Lunch with in laws

This post is for Sunday, November 14, 2010. I initially had it posted for then, but I messed up.



The day started with baths for both kids. Brian gave Zander a bath, and I gave Sophia a bath. It was Sophia's first bath, before this she just had sponge baths because the umbilical cord had not fallen off yet.

Then we got ready for church. After church, Brian headed to his parent's house with both kids while I headed to Brian's brother's house. I had promised them that I would take family pictures for their Christmas cards. It was fun to take pictures for my sister-in-law and brother-in-law and their 2 adorable girls. I would show you what I took, but it is for their Christmas cards, so I will have to post them later. It wasn't any fancy pictures, but they wanted to keep it simple. After I took their pictures, I headed to my in-laws house to join the rest of my family for lunch. We had a very nice visit and lunch with my in-laws. While we were there my father-in-law suggested that Zander sleep over and spend the day tomorrow with him. They wanted to give me a break, and they love spending time with their grandson. I thought about it, and even though I would miss Zander, it would be nice to just have Sophia for the day. So around 4 p.m., we headed home and Zander stayed with his Grandma and Grandpa.

We took these pictures of our sweet girl tonight while all 3 of us were cuddling in bed before bedtime.

I love relaxing days with the family. I sooooo needed a day like today. And I am looking forward to a relaxing day tomorrow. A whole day to spend with my little girl!

Lincoln Park Zoo

This morning my sister-in-law Jill had a Shutterfly Party at her house. Now I will get a free Shutterfly photo book. I can't wait to make the book. Now to find the time to make the book. The party was at 9:30 a.m. and she had yummy brunch for us.

After the party, I headed to my friend Racheal's house, and we all caravaned to Lincoln Park Zoo. Racheal and Jason took their minivan and drove 2 of Racheal's girls, Serenity and Harmony, as well as 4 of Jen's kids, Mallory, Katie, Sam, and Zac. Then I took my car and drove my kids, Zander and Sophia, as well as Jen and Jen's son Anthony. We had so much fun at the zoo. It was such a beautiful day. I think this is the last warm weather day for a while. I am glad we enjoyed it outside.

Zander and Anthony watching the Beavers swimming

Zander playing with Racheal



Zac and Serenity

4 of the 5 Wagner kids, Katie, Mallory, Sam, and Anthony

Racheal, Jason, and Serenity

Zac and Serenity on the Carousel

Harmony on the Carousel

While at the zoo, I had a photo shoot with the Wagner kids and Jen (Jen's husband had to stay at home in Pennsylvania) Here is a sneak peak at the pictures.

When Jen joined the kids Zac decided he didn't want to smile at all.

So the family decided to make the "Zac face"

Zander decided he wanted in on some of the action

After the zoo we all went back to Jason and Racheal's house where Brian met us there, and we had dinner. What a fun day!

2 weeks old

I can't believe it, Sophia is 2 weeks old today. These last 2 weeks have gone by so fast. It didn't help that we have been back in the hospital 2 other times since she has been born. I am happy to say Sophia is happy and healthy. The EEG has shown no seizure activity. We are so thankful for that. God has truly blessed us. He has given us a healthy baby girl. But we know she is only on loan. She is truly God's and He is just letting us borrow her. We are so thankful for that. We love you Sophia Gwendolyn.

SO, I realize Sophia that you are only 2 weeks old, but what has happened in the last 2 weeks? What have you been up to?

