Christmas

We had a nice relaxing Christmas (aside from James breaking his toe the day before). Here are some pictures of everything. :)

A few family updates

Last Monday I had my usual OB appointment. Everything went great! Blood pressure was low (104/52) and got the results from my blood work. I wasn't a bit surprised by the outcome of my Gestational Diabetes test, but the doctors were- from some reason they assumed I'd have GD because I'm overweight and I proved them wrong! The only thing that not good in all of the labs was my iron levels- I am anemic and now have yet another vitamin to take. I'm by no means complaining! I am so thankful that everything is going smoothly with this pregnancy and I'm NOT high risk!!!!!

Baby is growing perfectly and has a strong heart beat- about 140bpm. This time Baby measured only one week ahead (which is normal) and from what the doctor could tell, Baby is head down! I'm very pleased and thankful.

Then on Friday, Will had a follow-up appointment with his doctor to see how his speech was doing and to get more referrals. Will did great and cooperated (for the most part) when the nurse did his vitals. He weighs in at 43lbs (or 48lbs... honestly not sure as the screen was hard to see from my angle) and he is 41" tall!!! Since his last visit he grew over 6 inches!! I was a little shocked.

Anyways, the doctor said she believes Will has Apraxia and maybe a slight processing disorder (like me). That being said, She told me Guam does not have anything to help Will (beyond speech therapy). Sadly, we have to "play the game" and continue speech therapy for a few months to prove he needs more help then they can offer. So, we'll go back in February and she will write a letter telling the base that we need to be reassigned to a stateside base that can provide what Will needs.

Aside from that, we are all doing great! Enjoying the island weather, but missing the seasons and family.
(Here are some pictures from the past few weeks.)

 

 Everyone passed out after Thanksgiving dinner!

 I am so glad I have a camera... to capture moments like this.

 Tree lighting ceremony at the Mall.

 Chuck E. Cheese

Catch up time

Its been a couple months... oops!

Not sure where to start as a lot has happened, but nothing too life changing.

Well, in the past few months Will was diagnosed with speech and language delay (about a year behind). Which affects his behavior and ways of communicating. He may also have Apraxia of speech (related to how the muscles in the mouth work and behavior). For a few weeks in September, he had a speech therapist working with him and he responded rather well. He ran out of visits and we were told that Tricare had to approve more. I've been calling and going in person to their office and EVERY time (different days and time of day) the person in charge of his case is never there. On top of that, I can't get a hold of the speech therapist. So, I've been working with him myself and have seen a great improvement! He's able to communicate with simple sign language and words in sentences of 2-4 "words". His behavior is changing as well (for the better).
Aside from that, I've been trying to potty train Will. He's getting good about no accidents, but still won't use the potty (he refuses to use it for that, but loves to use it as a step stool). So, I'm just taking baby steps with him.
For a solid month he went without a pacifier, but then found one stashed away (I think in the couch) and its been a slight battle since. So, starting today I'm going to have him go cold turkey! Bedtime should be fun. :)

Let's see... Baby #2 is doing great! At the last appointment (24wks) my fundal height measured big- 26.5cm when its suppose to be 24cm. It could mean that Baby is going to be big or that Baby was in a weird position. (I'm going with big!) My weight gain at that point was only 8lbs total!! My doctor was thrilled about that and I am, too. Blood pressure is still staying low.
One thing that I am so happy about is I can still see the veins in my feet and my wedding ring still fits (actually loose)!! No swelling problems like with Will. I am so thankful for that!
This week marks 28wks and the start of the 3rd trimester. Which means I get to go drink the wonderful glucola drink (we go way back and I absolutely hate it) and get gobs of blood work done.

One of the things I requested to have checked was my blood type. Why? Well, my entire childhood I was an "O+" and when I was pregnant with Will I was an "AB+". Then this past December I was an "A+". When I was told what my blood type was a month ago, I darn near fell off the table laughing! My doctor was completely muddled and shocked by this. She looked in my records and sure enough, confirmed what I said. So, I shall find out in two weeks what's my blood type of the year!

Otherwise, we are all doing good. We miss family and changing seasons a lot, but are still enjoying Guam.

I think that is the majority of what's been going on with us. :)
Last week I did a photo shoot of Will for Christmas stuff and LOVE the pictures! Now, I need to get them printed off- then I'll post them here.

Here are some pictures of the past month... I have more, but my laptop is on strike!

 Halloween 2010... James as Fat Bastard.

 Will and Caiti as Pebbles & Bam Bam

26wks and some odd days.

Beyond halfway... time sure does fly!

Wow! This pregnancy is flying by faster than with Will.

Last week I had an OB check up and Baby kept pushing the doctor away when she was trying to find the heart beat. Everything is going good so far! My blood pressure was the lowest its been since 2006 (116/62) and I've only gained 5 1/2lbs!! The doctor was thrilled for how good I'm doing.

Today (Sept. 28) we had the ultrasound. James was able to come and saw more of the Baby than I did (the tech was good at his job, but "focused" at his job). When I was able to see the screen, Baby looked beautiful! We both agree Baby has the same nose as Will did. Unlike Will (who measured in the 90th+ percentile) this Baby is measuring normal!! Also, when I had ultrasounds for Will he was always head banging/moving around. Not this Baby! Slept the whole time. The only movement that it did was move its arm over its face. Too cute. :)
Just like with Will, we didn't find out what gender we're having.
The tech did ask, "Does your son want a brother?"
Us- "No. He doesn't really care."
Tech- "Oh... OK! Congrats on your baby."

