Back to the Dr

I had another visit to the dr this week. They still (really?) don't have the test results...it's been 2 weeks...but say they should be in next week sometime. We still do not see any physical issues with the baby from the ultrasound. The baby is continuing to measure a week behind, but looks healthy and happy so the dr is saying not to worry yet (yeah, right). I go back again next Fri for another check on things..I'll be 15 weeks next Wed.

I am still going to acupuncture once a week and have tried to increase the amount of protein in my diet to see if any of that can help the baby grow. I'm not really a protein junkie so it's a little hard, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Yesterday was Dave's last day at SMSC. They made sure to help him feel he'd done the right thing by making him write them a check for 1/3 of his initial signing bonus because he did not stay the entire 3 years...only 2 yrs 8 months. The ironic thing is that they will have to pay out his vacation time and it looks like that will be almost exactly the same as the 1/3 of the bonus. So I guess it evened out. Anyway, we celebrated by having Tino's Greek food for dinner...one of our favorite lunch meeting spots by his office, since it will not be as convenient anymore. Evan thought the "bacon" (lamb) was good....guess I don't need to bring anything for him to eat there any more. He is def a meat eater...while Connor could eat raw carrots all day. Oh well, between the two of them they'll eat an entire meal.

First Sentence

Evan has been talking, and repeating, a lot. This morning someone had turned over the dog bed and I asked "Who did that?" Evan replied, "Connor did it!" which I feel is extremely appropriate for a second child's first sentence! After a few more minutes he branched out to "I did it." and "Daddy did it." and even an "Evan did it." but Mommy never got in on the game. He pretty consistently uses 3 word utterances...and has even picked up on a nonsense word that Connor likes to use when referring to his blankie, "noot down" which means "knock down" because Connor's blankie is his mean alter ego and likes to do bad things. (I think the blankie took over the bad things when Froggie retired.)

Rough Week

It's been a pretty rough week.

Last Mon we had our 12 week scan and everything looked good, but on Wed the dr's office called to say that the blood work came back low giving us a 1 in less than 5 chance that the baby has Trisomy 13 or 18....which are both incompatible with life. So on Thursday we went in and they did a test called a CVS where they take a piece of placenta and send it in to count the chromosomes and see if there are the right amount. They called the next day to say that the sample wasn't big enough and that it would take 10-14 days to get the results...we're on day 8 and haven't heard anything. It's really cruel.

We have had a number of ultrasounds and we do not really see any signs that the baby has a severe defect. But if it does not, then the testing means that something is wrong with the placenta...again. The baby is already starting to measure behind. It is very difficult to maintain a positive attitude when all of the signs we are given are pointing down the same road we went down with Sam. It's truly heart-breaking.

I am taking, and have been since week 4, all the medication that they would recommend. I have exhausted Western medicine and can only continue to go in for weekly scans and hope that the baby is strong enough to overcome these extreme conditions. (The dr actually used the word "rare" yesterday when talking about how low my numbers are and successful outcomes.) So this week I started going to an acupuncturist who specializes in reproductive Chinese medicine. I know she helped bring my blood pressure down, but I just hope that she can help with the growth of the baby.

Connor has almost completely un-potty trained himself. He still, mostly, uses the potty for pooping but very rarely pees in the potty any more. This week he managed to get poop on the floor of the bathroom TWICE. He just kept saying to me, "There's poopies on the floor, but that's ok!" He may be the one kid that actually goes to college in a diaper!

Evan is using mostly 3 word sentences. He can say Connor and Evan, but really likes to categorize things as good/bad or nice/mean....luckily most things are good/nice but occasionally Connor gets a mean classification!

Ultrasound

We went for the Down's Syndrome screening today. The fluid on the neck was measuring 1-1.25 mm which is in the normal range. They will call with adjusted odds at the end of the week...as it stands, with my age alone, my odds of having a baby with Down's is 1 in 139.

We were not able to tell the gender of this one yet though. If you can see the bright line at the booty end of the baby...if it's horizontal then it's a girl, if it has a 30 degree angle then it's a boy. But because of positioning you really can't tell. I have another appt next Thurs (and then the one after that), so hopefully we'll be able to get more info then!

The only issue that she mentioned is that the baby's intestine's are still pushed up into the umbilical cord. This is a normal part of the development process but they should be going back in sometime soon. That will be something to watch in coming ultrasounds.

