so much for scripting

A past post about placenta previa is here with an explanation on what it is exactly and what’s so unnerving about it.

We had another ultrasound a couple weeks ago to see if the placenta had moved away from my cervix. The specialist gave us an 80% chance of everything remaining as is, and guessed that it would likely still be covering the cervix and a c-section necessary. In most cases the placenta will gravitate north as the baby grows and you expand to make room for everything, but that was just not the case for us and the specialist was right.

It has moved a tiny bit – while it was completely covering the cervix, and even into the cervix a bit, it’s moved to only marginally covered as the placenta moved a half a centimeter to the great north. Unfortunately it has to be at least two centimeters from the cervix to be considered clear and good, and it’s still technically securely in place down low. nuts.

I talked to my OB at my most recent appointment to understand better what everything means for planning ahead… because I absolutely have to have a plan. Even living over a thousand miles away my mom hasn’t missed a birth, and Baby Gump is certainly giving us a challenge. Especially considering how heavily I’m going to rely on her to help take care of the Littles while I’m in the hospital, and I know I’m going to want my mommy when I’m recovering from the surgery, I’m up for the challenge. So I present you with Plans A, B and C:

Plan A) we have another ultrasound on August 9th and if the placenta is still in place we schedule an amniocentesis on August 26th to make sure the baby’s lungs, etc. are developed enough for the c-section. If the test results give the okay, we go straight to labor and delivery and baby makes three. I’ll be a day shy of 38 weeks and at first my OB was nervous about allowing me to go that late because of the risk of bleeding if I start dilating. BUT she’s pretty surprised I haven’t bled yet at all, so she’s confident that I can last to nearly 38 weeks. There’s a chance of bed rest if there’s spotting toward the end but as long as there’s nothing too severe, we should be in the clear.

Plan B) we have another ultrasound on August 9th and if the placenta has moved past the two centimeters then everything is a wash and we’ll wait to let Baby come in their own time around the due date of September 10th.

Plan C) we have another ultrasound on August 9th and the placenta is still in place or has moved back to where it was eight weeks ago and the specialist won’t let me wait until the end of the week for the 26th and has me schedule the amnio a week prior or that Monday or Tuesday the 22nd or 23rd. My OB is on vacation then and I’d be way more comfortable with her doing the c-section so I’m hoping that’s not the case, plus then my mom has to try to move up her flight last minute, which would be a headache and I’d imagine hurt the pocketbook.

While it’s exciting to know the potential date that we’ll know this baby but also slightly terrifying because it’s right around the corner now, which is overwhelming. We’ve been starting to move rapid fire now switching rooms around and nesting has completely kicked in. Unfortunately I’ve had a huge problem with the sciatic nerve in both legs (it’s always frickin got to be something, ugh.) which makes it so difficult to walk by the end of every day that I have to wear a belly brace to help carry the weight of Baby and hopefully ease the pain.

It’s also directly put all the stress of physically getting things done squarely on Justin’s shoulders. I can tell he’s likely close to his breaking point with all the pressure he has to carry in supporting our family nearly on his own since I’m just literally not able to help as much as usual. Now we’re trying to settle into new routines with renewed expectations and it will hopefully help release a lot of stress. We’re just exhausted… it’s only going to get easier with three, right?!

a picture six weeks ago at my college roomie's baby shower - wouldn't have pictured this seven years ago! so much fun sharing pregnancies with friends!

this was also the last time I've worn heels this summer... hello swelling. Sweet Moses.

To One of the Best

As per usual, there is much to blog about. For some reason I can’t commit to the keystrokes to make them happen… I need to give an update on the pregnancy with Baby Gump (previa is still firmly in place so c-section it is. meh.), a treasured and must needed visit from my sister and her kiddos, the car shopping experience for a car I don’t even want (just call me Soccer Mom!) and general updates on my Littles including speech screenings for Bella, development milestones for Austin, some one liners from Bell and pictures and videos that make my heart happy. None of those will be covered today though, instead in honor of one of my best friends’ birthdays I want to talk about Miss Mandy Lee.

To date one of my favorite summers of my life started immediately after high school graduation and lasted until the day my new found friend went to college. It’s been dubbed the summer of Dana and Mandy and we have countless inside jokes that always come up when we’re reminiscing – and we laugh every time because separately we’re pretty funny but together we’re downright hilarious. at least that’s what we’ll tell you with every opportunity.

Mandy and I were in similar social circles in high school – which is a lie because she was way more popular than I was but we at least had overlapping friends so I’ll call it a similar circle – and during one off period toward the end of the school year we were talking about how unfair it was that we don’t get to wear any special ropes to signify our almost-smarty pants, because we may not have had a high enough GPA to warrant them, but we sure tried hard. sometimes. We exchanged numbers and decided we were going to go to the craft store and find our own that we’d wear for good measure. That of course never happened but it was enough to start us on our merry way…

That summer we went to Rockies games, youth group outings, crashed boys only trips to Water World, celebrated birthdays, had our first drink (okay, mine.), went to clubs for the first time (okay, again mine. yeah, 18 and up. haha!) a most-memorable trip to Kansas, speeding tickets, crushes, etc. etc. A few highlights include the time we were at the water park bouncing our tube back and forth to each other while waiting in line, and when I almost fell down the stairs of the tower of the ride we were waiting for because I wasn’t looking when she bounced it to me, this old guy told us our stupidity was a team effort. I’m pretty sure we were meant to be offended but we found it hysterical and it’s been our mantra ever since. On our drive to KU to visit my sister we stopped at a gas station to pee – which happened at least ten times – and each time we’d don our Hawaiian hats and leis and make our way in. One stop a little boy tugged on his dad’s shirt and asked why we’re dressed like that. His response was that we clearly didn’t get enough attention as children. Again, may offend most but we laugh about it still.

