Baby Update

Today I had my 10-week appointment and checkup. Jack got to go with me this time, so that we could rush to preschool right after. He thought it was really cool that he got to go see Mommy's doctor and see "baby sister" (as he calls her... odd.)

Anyway, I told her that I had been feeling very sick lately, and I was having trouble eating. She believed me, as I have lost 7 pounds since my last appointment (just under 4 weeks ago.) She said it's not quite enough to be concerned yet, but it's getting there. So she recommended that I drink something high-calorie every day, like an Ensure or a similar protein drink. (EWW - the last thing a super-nauseous person wants to do is drink a thick, milky shake.) If you remember, I also had to do this with Jack, but not until 15 weeks or so. It's earlier this time and I am not too worried that the pounds will catch up to me eventually. She did give me vitamin B12 pills and recommend that I take them at night with Unisom to help with the nausea. It's a more natural remedy compared to Zofran which has horrible side effects (for most people.) So we will see. It's also all supposed to end around 12 weeks so hopefully, I can see the light!

The other great news? My blood pressure was 120/80!!! Textbook perfect, so no drugs as of now. That was amazing! It must be my new "diet"... HA HA.

Anyway, at 10 weeks they can typically start to hear the baby's heartbeat on the doppler monitor, so she tried. Jack was such a good boy - he just stood by the edge of the bed while she tried to locate it. He kept saying, "Mommy, baby okay??" I was getting more and more nervous. The doctor, however, wasn't concerned and said that sometimes it's just too early to HEAR it, so we better LOOK at it. She made a big deal over telling Jack that he could see "baby on TV!!"

We went into the ultrasound room and she put the cold goop on my belly. It took a few minutes of poking, but she finally found baby's (very strong) heartbeat! It was amazing - last time, it looked like a little bean. This time, it had a head, arms, and legs!! AMAZING, truly amazing. Anyway, she told me that baby seems to be sitting in (her words) "a very awkward position" in my uterus and it's now 99.9% likely that this baby will be breech too. Don't worry - baby is still healthy, happy, and growing like a weed! It measured 10w3days, which is a little more than we expected. That's great news!!

We get on the plane tomorrow, so I will post more later!

"Happy Birthday Mommy!"

Justin taught Jack to say "Happy Birthday Mommy!" and give me a big hug. It was super cute when he woke up this morning...it made my day! I am lucky to be spending some time relaxing, as Jack is having a blast at Spencer's house (thank you to my dear friend Chrissy!!) Justin promised to be home at a decent hour tonight, a special treat!, and we will all have a nice dinner together.

So now I am 10 weeks pregnant! Wow. Time is flying! Here is what's new with baby this week...

• Baby is the size of a kumquat, a little over an inch long, and has completed all of the most vital parts of development! He/she is rapidly swallowing fluid, moving, and making its own red blood cells through its newly-formed liver. 
• Tiny nails are forming on Baby's hands and feet, and peach-fuzz hair is now growing. 

It's amazing how fast they grow! I have my next checkup tomorrow morning, so we will know more then. I hope I will be able to hear the heartbeat on doppler!

We are all looking forward to our trip to Georgia this week, and Cara and Jack's wedding this weekend! More pictures soon...

Busy Weekend!!

This was a very busy weekend for the Crosby family! I was lucky to have a short vacation to LAS VEGAS!!! With Courtney and Cara to celebrate the upcoming Crosby-Bell nuptials. We had a great girls weekend and I think we saw everything that there was to see in the whole city!!

I will start off with a shot of my Parlay Card...I tried my best to bet on some college football games and win some moolah but it didn't work out so well for me. Here are the spreads and games from this weekend as a memory of how much I lost :)

On Saturday night, we saw the BEST show in Vegas ... "Love," The Beatles Cirque du Soilel at the Mirage (our hotel.) It was amazing! I loved every minute of it, and I know Justin would love to see it too. I felt a little guilty that I was having such a good time while he was home "babysitting" (as he called it until a coworker reprimanded him) but not that guilty!!

