2 Year Checkup

Moya had her 2 year check up today. She weighs 29.3 pounds, 75 percential. She is 34 1/4 inchs tall (50-75 percential). Healthy girl! :) And no shots today.

Doctor was very happy with her walking progress as well.

X-Rays

Moya had her x-rays done to rule out anything wrong with her bones and joints that's keeping her from walking. She did great for the techs doing the x-rays. The doctor called just a few hours later and said that all is well! Nothing wrong with her in that department.

I have an appointment set up with the physical therapy place for an evaluation on September 20th. Meanwhile it's like Moya is just moments away from walking. Hopefully whatever is keeping her from it is something that is working itself out on it's own. Still I look forward to seeing what the eval shows. I feel so bad for Moya, she wants so badly to walk and run around after Belle and do all she is doing.

Moya's 18 Month Check Up

Moya had her 18 month check up today. She is for the most part developing just great. She's tall and thin! :) Not really "thin" she just kinda appears that way since she's in the 95 percentile for height and only 50 for weight. It amuses me that she's not in the 100th for weight seeing as how much she loves to eat. But I guess she's putting all that fuel to growing upwards.

Her head is still big too but has plateaued out so not a worry for the doctor.

So we talked about her not walking yet. Her doctor watched Moya curse around the room, pulling herself up and plopping down. She pointed out that Moya has a very open gate and leans forward with stiff locked legs. She doesn't ease herself down she plops, and she doesn't push up to a stand. She said that to her it looks like Moya is trying to compensate for something. It could be a joint problem or a muscle problem. She also said it could be nothing at all or something that is working itself on it's own.

She moved around her legs and didn't feel anything in the joint department. She said her thigh muscles felt slightly underdeveloped but so slightly that if she wasn't looking for it she may not have even noticed. She ordered x-rays to rule out anything with the bones and joints and told me to call Kindering, a children's physical therapy place.

I feel bad... her last visit the doctor told me to call them. I didn't because shortly after that visit Moya started pulling herself up and cruising around. I figured we were good. Now I wish I had called. Brubaker told me not to feel bad that kids do that and she is not convinced there is anything wrong here. But it is better to be safe then sorry.

I asked her if it is something "wrong", if everything she's thinking it could be was fixable and she said "yes." So there is that.

I told Brad and my mom about it when we got home. Belle overheard and got really upset. She was worried that Moya would never walk or be in a wheelchair. :( I have to admit my mind went to all those places too but I told Belle what the doctor had said, that all would be fixable. I also told her to look at Moya and how she climbs over everything, crawls around lightening fast... the kid has no trouble moving! I assured Belle that this was all very good signs. I think it is so wonderful that Belle loves her little sister so much.

So appointments made for x-ray and a call in to the physical therapy place... hopefully it's all just an exercise in being cautious.

15 Month Check Up

Loooong visit! They were upgrading their computer system which means it took forever for them to log in her vaccinations. Ugh... took forever!

BUT anyway down to the info. She is doing great. The only two things we talked about as a "keep an eye on" sorta way was her head size and the fact she isn't walking yet. The walking the doctor wasn't worried about really. She said her kids didn't walk till after 20 months. And Belle didn't walk until 16 months. She asked if Moya was pretty laid back and she is... she likes to just rummage in her toys. Doc said that kids who are happy where they are tend to walk later because they just don't mind not getting around. And Moya does her army crawl so well she is probably just content moving how she does. She also asked about how Moya is socially and verbally. Moya is above average just like Belle in her vocabulary. And she is just the most social baby I've ever seen! Take her to the store or anywhere and she waves and smiles to everyone like she is running for office! So doc said that she thinks she is just focused on that and not so much the getting around.

But the doctor did give me a number of a place that helps with developmental stuff. She said to give them a call cause it takes 2 or more months to get an appointment. If in 2 months Moya is walking, or close to then cancel... if not then hey we have the appointment. I'm gonna give Moya another month however before I call. She stands and can take a step while holding hands so I'm not worried.

The head thing I must admit is a nag in the back of my mind even though the doctor didn't seem really concerned. Moya has a big ole head apparently and if it keeps growing then the concern is that there is fluid or something building up in there. The doctor said that seeing as how Belle, and Brad are uh... not exactly pin heads :) that chances are everything is normal. They will see what it measures out to be when she goes for her 18 month check up. But as a mom all I keep hearing in my head is "fluid building up..." and so I worry a little.