 

Here's Baby!! 21 weeks exactly :)

There's no place like home!

This month has flown by so far (and I hope it continues for personal reasons). We've moved on base this past week and despite the resistance I got from someone, it has been the best move yet! Our new home is a 3 bed, 2 bath with a nice playground one house away. I feel so much safer now and so far we have yet to argue about bills or turning the A/C on or off. :)

I won't speak for James, but I love this place! We definitely miss the neighboring family from the previous house, but I keep in touch with them a lot. Unpacking and organizing is going smoothly.

Right now, the main problem we're facing is the landlord of the last house is "off island" and being really greedy about the deposit. He claims that the house wasn't clean enough, but when I asked specifics he couldn't keep his story straight and even made up things that I have proof are NOT wrong! I'll be calling him tomorrow and be politely demanding our money back (as per the lease it stated 3 business days which was this past Friday).

Otherwise, things are going! I am a few days shy of 20wks- the half way mark! The ultrasound is set for the 28th (actually I need to double check) and I have an OB check up this Wednesday. I'm pretty shocked how fast this pregnancy is going by. The past couple weeks I've felt the baby moving around. Compared to Will this baby is quite calm. (Will was using me as his personal bounce house from 16wks on!) When I feel the baby moving its more like baby is stretching out than anything else. Also, I feel like I'm carrying higher than with Will... guess I need to dig through my pictures to compare. Unlike when I was pregnant with Will, I've gained literally a couple pounds! (With Will I had gained close to 40lbs by this point. ugh)

Otherwise, we're all doing good.

19wks 1day (5 months)

About 6 months pregnant with Will (visiting family in Hawaii)

16 weeks already!

Today marks 16wks for Baby #2! I'm kinda shocked how fast it is going by this time around.

Well, I had my 2nd OB appointment today. Everything is going great so far! Blood pressure is perfect and I've only gained about or less than 1.5 lbs! My fundal height measured 16 1/2cm (a 1/2cm bigger- it just means baby is growing good). And I got to hear Baby's heart beat! Baby's heart rate was 150 bpm. So, Baby is doing great!!

My next appointment will mark my 1/2 way point (20 wks)! Also, I should be having the ultrasound in the next few weeks, too! James and I are both excited about that. It'll be nice to have him see the Baby and hears Baby's heart beat. :)

One last thing, I wore a shirt today that I don't think I've worn for a good month and it was kinda snug. So it begins...

Early June

Today 

(NO I wasn't sticking it out! I was actually trying to do the opposite.)

Will's three now!!

Its official- Will is three already! Where did the time go?! I swear it was just the other day I got the call saying I was pregnant with him... and now he's THREE?! My baby isn't a baby any more. :(

Here are some pictures of the big boy on his birthday. :)

Happy birthday big boy!! We love you!

First look at Baby #2

Today was the first official appointment for Baby #2. Everything went good and looked great! All of the lab work came back normal and blood pressure is AWESOME!!! I'm really praying that this time I won't end up high risk with pre-eclampsia.

Anyways, I did get to see baby on the ultrasound- baby was sleeping (head was resting on right hand). Even though it was sleepy baby still waved "Hi" (it was so amazing to see the tiny fingers and the whole skeleton of the hand). Baby is beautiful! Everything looked really good and I'm actually as far along as the doctor thought!!

So, the actual due date is February 8th, 2011. Making me 11 weeks 3 days today.

My next check-up appointment is at the end of August (I'll be 16 weeks).

Here's baby! (FYI- baby had leg crossed covering its parts)

 Also, can you see how chubby baby looks? Too cute!

Past couple of weeks

This year is slipping away from me every time I turn around!

Last weekend we had TWO BIG earthquakes! The first one was Saturday at 1550 (local) and was 5.9. Then 6hrs later we had another bigger shake- 6.2! It was pretty awesome to me (not James... Will slept thru both)! No damage was done that I know of.

Aside from that we've had a good share of thunder and lightening storms.

Otherwise, everything is going pretty good. Pregnancy is going... almost finished with the first trimester! I have the first ultrasound on the 23rd (it'll give a better idea of exactly when I'm due). It'll be nice to see the little jelly bean that's been making me sick!

As for names... so far, we've only been able to agree on a girl's name- Vanessa Keialani. For a boy's name I like Josiah Winton, but James' only dislike about it is he doesn't want him to be called "Joe" or "Joey" for short. So, we're still undecided about a boy name.

Personally, I find it funny how everything with this baby is the complete opposite from when I was pregnant with Will. With Will, we picked his name first and never really decided on a girl's name. And this time around I've had morning sickness and everything else! (No fun!) With Will, I had ONE day of nausea- on New Year's Eve 2006 (that was it)! Otherwise, I had heartburn and was just overall tired with him. This pregnancy is totally different! But, I'm enjoying it nonetheless as it won't last forever... and before we know it Baby #2 will be in our arms.

 

4th of July at Chamorro Village

 

James playing a game at the carnival

 

Us on the 4th

"Sharon!" (at least that's what it looks like he's saying.)

This is how we found Will at nap time.

Bottoms up!

Love this!

And then there was four...

Yes, you read that right- four. I mean family of four! We had it confirmed on Monday (our time), but knew since last week. So, baby #2 is due February 8th, 2011 making me about 8 weeks pregnant! I don't have much else to say on this right now, but will update as things progress. Oh! The baby will have a monkey theme. :)