Outside the Mirage...

Slots! They were my friend...I won and lost the most money on them :)

Treasure Island where we saw the "Sirens of TI" show...so funny!!

The Venetian...it was a tie between this hotel and Caesar's Palace as to which one I liked more :)

 The boys had a good time. Jack helped Justin wash the car...

And then I was shocked to learn that Justin took Jack down to Santa Cruz, and on the way back took him to see the Felton Steam Train (which was a HUGE HIT...it's all Jack has talked about for days!)



So excited!!

The Redwoods are THIS BIG!!

"I ride train!!"

Right in the middle of things, as always...

They had a great weekend, and Mommy had a busy one, and everyone was happy to be back home and together on Sunday night :)

I was lucky and blessed in Vegas to feel pretty good. I wasn't too sick and most of my food stayed where it was supposed to. However, since I have been back, it's been VERY hot here, and I have had a lot of trouble keeping the nausea at bay. It's the worst first thing in the morning (duh) and at dinner time. It seems to be getting worse, not better. Sigh. The joys of being pregnant :)

8 Weeks

So what's going on with "Baby" this week?

• Baby is the size of a large raspberry...and Mommy's uterus has grown from the size of my fist to the size of a grapefruit! That explains why my pants are so tight...
• Lips, nose, eyelids, legs, and back continue to take shape. Baby's heart is beating at the incredible rate of 150 times per minute — about twice as fast as Mommy's! And even though I can't yet feel it, Baby is now making spontaneous movements as it twitches its tiny trunk and limb buds.

And what's going on with Jack this week?

• Lots of excitement in the Crosby house as Jack will pee in his Elmo potty on command!! He still doesn't tell us when he has to go, but if you make him sit, he will pee every time! No poop in the potty yet, but we are sure it will happen soon enough. He loves this new skill, and whenever he sits on his potty he says "Book please!!" Wonder where he learned that? :)
• Every time he falls down, trips, stubs his toes, or does anything remotely painful, he stops and says "HURT! Need to go doctor! NEED SHOTS!!" I don't know why he asks for this every time, because he knows shots hurt, but....oh well, it's cute :)
• He remembers EVERY.THING. I swear, it's scary. We were in CVS the other day looking at the baby aisle and he saw sippy cups in the brand that Spencer uses. He goes, "Look Mommy, those are Spencer's cups." 
• He is great at the cleanup game! All you have to say is, "Jack, let's play the cleanup game!" and sing the song "Clean up, clean up, every body clean up...." and he's a very good helper. 

And here is a cute video of the boys playing "Teamwork" like the Wonder Pets :) If you need translating, they are saying, "what's gonna work? TEAMwork." And they are putting the train pieces in order, together, without fighting. It's classic!!

First Day of Preschool

Today was Jack's first day of public preschool. I was lucky enough to get him into Cupertino's "Tots" program, for 24-36 month kids who will be going into regular preschool next year. (He can start next fall since he will be 3 before September 1.) It's only one day a week, on Tuesdays until Christmas, but I figured it's a great way to make new friends and to prepare him for real school next year. 

He was SO excited to start school. He remembers daycare, and he knows that his friends like Caillou and Elmo go to school. Once I told him we were going, he talked about it for days, even picking out his own new monkey backpack. 

Getting ready to leave! Happy first day of school :)

 There are 13 kids in his class, and he is definitely the most acclimated to being in a school environment (that makes me so proud!) He happily sat down on the mat for circle time, did his artwork, and helped clean up like a champ! His teacher, Meena, was so impressed. Most of the other kids had zero attention spans and were more worried about where Mommy went than having fun. Not Jack! Here are a few shots:

Playing with the tool station...just like Daddy!

Fireman's hat!

Dressed up and ready to "help people!"

Cleaning up :) What a good boy!!