In other news she is 22 + pounds and 31 inches long. She got two shots which made her mad but she recovered quickly. I think the highlight for her were the blinds on the windows however... oh my lordy she wouldn't leave them alone! :)

12 Month Check Up

Took Moya for her one year check up. So far it was her most traumatic trip to the doctor. She didn't get enough sleep last night and I had to wake her for her appointment this morning. She was grumping through the entire thing. Then she finally starts to smile again and here comes the nurse with 3 shots for her! :( She cried all the way to the car! She's asleep now and recovering. Hopefully a better afternoon awaits her.

Other then the trauma she got a clean bill of health!

9 Month Well Checkup

Got another shot but she handled it like a pro! Barely cried.

She's hanging around the 20 pound mark now which her doctor said she probably would, most babies that are born big will level out at some point. She is still a big baby but a healthy one! :)

6 Month Check Up

18 pounds 26 1/4 inchs long! My big ole fatty. :) No she's exactly how she should be. Perfectly healthy. Doctor said she's doing great. She was more awake for this appointment and playing and rolling around for the doctor. Which only made it even more difficult to see her get shots. She was so happy and then bam! :( But she recovered quickly.

4 Month Check Up

Moya went to see the doctor today for her 4 month check up. Poor thing was so tired when we got there she fell asleep in my arms while I was talking to the doctor and had to be rudely awakened to be examined and then give two shots. :(

Still she did very well. She's still a big girl; 15 pounds 10 ounces (90%), 25 3/4 inches long (90%-95%), and her head circumference is 43.4 (95%).

While there the doctor put her on her tummy and Moya almost rolled over! She is SOOOO close to doing that. The doctor was impressed saying that big babies with big heads it sometimes takes longer for them to do that because they have more weight to push over.

Anyway, she got a clean bill of health. Next check up is on July 1st.

2 Month Check Up

Moya had her 2 month check up today. She weighed 12 pounds and 12 ounces, is 24 1/4 inchs long. That put her in the 90th percentile for each, same for her head circumference too... big ole head. :)

She's doing just great. She has some dry skin so doc told us to use some thicker lotion (non good smelling baby kind) on her.

We also talked about her episode the previous week where she stopped breathing and turned pale for a few seconds. She said that Moya is perfectly healthy, no heart or lung worries, is growing well, so there is nothing to make her think there is anything bad going on. In her opinion she thinks it may have been reflux. That some babies will get some spit up kicked back into their throats and once in awhile they won't be able to protect their wind pipe and they'll do this. But always they are able to correct it shortly and start breathing again. So it isn't dangerous... just really really scary on the parents.

She prescribed some baby Zantac for her to help her with the reflux. If however she does another episode like she did then she does want us to go to Children's Hospital and get some tests run just to be on the safe side.

Other then that all was well. Moya got 3 vaccinations today. One oral and 2 shots. Belle was with us and decided she just couldn't take seeing Moya get another shot so she waited at the nurses station while that part went on. Moya cried but she was a trooper and recover quickly.

Scary Episode

So last night I'm sitting on the sofa with Moya. It was late and she was starting to go to sleep. I suddenly hear her making this little clicking noise with her tongue. I look down and she's kinda out of it but not asleep (or I don't think she is), and she's clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth. She looks odd and then I see that her lips are turning gray. Brad noticed my attention to her and he asks if she's okay. I said I actually wasn't sure. He came over and we then saw she was getting pale. I couldn't tell if she was breathing. I was on the verge of telling him to call 911. We picked her up and moved her around. She's still kinda wonky. We take her into the bathroom for better lighting and the moving her around her color started to come back. But she wasn't crying. I changed her clothing quickly and she started to grunt at me. We knew then that she was okay.

The entire event was no more then 30 seconds, with only about 10 to 15 of it being where I didn't think she was breathing. The rest of the night she seemed perfectly fine.

I put a call into the doctor the next morning and the nurse called by back right away and told me we should have Moya checked out just to be safe. We saw Doctor Scott (not her normal doctor but one I like and trust). She gave Moya a good exam and then called over to Children's Hospital in Seattle to talk to one of their neurologists. The concern was that it could have been a seizure. But thankfully Doctor Scott and the neurologist both felt that was unlikely. So she said to not worry at this point. That sometimes kids do these sorts of things when they are babies and it means nothing. BUT, she also said that if it happens again we should go down to Children's and have Moya checked out by them just to be safe.

I'm not really that concerned but I have to say that it was one of the scariest few seconds of my life thus far. I slept with one eye open and a hand on Moya's chest all that night.

1 Month Well Checkup

We went in for Moya's one month check up. Belle came with me since she was home from school due to a cold.

