Day of doctoring

Thursday, Ellie had her four-month well-baby check-up at our new pediatrician. Turns out I have another big baby on my hands! She measured 27.5", over 100th percentile, and 15 lbs 2 oz, 89th percentile. Her head was 16 point something inches, 80th percentile. I don't know why, but head size really doesn't concern me, it came out ok, that's all that matters!

Everything else went great, she is already doing all of the four month milestones, just shy of actually being four months.

The office is new, brightly colored, and very nice. Only problem? the well-child waiting room is right by check-in and all the kids who come in go right up to the play table, regardless of being well or sick. Both of my kids now have snotty noses and coughs. Thanks doctor visit!

After the pediatrician, we got right back on the highway and went to my endocrinologists office.
I never wrote about the thyroid, let me try to sum up.
It was discovered in fall of 2005 that I have a nodule on my thyroid. Fine-needle aspiration was done, benign, all hormone levels came back normal. Nothing to worry about. I went back for follow-up ultrasounds every 6 mos or so. The nodule was growing, but that is all that happened. When I had my prenatal blood work done with Ellie, I asked that they test my thyroid levels, since they hadn't been tested since 2005. Just for good measure. My results came back hyperthyroid, meaning I make too much thyroid hormones. I started a drug, and my pregnancy was labeled "high risk." Tons of blood work throughout pregnancy.

So, now we moved and I am at a new doctor, someone seeing my case for the first time and wanting to figure stuff out on his own. He did another ultrasound, and found that the volume of nodule has quadrupled in four years, so he wanted to do another biopsy to double-check it.

Ok, so that happened after the ped on Thursday. When I first had one done, they put some numbing stuff on my neck. I didn't feel it, just felt the pressure and saw him wiggle the needle. This time? NOTHING! It wasn't awful, not enough to make me tear up, but made me tense up! And my neck was sore or the rest of the day. My mom said she'd have to get me some Godiva for it :)

When we were at the mall on Friday, we walked right past a Godiva store, so of course I puppy-dog-eyed her and we went to get my chocolate. Good news for everyone, I joined the Rewards program! A free piece of chocolate every month! And a free gift when I spend $10. Everyone is getting chocolate for gift-giving occasions now! Gimme some candy!

Houseguest!

My mom had vacation last week, and was able to find a cheap, last minute ticket from LaGuardia to Raleigh. She arrived Wednesday morning, and left Saturday morning.

She made me go to Lowe's to finally get brackets for hanging up the curtains in this house! We managed to get the curtains hung in the living room, Andrew's room, and the 3rd curtain hung in Ellie's room. We also did some shopping at Kohl's (after the kids went to bed, woohoo for late hours!), and I think the kids are set for the fall. I worry about Ellie growing waaay too fast, though! My mom also scored a new cuisanart mini-prep. and some pillar candles, that I hear caused her to get her bag searched at the airport, lol.

Friday, we headed across town to check out World Market and Jo Ann fabric. World Market? awesome! It has Pier One sorts of things, international sorts of decor. I found a million things I want need! Andy and I went back on Saturday and got a rug and print for the wall.

At Jo Ann, we got things to hang on the front doors, and my first ever glue gun! Time to up the toddler crafty-time.

We met and old co-worker of my mom's for lunch. I swear, everyone who lives here, moved here from the northeast! Our music teacher is from NJ, another mom in music class is from Long Island, another from Ohio, our neighbors are from NJ. everyone!

After lunch, we rested at home for a bit, then headed to the indoor/outdoor mall in Durham.

All in all a good visit! The house is finally coming together, and the stuff we did get done has lit a fire under our butts, and Andy and I spent Sunday organizing stuff and hanging shelves and curtains.

Sunday night, my good friend, Nikesh, came over for dinner. He is in town for business, and happens to be staying right up the road about 8 miles from us!

Next up, Jamie, Andy's mom, comes in early November!

Thomas the Tank Engine

If you haven't heard yet, Andrew is obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine. He wants to watch it all the time, knows all the words to the song at the end, remembers the engines faces after seeing them once (really, I am amazed he knows who everyone is!), and he is constantly referring to his path of walking as a track, and woo-woo!s all the time. Obsessed is an understatement!