"Mommy, I made this fish!"

Sad to leave :(

Today's theme was Oceans. Next week they will learn about Apples (eat them, read books about them, learn how they grow.) We will also be taking a few field trips, one to a pumpkin patch on October 18 and a trip to the FIRE STATION on November 8!! I haven't even mentioned that to Jack, because he will literally not stop talking about it until we go :) His teacher is great (she has been doing this for 30 years and she doesn't put up with ANYTHING, from the kids or the moms!! Which is great.) I was a little leery about this program because it's for such a short time, but it seems like a great fit for Jack so far and I know he will love it. 

Even more random, I found out that there are two other little ones in his class who have recently moved from Boston, one from Northborough (the next town over!) Very odd! But we have a lot in common and they seem nice so that's great!

More soon...little man is worn out after his day :)

Ear Update!

I forgot to post about Jack's latest ENT appointment. He went back to see Dr. Kita last week, and amazingly enough, all is well! His tubes are in, working, and look great. No infections, no drainage, and no swelling behind his eardrums which is great! He brought out the camera scope and showed me the inside of both ears, which look perfect. He also checked all of the other parts of Jack's system, including his adenoids, tonsils, and sinus cavities.

The doctor explained to me that yes, Jack seems to have slightly larger than usual tonsils, but at this point that's okay. In kids up to age 3, the tonsils and adenoids still provide an immune response to infection...and on a scale of 1 to 4, his tonsils are a size 3, but without signs of infection. At size 4 they start t constrict breathing and then we have to worry, but he seems fine. The only side effect of a size 3 tonsil is snoring, which we all know Jack does :)

He has to go back in December for another "tube check" but until then, he is confident that we will get through fall and winter with no infections!!

Garden Update

For those of you wondering, our garden is doing amazingly well! I am shocked at how fast it's come up, but it gets a lot of love from Justin. Jack loves helping, especially watering the flowers. He also (finally) knows that he isn't supposed to dig in Daddy's garden or he gets in trouble. So that's a plus! Our plants may actually have a chance now.

Here are some shots of how everything is growing!

Winners: on the top, cucumbers and yellow squash.
Losers: on the bottom, white onions.
Also added: Jack's toy snakes that he plants to "Scare Daddy!!"

Cucumbers (another kind) coming up slower but still good!

FAIL: onions.

WHOA! Cucumber and squash infestation! (With basil in the middle)

Jack's favorite pasttime..."color!! Mommy, color!" He
tells you what to draw by saying, "Mommy, need firetruck. Need hat.
Need fireman. Need fireman dog. Need car. Need truck..." and on and ON AND ON.

Haven't gotten a good hummingbird picture yet, but we see them all the time!

Our apples got the memo that it's fall.  YUM.

Digging up the next space for the garden :) So adorable.

Train Ride!

This morning, Chrissy and I took Spencer and Jack on a train ride to Palo Alto. We had plans to take them to play at a park we had both seen, and then ride back for lunch. However, we got off at the wrong stop and ended up on University Avenue in Palo Alto, which is an awesome strip of little and big stores, restaurants, and cool things to do. We had a blast walking up and down the street visiting the different stores all morning, and then we stopped for lunch at Cheesecake Factory (YUM!!!) The boys were great and they LOVED the train ride! Here are a few shots from our day...

Waiting on the platform for the big train! (And the conductor, and the smoke, and the stairs...
they were little bundles of train info the whole way there.)

Jack's new monkey backpack (that he won't take off!) 

"Mommy, I'm on a train!!"

Super cool cardboard houses set up in downtown Palo Alto!

Jack's firetruck.

Spencer's house.

Who can make their car go further up the wall?? (Well, Spencer, because
he's a foot taller, but still.)

Train station! Beautiful day. 

More playing cars.

"I can sit here?"

"OHH a bus!"

Tired boys after lots of walking and playing all day :)

Sharing a chair outside one of the stores :)

Our baby at 7 weeks...and our big boy at 2 years!