Moya is doing just fine. She weighs 11 pounds and 8 ounces and is 23 and 1/4 inches tall. She got one vaccination today she of course turned bright red and cried but recovered very quickly. Belle on the other hand then just launched into a verbal attack of the nurse who did it. While I had to fuss at her a little to not do that I did find it sweet that she was defending her little sister.

First Doctor Appointment

Moya had her first doctor appointment today. She got to meet Dr. Brubaker her pediatrician. It was weird being in the waiting room and hearing them call "Moya" instead of "Belle". :)

The appointment went fine and she didn't get poked with any needles... yet. She has to come back next week just to get her second PKU test.

She weighed 10.035 pounds today. She measured 21 and 1/4 inches but I don't think that was accurate. Moya was squirming all over the place and the nurse measured in a bit of a rush. Not that it really matters.

Doctor said everything seems fine. Moya is a bit jaundice but she isn't worried about it thus far.

She will be seen again in one month!

Doctor Appointment

We went in today at 9:20am. Saw Johannsen. She checked my cervix and I am still 4cm dilated but am now 90% effaced. So that's good, but still doesn't mean I'm immanent.

She is on call sunday so she filled out the paperwork for me to have a scheduled induction on then. She did warn us that there would still be a chance that we could get bummed again and sent home but that she was 90% sure she could work us in. The problem is that I'm actually having a very healthy pregnancy. :) So as she put it I am a borderline elective induction. Her reasons for wanting to induce are because my blood pressure is starting to creep up, not a lot but given my past history she's more mindful of it. And then there is the fact that this baby is bigger. I've made it clear to her that I do not want to risk having a c-section because the baby gets to big to pass through. I'm not scared of having a big baby but am not wanting to hear "Your baby is stuck in the birth canal so we need to do a c-section." that would tick me off.

I asked her how big she felt the baby was now and she is guessing between 9 and 9 and 1/2 pounds. If the ultrasound I had on the 29th was right and she was 8 pounds 7oz then and a baby gains about a 1/2 pounds a week then Moya could be almost 10.

So how it will work tomorrow is that between 7am and 10am they will call me and tell me they have a room open. We'll go in and go from there. If they don't call me by noon I am to call my doctor and see what's up.

How she is hoping the induction goes is that she can get me in there early enough and start and IV with the antibiotics, get those swirling around for an hour or two and then break my water and see if I go into labor on my own. If time is more of a concern then she'll start the antibiotics and pitocin around the same time and the break my water later. She just doesn't want to break my water until the antibiotics have had time to get in there. I'm strep-b positive so that's why it's more tricky I guess.

So that's the plan! Of course all could change if I go into labor on my own. But I doubt it... my babies seem to just like to slowly open the door and look around.

Practice Run... aka getting my friggin hopes up for nothing!

So today was my doctor appointment. It was at 10:20am. We all go in and Johannsen sees I'm a good 4cm dilated. My blood pressure is a little high so she calls over to the doctor on call to see if they can just induce me today. He says sure so we head over to triage all excited.

Belle about flips out with excitement and tells everyone we pass on the way that we are having a baby today.

So we get there and Nurse Grumpy-Pants tells asks us if they told us it may not happen today because the delivery rooms are really full. We said no they just told us we may have to wait a few hours. Her entire demeanor was as if she was annoyed at us for coming in and making her work. I even said "Well they sent us here, not like we insisted to come."

At one point Belle was in there with me and the nurse came in and first thing Belle asks is "Are you a bad guy?" I have no idea what possessed her but can only assume she could pick up on the nurse's vibe instantly. :)

They get me hooked up to the monitors and then comes my favorite part... the IV. I tell Nurse Grump about how I hate these. It isn't a fear or ick factor it is a pain thing. She starts tooting her horn about how she's great at them and how I must have had a bad nurse do them before. She then proceeds to start one on my left arm and totally botches it. Hurt like hell! So is surprised that she had a problem with it and blames it on my vein in that arm. She then tries the right arm. It works but still hurt like hell. She says over and over how she's never had to stick a patient twice before... gee my luck.

They give me antibiotics for 20 minutes for the strep-b and then unhook me and let me go walk around and grab some lunch. We came back at about 2:45 and went back on the monitors for another hour or so. My blood pressure was up and down the entire time. Sometimes elevated... sometimes just fine. I definitely am contracting but as with Belle is seems like without medical induction my babies just want to slowly open the door and look around before trying to venture out.

Then the doctor finally shows up (first time I'd seen him). He checks my cervix and I'm still at 4cm. So he breaks the news that with the delivery rooms being so full and my being stable and not rapidly progressing on my own they are going to send me home. But he said I should make and appointment with Johannsen for friday to be checked again.

