Happy St. Patricks Day and Happy 5 months

This was taken a few days after he turned 5 months, but he was grouchy on that day so I didn't get a good shot of him.

Things he can do: (or has stopped doing)

Has stopped sleeping through the night -sigh-
Can stand with support
Plays with his feet all the time
Is having fewer witching hour evenings
Has started rice cereal, although it is me poking it in his mouth and washing it down with formula-he has yet to enjoy it. Maybe when we start real food he will enjoy it more
When on his tummy he scrunches up his legs and pushes off, but just can't figure out how to make the top half of him move
He is getting more and more fun every day

Eight Week Belly

Here is the eight week belly shot.
No new symptoms to report, in fact I am pretty much symptom free.
Next Dr. appt is April 17. We will do the nuchal screening. Hopefully at that sono they will be able to tell if its a boy or girl.
My cousin is due one month ahead of me, so it would be fun if they were the same sex-but who knows, I guess its a 50/50 chance.

It's all good!!

We have one baby and one strong heartbeat!! Yay

Weight is 133, so I am 2 lbs lighter than at this point with Davis. This makes me feel great because I have not been running and eating pretty badly since I found out I was pregnant. Had I continued on like I was doing (not pregnant, of course) I would probably be in the 120's, which is my goal after this little one is born.

Heart rate was 140, which is about the same as Davis at this point.

Due date is October 26th. We will do a C-section either one week early if no previa or two weeks early if I have previa again.

We talked extensivly about banking the cord blood, which we did not do with either Davis or Garrett. But we will with this one. We talked about the possiblity of them (who is them??) finding a cure for PKU through stem cells. It is a no-brainer for us to bank it now. Who knows what the future holds as far as that goes, but we will be prepared should anything ever come up. I feel kinda guilty now for not banking the others. It really makes me wonder if the reason that this one was conceived so easily is because eventually we will be able to use the cord blood to "cure" Davis. Whew-heavy thought!!! I really pray that this can happen!

Nervous about tomorrow

I have my first Dr. appt in 23 hours from now. I am so nervous that something is going to be wrong. I do not feel pregnant in any way. Jason assured me that I felt the exact same way with the other two, but I just don't know. At this point with Davis I had already had two sonograms and bloodwork, so I knew I was pregnant and it had a heartbeat. With Garrett I think I was too naive to think something could be wrong. With this one I know so much more and have read so many stories about empty sacs, fetus' that have stopped growing, etc... that it really makes me nervous. I really, really want this baby and hope that it is growing like it should be.

I guess we will see tomorrow at 10am-yikes!!!

Into the food journey

Well I got word yesterday from Davis' dietician that we can start rice cereal. His Phe level was a bit low again (1.6) so instead of adjusting the formula recipe, she decided it was time to introduce cereal. He is to have 2 Tbs. of rice cereal a day in addition to his formula. We will do that for two weeks as his dietician is on vacation next week. In two weeks we will check his phe and, hopefully, add other foods. Two Tbs. of rice cereal is 2 exchanges. So he is having two exchanges at this point,the more exchanges he can tolerate the better. But we won't know how much he can tolerate until he is eating table food,so probably after a yr old. Unfortunatly that number doesn't really change much as they age,so what he is able to eat at two is the same amount he will be able to eat at twenty-two.

He didn't really seem to like the cereal- he just looked at me like "what is this?" and spit it back out. So we must practice!!!

Anyway I guess we are about to embark on the crazy world of feeding a PKU child. I think it is pretty much the same as a non-pku as far as baby foods go, just no meat baby food. Although I will have to start counting exchanges and keeping count of what he eats. From what I have heard Gerber is great about supplying the phe amounts in all of their foods- so that is what we will feed him only.

I have mixed feelings about starting food. I am excited, yet scared. Scared because this is when he becomes "special". We have already started adjusting our diets a bit. Garrett doesn't get chocolate chip pancakes anymore, instead he gets strawberry or blueberry pancakes. No more hot fudge sundaes at McDonalds-we willl come home and eat a popsicle or get a slurpee instead. We are TRYING to eat more fruits and veggies. This will be a learning experience for us all for sure!!

6 week belly picture and symptoms check

Here is my 6 wk belly picture. Remember I am only 4.5 months post partum, so I still have a belly from that- LOL.

Symptoms:
Extreme thirst therefore excessive peeing
Insomnia at night, tired during the day
Very vivid dreams
Boobs hurt (maybe??)-they probably hurt from me pushing on them to see if they hurt

That is it-kinda freaks me out that I am not really feeling ANYTHING, I hope everything is ok with the little bean!

Insomnia

I.
Can't.
Sleep!!!

It is horrible, I am up for hours during the night. I get up and watch TV 1-2 hours each and every night. I haven't been this tired since Davis was a little bitty newborn. I can't nap in the day either because I have two children I need to take care of and because if I nap during the day I think that will make sleep even more elusive.

I am feeling nervous about this pregnancy because I have no symptoms really. I mean I do have insomnia and I am tired, but that is it. My boobs aren't even sore. I keep poking them but they just aren't sore. My first Dr. appt isn't until Mar. 13. I am just a normal pregnant person with this one, so I don't get to have early sonograms like last time with the RE.

My friend that just did IVF found out she is having twins- yay!! I am so excited for her! We are due within days of each other, although I am sure hers will come early since there are two of them. It is going to be so fun to go through pregnancy with her. We have known each other since 8th grade. Of course this is her first pregnancy so I want it all to be about her. I will just give advice or comments when asked.

Jason is hunting this weekend so it is me and the boys by ourselves. I keep trying to imagine when he goes hunting next year I will have three little ones at home with me-- whew, makes me tired just thinking about it. But I can't wait!!! I am getting soooooo excited about this pregnancy