01-11-10

Two weeks ago today, Andy and I were surprised by a little bit of news.

After nearly 11 years of marriage,

A lot of hoping,

And 1,000 prayers (at least)...

We learned that a new life is growing inside of me, and should join us in January.

Mind you, this news came after 8 years of trying and 2 years of acceptance that it was not to be.

The day that we learned we were pregnant, we were already more than 10 weeks along.

I went from thinking I was crazy one night, to the next day seeing our baby on a monitor. This is what we saw...

A little body that had already developed fingers and toes.

A rapid heart beat, pumping away at 172 beats per minute.

And our very active baby that just wouldn't stop bouncing.

How can you be 10 weeks pregnant and not know? It takes a lot of denial. Yes, I even got sick and managed to come up with different rationalizations.

Because I honestly had given this dream up, and couldn't believe it to be true.

Especially not as a pure surprise.

But, I was wrong. Our baby is expected on 01/11/10. Andy says it is the perfect binary birthday because it is all 0's and 1's. (And yes, we know it will most likely be born on another day.)

So we've decided to call it the Little Bit until we can learn about it's gender. (We did receive an educated guess from our doctor, but we're keeping that to ourselves until we receive further proof.)

And today, two weeks after we got our first peek at Little Bit, we had our second ultrasound. Baby is still doing great, and has grown quite a bit! It's hands and feet are now very active.

Our scanner is on the fritz, so I couldn't upload the new pictures we received today - but here is a short clip from the ultrasound.

We are thrilled to have a baby on the way, and know that our friends and family will be as well. What a surprise for our little family!

Charlie is 3 1/2 Today

Today marks the halfway point between Charlie's 3rd and 4th birthdays. I know that it may seem a little silly to celebrate such a thing as a "half" birthday - but it is something that I like to do just for fun. When Lynnae turned 8 1/2 in January we made paper wreaths, a pie and let her have what she wanted for dinner. Today for Charlie we opened a new toy, made cookies, and are letting him have what he wants for dinner. (Taco Bell - he now, finally, likes burritos.) Am I setting really high expectations that I will regret in the next few years? Right now, I don't really care.

A couple of days ago I was doing some research on developmental milestones. I recently started watching my friend's almost 4-month-old baby 3 days a week... and I wanted to check into what she should be able to do, to see if I could help her along with her development. While I was at it, I checked into Charlie's development too.

Becoming a mom to a 2 year old and skipping all of the earlier stages is interesting. You don't really know what they should be able to do, and you don't know the history of how they have learned what they do know. All I know about Charlie's early life is contained in a 10-page "safety plan" that I was handed by the state. I know, certainly, that Charlie has made HUGE advances in the last 14 months we have known him. I know that his ability to read and write are rare. I know that he has some social and structure issues. (I also struggle with how to help him.)

But as I looked at the 3 year milestones I breathed a sigh of relief that every point was met. Then I decided to click on the 4-year milestones. I was shocked. I couldn't find one of them that he hasn't already met, or at least started. It made me so happy. We are talking about a boy who entered the foster care system at 14 months and could not crawl or stand. This boy 14 months ago would barely talk to people. He whispered to us for the first 6 weeks in one word sentences. He used to dissassociate regularly. Now he is telling us stories and making up songs for me as my "purprises".

Is he perfect? No. I really need to find a solution for this problem we have with not wanting to participate in or listen to coaches/teachers. (Not that I haven't already tried a bucket-full of tactics!) But in my eyes, I am so proud of him for the achievements he has made in the last 2 years of his life. I really, really wish that I had been there from the beginning... However, both of my kids show great signs of intelligence that are rare given their background and exposure in early life. We are all lucky.

Happy half-birthday to Charlie. And Lynnae turns 9 in 1 month and 4 days!

Results - Weeks 5, 6, and 7

Okay, here is my update on the last 3 weeks...


They've been really hard! At the end of Week 4 I quit my bp medicine, on doctor's advice of course. 4 days after I quit, my blood pressure spiked. Really high. And my sodium levels, water and stress level had been relatively in control that day. The conclusion? My blood pressure issue is most likely genetic (which we already knew - but didn't know if I could affect it with diet/exercise.) So back on the meds I went, that night. It was actually my first experience calling the on-call doctor after-hours (on advice from the nurses line when I told them about my fluctuation during the day from 105/60 to 150/95.) Oh well! Pooh-pooh for me, my body did not at all like the yo-yo from being on the medicine, off again, and back on. The two week period that I went through this was awful. Bloating, headaches, dizzyness, ugh! Honestly, I didn't really care about what or how I was eating. Although I did still track it - and I stayed within the boundaries I'd established (barely).


So in Week 5 I gained 1 pound. I was miffed. Okay, so I know that it is normal to go up and down. But I still really didn't like it.


In Week 6 I was starving. No matter what I ate, it wasn't enough. I still tracked everything that went into my mouth. I just didn't stay within the parameters I have been. At all. I ate fast food 3 times. I ate brownies almost every day. Some days I had a brownie, ice cream and candy. I just could not satisfy my sweet tooth or my hunger. I was shaky-hungry, even though I was consuming upwards of 1800 calories a day. I also cut back on my walking because I just didn't feel like it. I walked 4 out of the 7 days still, but I walked more slowly. I did start swimming. Magically, despite my horrible habits, I dropped 2.8 pounds! So I have decided that my body must have been in one of it's metabolic-problem stages... for me to pack on the food like I did, exercise less, and lose that much weight in one week? Confusing!


So last week, I tried to be in the middle. I was much more vigilent about what I was eating. I tried to stay within the boundaries a little better. I made sure to take my daily walk. Charlie can walk 2 miles easily along side me now - pretty good for a 3 year old! And Lynnae is usually sick of waiting for me to catch up - two months ago it was the other way around. We also got EA Active for the Wii last week and I am loving it ... daily workouts consisting of aerobic activity, and much more lower and upper body work than I am used to. Yet, I gained .8 pounds back in Week 7. I guess it's okay considering that still puts me down 1 pound from where I was in Week 4.


1 pound loss in 3 weeks is a bit frustrating - but considering the obvious weirdness that my body is going through, I will take it. I am down 78 pounds from where I started in October 2007. All I really want is a solid 5 more pounds. If it takes 15 weeks, I guess that's what it takes!