This week, here are the developments with baby...

• Baby is about the size of a blueberry (about 10,000 times bigger than at conception!)
• Most of that growth is concentrated in the head as new brain cells are generated at the rate of 100 per minute. Baby's mouth and tongue are forming as arm and leg buds sprout, and those little kidneys are getting ready to do their job (pee production and excretion).
• This week, his or her arm and leg buds begin to sprout and grow longer (and stronger), dividing into hand, arm, and shoulder segments — and leg, knee, and foot segments (though the limb buds look more like paddles than hands or feet at this early stage).

This week, here's what's going on with little man...

• He answers every question with "yes!!!" 
• Every time he falls down / runs into something / stubs his toe or hits his head, he yells "Need to go to the doctor!!! Need shots!!!" (No idea why, because he knows shots hurt!) 
• His favorite thing right now are his puzzles (they are great for distracting him at restaurants!) It's a set of four 12-piece puzzles of: a train, a school bus, a firetruck, and a race car. He loves them! But needs lots of help.
• This weekend, we got the game "Memory" at Target. Jack is very good!! He gets a little too excited and turns over about 17 cards when it's his turn, but he remembers where things are and he knows he has to collect "two of them!" We are amazed! It's also good for teaching taking turns.

Tomorrow, Chrissy and I are taking Jack and Spencer on the train. I will post pictures...they will LOVE it!

And...Baby makes FOUR!!!

Well, we have some great news... we are pregnant! I originally started this post back when we found out, and kept adding to it. Here's the story of our second little bundle of joy...as if you are reading it from the very beginning!

*EDITOR'S NOTE: I was told that this post is too graphic for the general public, so proceed at your own risk. :)

Pregnant!! This shot is now a tradition...sorry if it grosses you out :)

Written on August 19, 2011:

As you may or may not know, Justin and I have been trying for awhile to make a little brother or sister for Jack. It's been a roller coaster, and some months we were more devoted to the cause than others (it was tough when he was in California and China for six weeks and we were back in Boston...!) But once we moved here, I found a doctor I liked and made my first appointment. I had my annual "female" exam on August 5th. Dr. Gould is amazing and she immediately did not hesitate to refer us to a fertility specialist for the second time. I scheduled an appointment for my initial infertility screening for August 23. At that time, I didn't suspect that I was pregnant at all, because we had been trying for many months with no success. I was actually looking forward to my period, because it meant that my next cycle would start and we'd have a good chance after the fertility appointment.

My last period was July 18. On a whim, I took a pregnancy test on August 7th, which I thought would be successful, as it was 10 or 11 days after I thought I ovulated. It was negative. I experienced the disappointment of being "out" another month, but threw the test away and the feeling passed. I wanted to get on with being hopeful!

On the night of Wednesday, August 10, we were sleeping and Justin had the window cracked. The plum tree right outside must have had a few rotting plums, and it was the strongest, most awful smell coming in the window. It was so bad that it woke me up, made me gag, and I had to move rooms! Still, it never really occurred to me that I was pregnant. I remember thinking, "ha ha, that's a lot like a pregnancy symptom, it must just be really horrible PMS."

On Friday night, August 12, I took another pregnancy test on a whim. I usually spot for a few days before my period, but I hadn't had anything, so I figured what the heck. I may as well waste another test...not like they are cheap or anything ;)

I was literally in SHOCK as I watched the second line turn pink. It showed up positive right away! I was amazed. I ran out to Jack and told him, because Justin was still at work, and he was really excited about being a "big brother!" He loved pointing at my belly and saying "baby in there!" I started crying and I think that freaked him out, but overall he shared my excitement.