You went to Ingalls ER on the Monday (November 1, 2010) after you were born. We were at Rick Nye's wake and 2 newborn nurses who held you were very concerned that you might be having seizures. You also went to Children's Memorial Hospital on Wednesday, November 3, 2010 (your due date) and were admitted because we still thought you might be having seizures, and Ingalls did not do anything for you. You have had a CT scan of the head and neck. You had an MRI of the ventricles, and you were hooked up to an EEG monitor with video for about 18 hours. You were stuck numerous times for labs, because your blood kept hemolyzing. They wanted to make sure your potassium was not high. The blood sample that was hemolyzed showed a very high potassium level, but that was not accurate. Thankfully after about the fourth or fifth attempt (your mom lost count) they finally got a good blood sample and it showed your potassium level was normal. You had an EKG done, and you had 2 IVs put in while at Children's Memorial Hospital. You still wear size newborn diapers; size one diapers are huge on you. You were mostly newborn clothes, but wear some 0 to 3 month clothes, but they are big on you. You are sleeping really well at night and during the day. You sleep anywhere between 5 to 9 hours a night without waking up. There has only been a few nights where you have slept 5 hours, mostly it is between 7 to 9 hours of sleep. You sleep a lot during the day, but you are starting to wake up more during the day. I would often have to wake you up to feed you, but you are waking up on your own now. You have lost weight since you were born. Yesterday you had a doctor's appointment with your pediatrician and you weighed 7 lbs. and 8 oz. We have to go back in 2 weeks to see if you gained weight. Your big brother Zander loves you very much. He gives you lots of kisses. He pats your head, and even kisses your toes sometimes. Every morning after he wakes up, he goes in mommy and daddy's room to check on you. Zander does not like when we go downstairs and leave you upstairs in your bassinet, even if it is just for a minute. Your mommy and daddy love you very much. And we are so thankful that you are healthy. God has blessed us. We love being a family of 4. You are sleeping in a bassinet next to mommy and daddy's bed. We are starting to work on your nursery. Your brother is still sleeping in the crib that will be yours, but he will be getting a race car bed soon. You have had many visitors. Many people have been praying for you and your health, and so many people love you.

As you can see from the photos above, my friend Racheal and I had a mini phoot shoot with Sophia today, and we had so much fun.

Zander joined in on the fun too! But he wasn't very amused!

Today is the Day-Meet...

...Sophia Gwendolyn

Born on October 28, 2010 at 7:43 p.m.

Weighing 8 pounds

And 19. 5 inches long

Story to come soon. But such a sweet girl! We are enjoying her!!!

And her big brother Zander loves her.

Update

I thought I would update my blog because it has been a while since I actually finished a blog post.  (I always start them and save them, but never seem to finish them.)  Here goes.  I am 38 weeks and 3 days pregnant.  I was put on bed rest almost 2 weeks ago and forced to stop working because of preeclampsia.  I was not happy about the bed rest but understood that it was needed.  I am starting to miss work, which is kind of crazy, and I definitely do not like bed rest.  I am so bored on bed rest.  You think I would be able to catch up with my blog while on bed rest, but I have had a lot of appointments and they are all about 1 hour away, and I haven't always been feeling the best.  Plus my 18 month old is keeping me busy too.  I am not supposed to drive, so my mom comes and picks me up.  My poor mom, she has been driving like crazy this past week.  I have had 3 appointments this past week on 3 different days.  On Tuesday we learned that the baby is breech.  So if the baby does not turn around, I am scheduled for a cesarean section on Friday, October 29th.  I am hoping and praying I do not have to have a c-section.  I have an appointment with my doctor on Monday, and on Tuesday I have another ultrasound/biophysical profile to determine if the baby is still breech.  Please pray that the baby turns around.  I don't think I have mentioned this on my blog yet, but at the beginning of September they found an abnormality on the ultrasound.  I really haven't mentioned it on here because the doctors do think that the baby will be born healthy.  The cisterna magna is enlarged.  The cisterna magna is part of the fetuses' brain between the cerebellum and the medulla oblongata.  When a fetus has an elnlarged cisterna magna it could mean that the baby will be born with Down Syndrome or Trisomy.  The doctors think that our baby will not be born with either of these because they see no other abnormalities on the ultrasound.  Of course they are not 100% sure about this, so there is a chance our baby could be born with Down Syndrome or Trisomy.  We are trusting in God for all of this.  We know God is an awesome and mighty God, and no matter what happens we will praise Him.  We were sent to University of Chicago to get a level 2 ultrasound.  This ultrasound was more detailed and higher tech.  It was amazing what you could see with this ultrasound, and they had a big screen TV for you to view the ultrasound on.  This ultrasound confirmed that yes, the cisterna magna is still enlarged, but no other abnormalities were seen on this ultrasound.  Please be in prayer for our baby.  We are praying that the baby does not have Down Syndrome or Trisomy.  But no matter what we will love this baby and take care of this baby.   And no matter what happens, we will praise God. 
     I have had help from family and friends.  As I said, my mom pretty much drives me everywhere I need to go, and she lives about 45 minutes from my house.  My friend Racheal came over to help organize and clean my house, and she did an amazing job.  The ladies from our church have been providing my family with meals this week, and that has been such a blessing.  And some of the ladies from my MOPS group are going to provide meals for my family after the baby is born.  I would like to thank everyone for all the prayers, support, and help in this time.  It is very much appreciated.  We are so blessed, and we know that God is taking care of this little one that is still growing inside of me.  We can't wait to meet him or her.