Even though we’re not able to talk as much as we once did, I don’t feel like we’ve ever drifted. My life settled quickly with a husband, babies and a mortgage while she’s traveled all over and lived in Miami, New York City and now Los Angeles. It’s such a blessing how even with fairly different lifestyles our unspoken connection and similarities compliment each other and I truly believe we bring out the best in each other. She has one of the kindest hearts I know and a child-like innocence in the way she chooses to view the world around her that draws you in and makes you want to be around her. At the same time, she’s a strong woman that knows her value and doesn’t allow others to take advantage of it. Best part is, at the end of the day she’s much like me – feisty as hell. a perfect compliment!

Here’s to you Mandy – MissYouLoveYou!

Baby Einstein

Wordless Wednesday

One Small Step for my Little Man

We're consistently asked when we're out in public if Austin is always the cheerful, happy and charming baby he appears to be. While he is for the most part (when he's not crying he's smiling) it's sometimes a challenge to explain his little personality... he's the sweetest baby with an incredibly strong will. Really, he's just stubborn but I feel like "stubborn" has a negative connotation and strong willed can be a positive character trait. Thank you thesaurus.

For example, he never ate baby food - he went straight from a bottle to table food. No rice cereal, no nasty peas in a jar... straight to steak and potatoes. (or pizza. whatever.) Then it was the transition from a bottle to a sippy cup... he'll go the entire day without drinking any milk, which he loves more than anything, because it's not in a bottle. He'll be crying for milk while he's holding a sippy cup full of it, but won't drink from a cup because he doesn't want to.

Now it's walking. Justin and I thought for sure he'd be walking well before his first birthday. At nine months-old he was pulling himself up standing and climbing up the stairs. He's mastered holding your hands and walking, and walking along furniture but has no interest in walking on his own. If you let go of his hand and encourage him to take a couple steps he folds his knees in and starts crawling to the carrot held above his head. BUT today he teased us with a couple steps! Needless to say we were pretty thrilled and excited and as you'll see, Bella was stoked to get in the mix and help him along as well. I love those moments of our small family as we share milestones together. YAY!

Austin walking at 12 1/2 months:


just for fun here's Bella walking at 12 months (first birthday!):

Them are fighting words

Today I experienced a serious case of mama bear when I took Bella to a bounce house playroom. I was already at a disadvantage to the day when I forgot the umbrella stroller so had to carry Austin in the baby bjorn atop of my pregnant belly. (super comfortable… false.) Bean was doing really well, playing far more fearlessly than I thought she would, even trying games I thought she’d be far too little for.

She was in an actual bounce house really enjoying herself when she wasn’t being knocked over by an overly aggressive boy who must have had seven pixie sticks before coming. I told her when she got knocked down to just get up quickly and move to an area not as many kids were playing. It was working wonderfully until she was knocked down and pinned by a little girl in the middle of the mat. She didn’t cry but was obviously upset so when a group of boys bounced them and the girl was knocked off Bell tried to get up and move. Then the girl tackled her and pinned her by lying on her face – again.

The girl was no bigger than Bella but my girl wouldn’t fight back so she just laid there eyes locked with mine and an uncomfortable, confused and scared look on her face as this girl pinned her and kids bounced around her. I started yelling at the girl trying to get her attention and when she looked up I saw that she had Downs Syndrome – she smiled at me then placed her attention back to her task at hand, smothering my daughter. A little unsure what to do I looked around at the other moms watching their kids and demanded to know whose daughter the girl in pink was… nothing.

By this point Bella had managed to try to get up again after the girl fell off after a bad bounce, but was unable to get away prior to being knocked over and laid on again by Pink Lady. I was seriously pissed because Bella was starting to cry and get frantic so I started unsnapping Austin from the baby bjorn ready to climb in after her when Bell was finally able to get away after she fell off again.

Her mom finally came over and came up to me after getting her daughter out of the bounce house and asked me not if Bella was okay but what the problem was. Ummmm where do I start? So I explained what had happened and she blew it off excusing her daughter for not knowing what she was doing. Like hell she didn’t know what she was doing – she may not have known what she was doing was wrong, but that’s this mom’s fault. Instead I just told her she obviously needs to be keeping an eye on her kid more if she behaves aggressively and doesn’t know that it’s wrong. Not what the mom wanted to hear, not that I care, and she started to lay into me a little and I just walked away with Bella in hand. My blood was boiling for hours and I kept coming up with retorts I coulda/shoulda/woulda said… I know I’m better for not saying anything, but I came up with some good stuff!

I know that you shouldn't judge someone without walking a mile in their shoes, and I can't even imagine raising a child with additional obstancles to overcome... but it was especially frustrating because instead of making it a teaching moment she enabled it with quick excuses and I wonder how long she'll continue doing that and to what degree. You don't have to do as I do, but if you're not willing to teach your child right from wrong what does that set them up for? ugh.

Anyway, I’ve realized recently that I have to start legit parenting now… more than making sure they’re still breathing by each birthday. Bella was watching me as I talked to that other mom. I want her to know that I will always always have her back and support her, but I also need her to see me be kind to someone making me mad since I continuously tell her to be kind to others. I have to set an example, because her little eyes and ears are watching and retaining things now.

Pressure’s on.