Rainy Fall Weather and Freedom!

 

I finally got to leave the house this weekend as my bed rest was reduced to modified since I am now 34 weeks preggers! Yay! It was so nice just to be somewhere other than my couch or my ned, let me tell you. Unfortunately the weather was less than desirable this weekendwith the really chilly rain all weekend, so our annual trip to Weber's Farm in Parkville wasn't as exciting as it could have been. We were able to take Alex to the pumpkin bins and let him pick a pumpkin for himself, which he loved. They all looked like big orange balls to him, so you can imagine his excitement! LOL. As soon as I handed himhis pumkin he grasped it tight and wouldn't let it go. We also were able to pick up some homemade apple cider, cider donuts (which were delicious, and may warrant a return trip!) , fresh apple butter and really good fudge. Trust me, the baby liked the peanut butter fudge, since my pregnant self pretty much finished the whole thing in two days! We also got a chance to see Abe's family and hang out with my nephew, Matthew and niece Julia on Sunday. Unfortunately our other nephew Daniel had the flu, so he had to stay home with his parents and brother. :( We definitelymissed them though! I can't believe how big Matthew and Julia are getting though! Julia is just as tall as Alex, and so talkative and social! Alex is definitely the shyer of the two--perhaps it's a "girl" thing. LOL.We'll find out soon enough. I for sure want this baby to cook to full term, but I am praying after the measures to keep her in longer, she doesn't decide to be stubborn and wait until December or something. I think  I would probably go crazy!

Me and Alex at Weber's

Alex in his favorite PJs. He actually cries when we have to take them off!

Giggling with Oscar. He loves his kitties!

Alex and Daddy getting ready to race their ride-on cars!

Julia in her cute fall jacket and boots!

Alex (19 Months) and Julia (15 Months)

Posing with our pumpkin family!

Mr.Personality

Alex is 19 Months old now, and I can't even describe the amount of growing he has done in the past two months! He has become so much more verbal and even developed more of an "attitude" when he doesn't get his way or when he wants somehting in particular. He is repeating almost anything and everything we say now, and can even say a few simple sentences. The other day, he handed me his stuffed giraffe at bedtime to hold it for him,and he said "There you go." It was the cutest thing ever! He'salso saying short sentences like, "all done" or "all gone", "thank you" and "love you." I would estimate he's probably saying 30-50 words now. Some of the ones he says most often are "choo choo", because he loves his trains, "Ball", "Eat", "Go", "Nuggets", and "Baby." Though, I am sure he has no idea what a baby will really entail when his sister gets here, he does say the word pretty clearly. He also LOVES to sing. He cab mimic almost any tune, and this amazes us! He sings the ABC song, Wheels on the Bus, Old MacDonald,and Twinkle Twinkle just to name a few. I think his favorite is probably the ABC song, which he kind of half knows the words to as well. It's cool to see him starting to have distinct interests aside from just playing with whatever toys he can find.He defintely gravitates to any kind of sports balls, mathbox cars, or motorized trains that he can find and spends most of his time playing with those things. He'sdefinitely very boyish in his interests! We can't believe how much of a personality he has developed in the past two months! We'll be very interested to see how he reacts when our daughter arrives in the next month or so. Speaking of her, the pregnancy isprogressing well at this point.I am a little stir crazy on bed rest and actuallymiss work, but I know it'sfor the best until she matures enough to be born without complications. It's hard to believe, but she'll probably be here in less than a month.My prediction is the first week of November..we shall see.

Getting a lift from Daddy

Playing outside with his bubbles

Posing with his toys

Alex is already amazingly adept at sports..he can kick a soccer ball all the way up the yard without stopping!

Eating dinner for the first time in his booster--no more high chair!

My HUGE belly at 33 weeks!

Bed Rest...Ugh!

Okay so our little girl is already showing her impatient side! She wants to be born almost two months early! Thursday I had pain all day and wasn't sure what to make of it. I just assumed I was dehydrated and having cramping because of that. Anyway, after school that day, I was starting to get a little worried, because they were feeling a little familiar, like less intense contractions. So, to be safe I called my docotr and she suggested I go over to Franklin Square to be monitored. Her feeling was that it was probably nothing serious, but why take the chance? So I drove myself there and left Abe in charge of picking up Alex and taking care of him because I didn't want to disrupt his schedule. I got there,got all hooked up, and like 5 minutes into the monitoring, the nurse says "Oh we've had a lot of pre-term labor today." I was like "what?? I'm in labor? I'm only 31 weeks!" So they kicked it into high gear at that point and came in with  million exams and hooked me up to an IV for fluids, and gave me a shot of steroids (the most painful freaking shot I have ever had in my life!) to help the baby's lungs mature faster should she be born that night, almost 9 weeks early. I then called Abe, and let him know what was going on and he threw some things together and got Alex down to Maria's so he could come to the hospital. He got there around 9, and they had my conractions slowed a lot. I had gone from having about 3 to 4 every 10 minutes to only having 1 or 2 every ten minutes. By 10,they were significantly better, so they decided to send me home with a prescription for Procardia and orders to return the following evening for a second and final steroid shot. I been taking the Procardia (med to slow or stop contractions) every 6 hours since, and probably will be taking it until I reach somewhere between 34 and 36 weeks. At this point I am only having a contraction here there, like maybe 1 every couple of hours and the doctor says as long as I am having less than 4 per hour, I am in the clear! I am already dilated 1 cm and 80% effaced, but that could also last months, so it's really nothing to worry about unless I start contracting heavily again. So for me, it;s 5 weeks of bed rest, which may be reduced once I hit 35-36 weeks. More than likely once I go back to work and get off the Procardia, the baby will shortly follow, so she may very well be an October baby rather than a November one. I'll be 35 weeks on Oct. 25, and 36 weeks on Nov. 1, so sometime around then I'll probably be able to return to work. Amyway that's the whole story of our crazy end of the week, and our little scare. We're just so glad they were able to stop the labor and give her a better chance of being born on time or close to it. We're excited to meet her, but we don't want to meet her just yet! Below are some pics from the week and from Abe and I's recent Anniversary excursion downtown.

Posing together at the harbor

The manager at Fogo de Chao brought us a free creme brulee in honor of our anniversary--so nice of him!

Alex sharing cereal with Daddy

Aww! Giving his puppy a kiss!