The boys are doing really well. Connor learns something new every day! We are working on our "school" and some days are easier than others but over the course of the day we usually get everything accomplished. He has unlearned something...he is refusing to use the potty now after 3 months. I have no idea what to do! I have tried bribes, rewards, punishments and pleading! He still is no longer consistent with peeing in the potty. I'm pretty sure he's just decided it's way easier to go in your pants. I've even taken off his pants...he doesn't care! He may be going to college in a diaper!

Evan is really talking a lot these days. He uses mostly 2 word phrases (usually noun and verb) so he's getting his point across....and if he doesn't he just pushes Connor until he gets it! I think his favorite word is still no though! Every time his brother asks for something he has, the answer is always a definite no! He knows most of his letters, numbers and colors. He loves to follow Connor around and do what he's doing (or take what he's playing with).

Trying New Things???

We went to Lake Pflugerville the other day to meet some friends. Both boys refused to even put on their swim suits before we left, so I didn't have high hopes for the day. But we just let Connor do his own thing and before we knew it, he was in the water!

He had fun running up and down the water line and chasing the ducks. We may have to try this place again. Evan refused to even go near the water though. This day helped me decide that it was time for swim lessons. We start tomorrow! Connor will be in a class on his own and Evan and I will be doing Mommy and Me swim. Hopefully it works out!

We also tried going to the movie theater to see CARS 2. That didn't work out so well. Evan got bored fast and Connor only lasted a bit longer. We ended up leaving an hour into it...which was probably really 30 min into it. On the way out, Connor said it was too scary. Then when we got home they both had some stomach issues. I think the excitement plus Hawaiin punch and popcorn was just too much for them both! It's been a year since we tried the movies...guess we'll wait another year!

Funny story...tonight I was trying to review some -ap words with Connor. I only gave him 7 letters to try and control what words he spelled. He grabbed the letters and spelled crap! Which obviously wasn't in my plan and not a word I had taught him before! Dave claims he didn't either!

Preschool

Connor, Mommy and Daddy finished our first erector set project together this evening. Connor did pretty well. Evan just wanted to hold the screw driver and got mad any time Connor needed it. We may need to go find another one.

Connor's first body picture.

So I've been going back and forth with what to do for Connor's schooling. Right now he is registered at a Montessori preschool down the street. My concern is that he will have to go through all of the activities even though he's beyond some of them and I'd rather that he use his time to learn new things. So this week we started doing some homeschooling just to see how receptive he would be to the idea of staying home and doing school with Mommy. Within 10 min the first morning he said, "Mommy, are you my teacher?" He seems to like the idea. We've been doing calendar time, some practice cutting and some playing with shape blocks. Both boys seem to be liking it and we're getting through a lot of stuff in an hour a day. They keep running upstairs to "play" with the shape blocks and do puzzles. Evan wants to spend the whole time gluing things together.

So we're pretty sure that we're going to keep him home this next year and I will teach them. I've already got the ideas I want to do pretty much picked out...building, puzzles, cooking, along with some of the basic stuff. He is reading basic books with easily decodable words and sight words...it's not fluent yet, but he's still working hard. He likes to spell still and is starting to write letters. He won't let me teach him the correct way to form the letters, but hopefully he will before he gets the wrong ways set.

So for now, I think the best thing is to save the money for preschool and "play" school at home!

21 Months!

Evan is a whopping 21 months old today! He is getting so big! In this picture he had to barricade himself away from the beagle just to eat a cracker for breakfast! That beagle is getting fatter and fatter from her thievery!

Evan says a lot of words. He surprises me everyday with a new one...yesterday it was hamster. His favorites are still heavy, push, kick, beat and no! He can identify red, blue and green consistently...and probably a few others but his brother beats him to it. His brother has taught him some letter names though. Evan knows 24 of 26 letter names. He will argue about M because he says it's a W. He loves to color, read books and make his brother scream! He said his first 2 word phrase last week "Let go!" while they were arguing over something. He takes no prisoners and will fight to the end for what he wants and if his brother has it, he'll just try to take it from him. You gotta be tough to be the little brother!

He has a great sense of humor and is tons of fun..if not a little pushy! I can't wait to watch him grow!