The receptionists at my endocrinologist told me recently that Thomas the Tank Engine comes around once or twice a year, and you can take a ride on him. But they said it happens in the spring, bummer.

One morning, on PBS, I saw a commercial for it. I had seen commercials on the PBS out of Albany before, but could never figure out where the place was to go visit! This was much clearer :)

We looked at last Saturday, but the weather was going to be bad, so we got tickets for yesterday. I waited a little long, so was only able to get late afternoon tickets, but it was ok. We drove the two hours right at naptime, and limited the crank factor. Or so we hoped!

We didn't tell Andrew what we were doing, and as we were getting out of the car, Thomas drove his train right in front of the parking lot. Andrew was so excited! Then, we told him ooh boy we are going to ride on Thomas, how cool! He did not want to ride! He was adamant that he would not be riding Thomas. Well, that was money well spent!

We got our map and tickets, and walked around. There was a huge tent full of all sorts of Thomas themed things. And since we were at a transportation museum, all sorts of trains all over. He was able to get a Thomas tattoo, that I am not allowed to remove, color some Thomas pictures, see a table of electric trains, parked real trains (but those were too scary), and a slide and Thomas bounce-house that we steered clear of.

His favorite thing was the Lego Thomas. An entire Thomas built from Lego bricks! Next to it, there was a whole set-up of the Lego Duplo Thomas series. Which might be in Santa's thoughts this coming Christmas!



We got in line to ride Thomas and Andrew still did not want to go! He was grumpy until we started to move. The train went really slowly, and the trip lasted about 20 minutes. He was given a special certificate for riding and declared a Junior Engineer! They tried to give one to Elisabeth too, but I declined. Babygirl was sleeping the whole time!


so excited!



We kept asking Andrew if he wanted a picture with Thomas, since you had to get in line and wait forever. He said no, no, no. We went and checked out all of the activites, and by the end, he wanted that picture! We got to the line a few minutes before Thomas arrived back from a trip and were the seconds ones in line.



Then we headed to the gift shop. Andrew got a backpack, a placemat, a t-shirt, and a Numbers game! We wanted to get him the ride on electric Thomas, but the box wouldn't fit in the car. Also, it was really expensive :-p





Then entire album, including a video of Ellie giggling!

Back. again.

This time, I SWEAR I will keep up with this thing. I promise. Cause the whole reason I started it, to keep in touch with our far away family... well, now they really are far away!

So, since we left off in January:

We found out it's a girl!
We both turned 30.
We visited the Raleigh area.
Andrew got a stomach virus, which led to me obsessively examining his body. Which led to the discovery of One Big Ball.
Andrew was diagnosed with a hydrocele and hernia.
We got an offer on the house.
The contracts papers didn't get signed for practically forever, cause the buyer lives in Bermuda.
Andrew had surgery.
We packed and moved in with my parents on Wednesday, June 17.
Our daughter, Elisabeth Jane, was born Saturday, June 20, 12 days early. SURPRISE!
Our scheduled closing of June 22 was moved to June 24. Thank goodness.
Andy went to Cary, NC and found us a house to lease.
Elisabeth was baptised.
Andy moved the bulk of our stuff to NC.
We moved everything else and ourselves on Labor Day weekend!
My parents came to visit, and my mother instructed me where to hang stuff. I have not hung said stuff.
We have fallen back into our routine, love our area and new house (except for the bland walls), and are enjoying North Carolina.

More to come! I will add some back-dated entries about Andrew's surgery, and Ellie's birth!

new house!

We got a house! Andy signed the lease yesterday, for 18 months.


It's 3 Bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 1 car garage. It has a living room, dining room, EIKitchen, family room with wood-burning fireplace (s'mores!!), and a loft. There is a backyard, and it's tree lined, so private. I am so excited to finally move in! But I have to wait another 5 weeks. The lease starts on Aug 15, and Andy happens to be heading back for customer calls on the 16th, so he will be taking a truckload then. Then we will take a second truckload in September.