I can't believe this little boy is going to be a big brother in a week or less!

 

I think he will make a great Big Brother!

He is pretty excited to be a Big Brother!

Okay, so he doesn't really understand that he is going to be a Big Brother really soon.  But he sure is a happy boy in this picture.  And he loves to kiss the baby in mommies' belly.  I just love this little boy.  And I thank God everyday that He blessed us with him. 

More of the Girls Getaway!

I was up early yet again today.  I think God is getting me ready for the new baby, 4 1/2 more weeks.  I woke up many times to use the bathroom, but I was up at 4:30 a.m. because I couldn't sleep.  I miss my bed, but I'm having so much fun with the girls.  Luckily I was only up for an hour and then I was able to go to sleep for 2 more hours.  When we were all up we got ready and went Denny's for breakfast.  I'm not a big fun of Denny's, but it was close.  After Denny's the girls wanted to shop at a thrift store.  After that we decided to go to the Carousel District of Mansfield.  It is a cute little part of the city where there are shops and stuff.  We went into an antique store and looked around. 

We saw this cute Carousel Place.

Racheal and Jen at the second thrift store, the one in the Carousel District

Then we went to a cute ice cream parlor for some ice cream, and I tried a new flavor, Superman.  It was really good. 

After ice cream we walked around some more.  My friends, minus me, all wanted to get a tattoo, but unfortunately the tattoo parlor had no openings until Tuesday.  I was hoping they could get a tattoo because I wanted to get pictures of them while they were getting the tattoos.  Oh well.  After we hit the town it was back to the hotel for some hot tub and pool time.  Of course I just sat near the hot tub.  My friends were disappointed because the hot tub was not very hot.  

After the hot tub time, we had a fun and delicious steak dinner at the restaurant in the hotel.  And the dinner was free for us.  The hot tub was falling apart.  My friends found 2 parts of a light cover and a screw at the bottom of the hot tub, and then they noticed a hole in the side of the hot tub where the light cover was supposed to be.  One of my friends complained to the hotel staff and told them it was unsafe.  Because of that they offered us a free dinner at the hotel restaurant. 

Racheal, me, and Jen at dinner

Jen and I

Now we are relaxing and talking in our hotel room.  We have had some deep conversations this weekend.  Tomorrow we head back home in the afternoon.  I am having a great time, but I do miss my husband and my baby boy Zander.  I can't wait to see them tomorrow afternoon. 

Travel Day for Girls Getaway

Today I headed to Ohio for one last getaway before the baby comes. It is a girl's getaway. Racheal and Jen are 2 of my best friends, and Mimi is one of Jen's friends from high school that we have all gotten to know. We all decided to meet in Mansfield, Ohio for a weekend of fun! I think we all needed this time to get away and relax. I drove by myself to Mansfield. Originally Racheal and Mimi were going to drive with me because we live near each other. Jen moved to Pennsylvania in August, so she was going to drive from Pennsylvania. We chose Mansfield, Ohio because it was half way for all of us. At the last minute Jen wasn't able to drive because her and her husband are down to one car. Racheal and Mimi decided to leave on Wednesday afternoon to pick up Jen. They stayed with Jen and her family until this morning and then they headed to Ohio. I am not a big fan of driving. Usually my husband drives. I am also not a big fan of road trips by myself. I listened to a lot of praise music, and I really enjoyed that. I had to stop every hour to walk around since I am 35 weeks pregnant. I wanted to make sure I didn't get any blood clots. It took about 4 hours and 45 minutes to get there. But it is great to be around some of my best friends, and to tonight we had dinner at Cheddars. No pictures though because my camera battery needed to be charged. I felt bad, my husband had to work late and my mom and dad watched Zander. It was a very long day for my mom and dad, because I dropped Zander off at their house at 9:30 a.m. and Brian didn't pick him up until 11:30 p.m. I felt soooo bad, Brian has never worked that late.