Justin came home from a work dinner late, at about 8:30. He walked in the door and I had Jack up and still awake, and I made Justin sit on the couch. I said, "we have some news..." and Jack interrupted me and said "BIG BROTHER!!!" (We had been practicing!) So I said, "yes, Jack is going to be a big brother!" Justin was really excited. I said, "I can't believe it, are you surprised?" And Justin (being his sweet, logical self,) said, totally serious, "well, no not really, I mean it makes sense because of what we did..." Such a guy!!!

I had my first doctor's appointment on August 18, and she did a lot of feeling around and confirming that yes, I am indeed pregnant. However, she won't do an ultrasound until Friday morning, September 2. By then we should definitely be able to see the baby's heartbeat if everything is well. She said that she could have done an ultrasound at that appointment, but we wouldn't be able to see anything and it would just freak me out and make me nervous. So I am thankful that she was honest and thoughtful about that. As of the writing of this post, on August 19, I am approximately 4-5 weeks pregnant.

This time is much different than last time. With Jack, I didn't really start feeling sick until 7 weeks or later. Now, I am pretty much queasy all the time. I also feel much more lightheaded, especially after standing up suddenly, and I feel very shaky like I have the flu. I am super bloated - to the point where Justin made a comment about how I already have a baby bump. That's a bit disappointing as I worked so hard this spring to lose all the extra weight I had been carrying. I was back down to the weight I was when I got pregnant with Jack, and BOOM! Back to being pregnant again :) But who can complain?? I hope the bloating goes down but I am not betting on it. Heck, why not pull out my maternity pants now? They are much more comfortable. :)

Until they adjust it based on the ultrasound, our estimated due date is April 23, 2012. In other news, Justin and I already started our traditional way of baby-naming. We get a magnetic white dry erase board, put it on the fridge, and we each can write as many names as we want. The other person has the option to cross any of them off at any time. The only name that survived the carnage last time was "Jack"...and this time we already have about 20 names in each column, all but a few crossed out. (And that's only because I am still mulling them over, but they will probably be crossed out soon!) I am somewhat worried that the hospital will have to name this baby, because we are NEVER going to come up with anything together!! Oh well, we have time :)

Written on August 22, 2011:

Maybe my brain just blocked out all the uncomfortable parts of my pregnancy with Jack, but wow! This baby must be a little fireball because this one is a whopper! I am so tired that I can barely get out of bed most mornings. I count down the minutes until Jack's nap so that I can nap too. And, oddly enough, I was vacuuming this morning and the smell of the hot vacuum on the carpet smelled like rotting seafood (??) and made me throw up! Very strange. Anyway, I can't wait to see the little bundle of joy that's making all this worth it :)

Written on August 24, 2011:

When you are pregnant with your first child, it's hard to imagine them growing up. Me, at least, well... I was wrapped up in "wow! My belly is this big today!" and "My child is the size of a lentil bean/grapefruit/watermelon this week!" I could never really wrap my head around what would happen at the hospital and after...when we actually had to bring a baby home and turn it into a little person.

Now, I have that little person. He's amazing. I could spend hours staring at his sweet little face, his perfect skin, eyes, hair, eyelashes. The way he crosses his feet when he's watching TV. How he comes up with new words and phrases that surprise me every day. How sweet he is, by saying "Thank you Mommy" when I buckle him into the car or hand him a cup of water. I am often very frustrated by him, but I am completely in love with my child and I honestly can't remember a time when he was just that little bean inside of me, without being JACK.

It's different this time. I picture this baby not in the abstract, but in the very real future. I subconsciously think of the baby as a "her," which is either a good or bad thing, not sure. So I apologize if I inadvertently type "her" here when I don't mean to. Justin and I were trying to come up with something to call baby until we know its sex (around Christmas time, for those of you anxiously awaiting that moment!) "Baby" sounds too impersonal, for something that we already love so much. But it's all I have right now so I will go with it.