More pictures

Two week appt

Ellie had her 2 week appointment Thursday. Two days shy of 3 weeks old, but whatever stupid scheduling receptionist. My only concerns were her weight and her right eye. I am so distracted by Andrew, I can't sit around and stare at my baby this time, that I was afraid of missing her cues for the two week growth spurt. She weighs 10 pounds. I am no longer concerned, fatty mcfat baby. Her eye has been goopy, but matches the description of a clogged tear duct, and i do the massage the baby book said and squirt breastmilk in there, and it seems to keep it clear.

The dr still prescribed an eye ointment, just in case, even though he agreed it looked like a clogged tear duct. okaaaay.

Then he checks her over, and orders a bilirubin test. He wanted the results that night, so I had to go to the hospital lab. Which doesn't seem to exist anymore, and we were sent to the Peds ward there. I waited two hours. zzzzz. and then never got a call from the dr. or a return call when i called Friday afternoon. We were in again on Monday, for Andrew, and the NP told me Ellie is all good.

Then this dr checks out her butt, and i joke about how the poor thing has a hairy butt. He then proceeds to tell me about sometimes ordering ultrasounds of the lower back when babies are hairy. Its a lumbosacral ultrasound, to look for neural tube defects, like spina bifida. If there is a dimple in the lower back, and one of four criteria coupled with it, it could indicate a problem. One of the criteria is a tuft of hair growing out of the dimple. I guess ellie does sort of have a divot dimple in her buttcheeks, and there is hair there, but it looks more like she's hairy, not a tuft of hair. But of course, Dr. Alarmist ordered this ultrasound.

Monday, the NP looked again for me, and said she was 99.9% sure it was nothing, but since we had the appt to go. She also informed me that Dr. Alarmist is no longer with the practice. Sort of said in a tone that indicates he was fired. Nice. At least he did correctly diagnose Andrew's leaky ball situation.

the ultrasound was yesterday morning. I was at the the place for two hours, with an infant and a toddler. I hate doctors and hospitals I swear. A doctor had to perform the ultrasound, so I was able to get an immediate answer. "Well, she looks great. Everything is fine." "So, my daughter just has a hairy butt?" "chuckles, yep!" argh. waste of time and money.

Baby is currently 10 lbs, 22"

Andrew had his 30 month well-baby visit Monday. He weighed 29 lbs, and measured 36.75". For um, the 9th month in a row... I don't get that. He was declared in good health. And the NP agreed with me to hold off on potty training, and that Andy needs to not sleep in his bed. Maybe that is why I love her, she makes me feel good.

Elisabeth Jane

My son was born on an unusually warm 65* day in early January. my daughter was born on an usually cool 65* day in mid-June.

Elisabeth Jane made her way into the world in an incredible fashion Saturday, June 20th at 8:38 pm. She weighed in at 8 lbs 12.9 oz and 22.5." Taller than her brother and a whole pound heavier!

I woke up to brown spotting Saturday morning, and experienced some mild period like cramping throughout the morning. I decided maybe we'd have a baby int he next few days and it would behoove me to wash the carseat cover and cradle bedding. After I put Andrew down for his nap, I headed to the townhouse to help Andy do more packing. I was pretty sure I was having some contractions, but nothing worth timing, and all easy to talk and walk through. Really nothing worth thinking about. We ran out of boxes and I headed home a little after four, with plans to rest, in case things picked up during the night. best to be well-rested and all.

Around 5:00, the phone rang and I got up to get it, but instead, felt my pants fill with amniotic fluid. I went to the bathroom, legs squeezed together, and just sort of stood there. i was home alone with Andrew and my dad, my mom was at a party and Andy had driven a load of stuff to his parents. I ran upstairs wrapped in a towel and asked my dad to please get all the stuff in from the car my water had broken. Oh, the look on his face!

I went upstairs to put on clean pants and a pad, and answered a call from Andy. He freaked at the unexpected news and started to race home, My dad called my mom and I talked to her. I told her not to worry about hurrying home, my contractions were still pretty weak. I called the midwives at 5:40, and got called back at 6:00. I told her contractions were 4-6 min apart, very mild, in fact i was having one now! She told me to go eat something and see how I felt in 30 min. By 6:15, things started more feel more intense and i was thinking about leaving. We ended up leaving around 6:40. I spent the 45 minute ride in the pouring rain in the back seat of my FIL's FJ Cruiser mostly on my hands and knees. By the time we'd gotten a mile from the house, I was timing my contractions at 2 minutes apart.

