having a personal lifting assistant with me all day, to eliminate it entirely. Shhh, don't tell my doctor. I really am being careful and also reminding myself that God can guard my little one as He has so far.

If nothing changes than most likely I will be delivering by c-section, possibly as early as 35 weeks to prevent spontaneous labor which could be extremely detrimental to me and my baby. In 6 weeks we'll have another u/s, that's lots of time to pray. :)