Update on Whitten...

I've never really explained the concern that our doc. had about Whitt's brain. So let me give you a run down, and then I'll tell you how today's appt. went! They noticed on his 22 week sonogram that his left ventricle was slightly dilated. It wasn't abnormal, just on the high side of what "normal" should be. They labeled him with borderline unilateral mild ventriculomegaly (or something like that)! They did not see any other concerns with Whitten and called it an isolated case. The doctor chalked it up to "our baby just didn't read the book" and he wanted to see us in 5 weeks for a follow up. Well, any time you tell me that there could potentially be a problem with my baby, I immediately go into panic mode. The first thing I did was jump on the internet to find out all sorts of nightmarish things that have made the past 5 weeks pretty unbearable. Just the unknown is so very scary, and my brain tends to go to "worse case scenario". I didn't talk about it with anyone other than my mom and Josh because if I did, I made the situation more real....and I couldn't handle that! Of course, God and I had many talks. More of me talking and begging than me being still and listening (which is a fault of mine). The first day we heard the news, I was numb and didn't feel much emotion. The second day I was a complete a wreck....ask Josh! I just couldn't get a handle on my emotions. As much as a comfort Cooper usually is to me, I had low patience that day and felt an awful sense of guilt. The next 5 weeks I had my moments. The best were when I would take a shower and put my hands on my belly and cry and pray and smile all at the same time. It was time that I could just hang out with Whitten by myself. I would talk to him and sing to him and pray out loud to him as he did all sorts of crazy flips and kicks inside of me. I think he loves the shower raining down on my belly!! Those were the moments I felt at peace, so I cherished that time so very much. I'm pretty sure there were times Josh thought I had drowned in the shower!!

So the day started off with a bundle of nerves. My blood pressure was 120/75..which is crazy high for me. Considering I could feel my heart racing 100 mph, I wasn't surprised. Josh and I didn't say much to each other this morning as we waited to be called back. I was on the verge of tears, so if I tried to talk, the waterworks would have flooded the waiting room. We arrived at our appt. about 10 min early and waited for about 30 min. before being called back. During our first scan with the nurse, we heard a bunch of commotion going on in the hallway. There happened to be a really bad wreck that was pretty much in the parking lot of our doctor's office. So off he went to do "doctor duty" while we sat and waited for the results! Just our luck!!!

Anyway, we got a good report on our sweet boy. His ventricle has remained stable and unchanged. That's a good thing. It just means that he is draining fluid from his brain and there is no blockage which would cause fluid build up.... causing possible hydrocephaly. Our doctor seemed completely unconcerned and basically sent us on our way! We will go in for another follow up in 5 weeks. Thank you Jesus for hearing our prayers. You never cease to amaze me with your faithfulness that I absolutely do not deserve.

Whitten is measuring a couple days AHEAD! That's just so crazy to hear considering Cooper always measured 3-4 weeks behind. Our Dr. was right last week when he said the baby had a growth spurt. At 22 weeks I was measuring a little small! 5 weeks later, he's caught up....and then some!!! And, Whitt's got a big head. It measures about a week ahead...which again is crazy because Coop's got a little nugget head!
Pretty face! My mom and I think he looks like his daddy!!!!!

Big Foot!

Yellow (repost)!

Sorry! I had to repost this video. For some reason when I moved blog addresses, it wouldn't let me view it anymore! And....well, it just makes me smile! = )

Hair Today...Gone Tomorrow!

This is a sad day! As you all know, my sweet boy can grow a mop on his head in a matter of weeks! It's actually been about six weeks since Coop's last haircut, and it was a nightmare experience! We ended up having to finish the cut outside while sitting on a metal rail with Coop on my lap and Josh holding him in some kind of wrestler hold!! Needless to say, we were hesitant to go in for another one....but it had to be done! Don't get me wrong, I love the girl that cuts his hair. She's always done such a great job, but this time I think she just wanted to get it over with and get us out of there! Without even asking....BUZZZZZZZ!!!! Nope, she didn't even ask. Yes, my baby got his first buzz cut on Friday and I absolutely hate it. It changes his whole face. AND...the whole reason we took him in was to trim him up for his 2 yr. pics (yes, we're a little late on doing that!). Well, there goes that idea. I'm surely not taking his pics with no hair. I swear, with this new haircut came a new attitude! Geez! He's been more than a handful the past 2 days! So here are some before's and afters. It's been two days, and when I look at him I don't even recognize him. = (
Before! My sweet mop-head!



After! = (

Reason for the Gut Bomb....

I went to the doc today for my 27 week check up! Well, no wonder I'm a big momma! My fundal height grew 6 cm in a month!!! Dr. W was like, "Well, it looks like the baby had a growth spurt." It's strange to be carrying big this time around considering I always measured 3 to 4 weeks behind and Coop only weight 6 lbs. 5 oz. when he was born. I just thought I grew small babies....think again! I can tell Whitten is much bigger. He's already so far up in my rib cage and his movement are so huge! When I got home, I googled "measuring big" and found all sorts of scary things! Reminder to self: stay away from google when you are pregnant! It freaked me out and now I'm worried about all sorts of stuff. We have a sonogram on Monday to look at big boy's brain. They saw something of concern during the last sono that I haven't mentioned because I don't like to think about it. But I know that prayer is way too powerful and you can't pray unless you know that we need it. So, please just keep us in your prayers. Pray that Whitten's brain is healthy and for my sanity as we wait for 5 more days to get to see our sweet boy.

Gut Bomb!!!

Well, the picture speaks for itself!!
Almost 27 weeks pregnant with Cooper!!!!

Almost 27 weeks pregnant with Whitten!!!