I picture bringing our baby home, and all of the things that we learned last time that we won't have to relearn. I assume that I will be a more confident nurser, because I know now all those little things like how to hold the baby. I know that the baby will have a fussy period of two or three hours every day. I know that it's probably best to just give in at first and let baby sleep with us in the co-sleeper instead of trying to put a 10-day-old into their crib in their own room. I know that I will be exhausted, so tired, so hungry, and yet...elated. I can picture Jack as a big brother, helping with bottles and diapers and getting things for Mommy. I know it will be challenging and we will have our moments, but I feel like this baby is already a part of our family. It's not an abstract thought, it's real to me already. And that's amazing!

Here I am at approximately 6 weeks pregnant (we will have more accurate dating after the sonogram.) Slightly more bulge-y than last time, huhhhmmmm???

Written on September 2, 2011:

This morning, I had my first ultrasound. I was very nervous before going to the doctor, because I kept having a bad feeling that the doctor was going to poke around and say, "just kidding! There's nothing in there, I wonder why you keep feeling so sick? Strange." Anyway, they always tell you to properly hydrate before the doctor's office visits, because they usually want a urine sample and/or to take blood. So, I did. I took Jack to play at the "inside park" and used the bathroom there. By the time I got to my doctor's office (less than 8 minutes away), I had to go again. I begged the receptionist to let me give my urine sample early, so she did. I then sat in the waiting room for 10 minutes max, before they called me in to disrobe in the ultrasound room. I told the nurse, "I am really sorry, but I have to pee again!" so I went. The nurse then took my blood pressure which was an astounding 165/98, and sent the doctor in.

The doctor came in, asked me some questions, and said, "let's see this baby!" In case any of you were wondering (I am sure you were), they do transvaginal ultrasounds for early pregnancies. I'll let you work that out yourself. :) Anyway, she gets all the equipment where it needs to be and starts looking. I can tell as she looks that she is mentally preparing me, because she says, "I can't see anything, but I am not an ultrasound technician, we can always make you an appointment next week to come in when ours is in. And sometimes dating is wrong, it could just be too early..." and my heart starts going a mile a minute. I knew that our dating wasn't wrong. Suddenly she says, "no, wait. The reason I can't see anything is because your bladder is too full and it's in the way."SERIOUSLY?!?! I just peed THREE TIMES IN THE LAST 30 MINUTES!! So I rush off the table, throw on my clothes, run to the bathroom, and run back in, basically pulling off my pants as I hop on the table. She "readjusts" everything and BAM! There's the little heartbeat!! Clear as day and beating furiously. I was so relieved! She did some measurements and dated the baby at 6w3days, which puts my "official" due date at 4/26/2012. (There is a little wiggle room but that's generally pretty accurate.) The 26th is a great date in our family, and if it comes early, it could be on Ashley's birthday which is 4/15! Lots to look forward to next April!

Anyway, she took my blood pressure again and it had fallen to 140/88, which was slightly better. I am supposed to watch my salt intake and my stress level. (HA) Since it's still early, they can put me on blood pressure medicine this early to control it. As it gets later in the pregnancy, BP that high starts to become a risk to the baby (after 20 weeks) so we need to get it under control...especially because that's what put me on bedrest with Jack for the last few days, and was the reason I had to stay laying on one side and not moving while I was in labor at the hospital.

And that's it! I go back for a quick blood pressure check next week, and my next real appointment is September 27, when I will be about 10 weeks. Until then, I am enjoying all of the wonderful things about this pregnancy, including horrible all-day nausea, extreme fatigue, and those lovely lightheaded dizzy spells. :)

Here's our baby bean at 6 weeks old!!

You can't see much, but know that the little heart was going a mile a minute :)

We do know that it's very early to share this news, but we are confident in our baby's health and in the event that something does happen, it will be too big not to share with all of you. So thank you in advance for your support and love, no matter what the next 34 weeks (or so) bring to our family. We are so, so excited and we really look forward to meeting this little baby!

In the meantime, take the poll I've set up in the upper right corner of the blog...boy or girl? Let's guess!!