We arrived at the birthing center and were in a room by 7:30. I was checked at 5 cm dilated. I had to stay on a fetal monitor and contraction monitor for 20 minutes which was pure hell. I sat on the birthing ball hunched over the edge of the bed. The fetal monitor was digging into my belly. I wanted up soo badly! After that was finished, I headed to the bathroom. the toilet had handles on the sides, so I labored squatting over the toilet holding those handles. I was so hot i ended up peeling off the robe, then my ring and watch, then my bra. I turned the shower on, to get in in between contractions, but everytime I went to move, another hit and I had to stay on that toilet!

The midwife had finally come in (she happened to be next door delivering my friend's son for the first while of my labor!) and told me to let her know when I felt pressure like I needed to poop. I said, oh, I have that now. She asked that I get in the bed for a check. I made it there and started to crawl on, and was on my hands and knees when another contraction hit. And there I stayed! She kept asking me to roll onto my side, so she could get a better view, but there was no way in hell I was moving! she eventually determined there was just a lip of cervix left, think about opening up, and the baby coming out.

Before I knew it, I was pushing. I felt like I wasn't making any progress, but then I felt the Ring of Fire of crowning! I never felt the contractions during this, just that I needed to push to get rid of that pain. I would take a breath and bear down as my own strength would allow. I don't know how many times I pushed, or for how long, but her head eventually came out.

Then all pain stopped. I swear there were no more contractions, but I still had to get her body out. I am pretty sure once Andrew's head was born, the rest of him just shot out with a wave of fluid, but this one, I still needed to work on. Since I didn't feel any contractions to push with, I was really concentrating on bearing down and pushing, it wasn't happening naturally and with the flow of my body! A few more pushes, some lovely squirts of fluid, and at 8:38 pm, less than 4 hours after my water broke, she was born! They kept telling me to talk to my baby, greet her, welcome her, but all I could do was breathe and relax now that it was over!

I lay down and she was placed on my chest and cleaned up a bit. She smelled like cookies or bread or some sort of baked good! I nursed her for the first time and she went to town! After some time, she was taken and measured, bathed, weighed, and dressed right in our room. The midwife repaired the small tear I'd gotten along my old episiotomy scar. Just 1 stitch. I was majorly sensitive down there and every anything moved, i got the shivers.After I was all cleaned and stitched up, I got the shakes so badly! It was weird.

We were left alone for a bit, calls were made, texts and twitters sent. My poor in-laws showed up around 10-10:30 when my mom left. Andy had called his mom when we left for the hospital. My FIL was up visiting his dad, about 3 hours away, and had just started to head for home. She chose to wait for him to get home before heading to Rhinebeck (about a 45 min drive for them). No one expected it to go so fast, so she ended up missing the whole thing! I felt bad for her, she was so thankful to have seen what she saw with Andrew, i wanted to be able to let her see a full birth this time!
I feel so very different this time... amazing, actually. Recovery has been so easy. My perineum isn't as sore, I assume cause its less stitches. I was able to get up and walk around so quickly, no passing out on the toilet, no dizziness like last time. I loved the birthing center. People weren't all up in my business, checking me and the baby over a million times a day, in and out all the time like at the hospital. the only time I was asked if I wanted drugs was after I said something whiny in labor! The OB who came to check my on sunday, and the midwife who checked me out monday merely spoke to me and asked how I felt, and that was it. Ellie was the only one to get examined. We were given a special meal Sunday night, options including steak and shrimp scampi. Served with champagne or wine! We had our fancy dinner as a family of four.

Andrew is doing amazingly. I will probably eat my words soon enough :) He's been very off-schedule as far as sleeping and routine for nearly a week, and his behavior has reflected that. Since she was born, and since I came home, he was acted in the overtired way. Yesterday was normal sleeping, so today he was much better behaved. He loves his baby sister, and wants to hold and hug and kiss her. When Andy is outside playing with him, he wants me and Baby to join. there doesn't seem to be jealousy at all. This may change when its just me at home with him!

Pictures from the early days