I'm much bigger this time around! I just feel heavy. I always felt great with Coop...light on my feet! I never got uncomfortable. I'm ALREADY uncomfortable and I have a little less than 3 months to go! OH MY! I'm thankful for this sweet little guy and would be uncomfortable for the rest of my life if I had to! It's just so crazy how different it is this time around! I mean it's not like I ate pizza twice this week or anything! HA!!! Working out definitely makes a difference. I worked out almost every day with Coop...not so much this time around. Kinda hard to find time with a 2 yr. old!

YAY!

I did it! I don't know how, but I'm a genius!!! I just clicked here and there...held my breath, and viola!! I will leave my old blog up for a little while longer, but plan on deleting it soon! So make sure to save this new address (I know....I'm so clever)!

Eating WHAT?!

You probably all know from previous posts that my child is not a great eater! I honestly can't tell you the last time he ate a veggie. And the only fruit he will eat is mandarin oranges. Healthy, huh!? I promise, we try, but if a toddler is not going to eat something...they're just not going to eat it. Period. We tried the starvation method....just don't worry if he doesn't eat, he won't starve himself! I don't know how many times I've heard that! Yea right! I would stress myself so much that Cooper's eating habits were all I could think about! I searched the internet for hours looking for advice and recipes for picky eaters. I got creative and made eggless veggie waffles...which he ate once or twice. Purred veggies in spaghetti sauce...he ate for a while, but then gave it up! Purred veggies in homemade pizza...worked a few times. But eventually I just kind of gave up because nothing was working and I was throwing away TONS of food! Easy mac, chicken nuggets and mandarin oranges (and rice and cheese from Rosa's) made up his diet for a couple of months. I always put vitamins in his milk, but I just knew that he was going to suffer from poor nutrition. ALAS!!!! I decided to make some good ole steamed broccoli the other night....just to try! After some protesting...and not offering anything else....he ate broccoli. And asked for more. And more. And more. He ate an entire head...and asked for more. No catchup, no cheese, no butter, just plain ole streamed broccoli!
AND, Coop is now eating watermelon and bananas! It's a start, right!
I had to get pics to show the evidence! Oh, and another thing! He has TERRIBLE table manners! This is my first epic failure as a parent. It's hard when Josh is never here to eat with us. Yes, he wanders while he eats. I started letting him do it for the sake of my sanity. If he was able to wander, I could sneak a bite into his mouth without him knowing...and now I've created a monster. I can't believe I ever started. I knew I would kick myself...and now I'm kicking myself. We've got to break this bad habit SOON!!!

NEW BLOG!

Ok! So, I haven't figured it all out yet, but I'm working on it! I'm trying to find out how to import our old blog to this blog. So for the time being, I'm just going to keep our old blog open with a link that will send you here!

Blog Name Change!

I've decided that "Keeping Up With the Joneses" is a little too common! I was getting traffic from all over the world all day long and it kind of bothered me! So our new name is "Three Boys and Their Lady". I'm not very creative and that's the best I could come up with!! = ) I'm going to be changing our actual address soon as well! Does anyone have any idea if you lose all of your previous posts if you do that? I didn't know much about the blogging world when I set up my account, and I'm thinking having Coop's full name as our address is probably not a great idea! If you know the answer to this, please let me know!
And here are some random pics for the grandparents!

I Need to Fix the Bed.....

Scene: Cooper sees his daddy's electric drill in the garage.

Cooper: "Mommy, Mommy, I need to fix the bed." Cooper runs to his tool box and gets his "scwoodiver", hammer, drill and saw and heads to his room!!!!

Ready to get started!

Hammerin' away!

Mr. Serious! He looks just like his daddy when he is really focusing!

Bringing out the serious tools....electric saw!

Electric drill

Cooper wants to do ANYTHING his daddy does! He got this great idea from watching Josh

"fix" his bed a few nights ago! He loves his daddy so much and wants to be just like him!

He is doing great in his big boy bed! However, he likes for his big ole pregnant momma to get in and read books with him before he goes to sleep. I used to do this in the rocker, but I guess he thinks it's more fun now to watch me climb over his little rail and squeeze my fat self into his tiny bed! We are going to transfer him into a bigger bed before Whitten gets here, but for now we've just converted his crib until we figure out what furniture we want to get him!

In and Out....

Josh and I have been contemplating putting Cooper in a big boy bed for some time now! He's not climbing out yet, but he teeters on the rail and it makes me crazy nervous. It's a LONG way down onto hardwood floors, and it was only a matter of time! Well, out of the clear blue, we decided that tonight was the night! We headed to Toys R Us at 7:00 to buy a rail (we never bought the one that came with Coop's convertible bed). 2 hours later the bed was ready to go....but first, we had 30 minutes of practicing getting in and out. Cooper kept clapping his hands and saying, "Great job, Daddy"! He is just beyond excited about this new adventure. Me....not so much! First of all, it means my baby is not a baby any more. Second of all, I know it's going to be a struggle keeping him in. I think the only reason he went down tonight was because it was way past his bed time before all was said and done. Josh works lots of late nights, so the burden is going to fall on me!!!! And being almost 6 months pregnant...with a new wave of complete fatigue, I can tell it's going to be difficult. He's been such an awesome napper this summer....anywhere from 2 to 3 1/2 hours. Crossing my fingers that doesn't stop. He hasn't quite figured out how to open doors yet, so we're still in the clear on that one....for now! Ha...I'm watching him in the monitor right now. He'll be almost completely out and then pop up and stick his head over his rail....then rub his eyes, grab his frog and lie back down. Guess he's just checking to make sure that he can get out if he wants! Anyway...no pics, but I'll share some later! Here's to the first night in a big boy bed!!!! Crazy!!!

Praising...

Yellow!!!