On the way out Nurse Grumpy-Pants wished us luck and all that. I swear she was the most chipper and nicer at that time then she had been all day!

I of course agree that anyone who is in full blown labor should take precedent but it was still VERY annoying. I mean we had gotten our hopes up completely! And I was annoyed at the doctor for giving my doctor the ok to send me over in the first place!

On the way home Belle said "Well look on the bright side mommy... maybe next time you'll get Johannsen instead!" :)

4 Days to Go... give or take

I'm sooo ready to have this baby! Moya, I love you but GET OUT! :) :)

For the most part this has been an easy pregnancy but I'm big and uncomfortable and want to meet this little girl.

Belle at breakfast the other day said "I hope you have the baby soon." I was curious to her reasoning so I asked "Why's that?" She said "So you can stop drinking that yucky orange juice!" And here I was thinking she would say something about being empathetic to my discomfort. :) No she's just been wigged out by my one huge craving throughout this pregnancy... Orange Juice... massive massive amounts of it.

So tomorrow we have a doctors appointment at 10:20am. I have a lot of questions:

1. How big is this baby now does she think?
2. At what point do we talk induction?

3. What safe methods could I try to induce myself (you know... all those old wives tails)?

4. Does she accept bribers for induction?

I'll report back as to how it goes. I'd love to think positively that I'll go into labor tonight but I'm now at that point where I just cannot see it happening.

Oh and one more thing I want to mention... the cats! I don't know what it is but they have been following me around like crazy lately. I mean they normally are very affectionate with me but this is over the top. They will rarely sit on me at the same time, they rather like to take turns. But now they will both sit on me any chance they get. If I get up and walk around they follow. If I leave and my mom is home they seem to fuss at her until I return. I'm sure they can tell I'm pregnant and due soon... wish they could give me some more insight. :)

Doctor Appointment

sigh... so I had a doctor appointment today. I really had thought I wouldn't make this appointment because I'd of had the baby by now. But no luck so we went in... all of us. We brought Belle and my mom with us in hopes that the doctor would just induce me or tell me "oh hey you're already in labor let's just go and give it a little push." Whatever... I just was hoping that this would be it.

So we go in and she checked my cervix. I'm at 4cm dilated. She then hooked me up to the fetal monitor and baby sounds great. But... no induction today. :( Just got to wait and see.

She said I have a bulging bag of amniotic fluid between the baby's head and the cervix, once that breaks it should all go pretty quickly.

In other news I tested positive for Strep B so that means I'll get antibiotics during labor. No big deal really.

I have another appointment set for next Wednesday at 10:20am. If I make that appointment I'm going to be in a REAL bad mood. :)

Ultrasound and Doctor Appointment

FINALLY I got to the doctor after a week of being snowed in and missing appointments.

The ultrasound was first at 8: 30am. It went just fine. They said the baby is currently 8 pounds 7 ounces (approximately). She is head down (yay!) and is still a girl. :) We didn't get any new ultrasound pictures because as the technician said "she's big and she's right up against the glass in there." Meaning she's just to cramped to get a good picture of. No problem, we'll see her in color very soon.

We then went over to my doctor's office. My appointment wasn't until 2:20 but they said for me to come by right after the ultrasound and they'd try and work me in. Luckily they could so I was seen pretty quickly. My doctor did the Strep B test and an exam to check my cervix. She also looked over my ultrasound results.

My uterus is measuring 38cm which is only now a little bigger then it should be for this week. But I am 3 cm dilated and 60% effaced. She doesn't think I will make it to my due date but didn't think I would go this week either. As for her opinion on baby's size? She just said she feels certain this one will be bigger then Belle.

So all is well with Moya, and we're now officially at the "any time now" phase. ... here we go!

Doctor Appointment

Went to the doctor this morning. Everything is going good. Blood pressure was great which was nice to hear. It was about at this point with Belle that my blood pressure started to go up. I was at 35 weeks with Belle when put on bed rest. I'm at 34 weeks right now. I am not counting myself out of the woods yet for it happening again but so far it is looking hopeful that I'll get to skip that crud.

Uterus is measuring 37 cm. Rule of thumb is that your fundal height should roughly equal the number of weeks you are. So I'm at 34 weeks which means I should be measuring 34 cm give or take a cm or two. So to be at 37 cm at 34 weeks is a tad on the big side. My doctor wants me to have another ultrasound to see how big this baby is. She asked "So how big was Belle again?" I told her 8 pounds 6 ounces. She said "Oh yeah well this one will be bigger then that." :) So... should we start the due date and weight poll now? :)

I go in on the 23rd for the ultrasound and next doctor appointment. I'll be a little over 36 weeks at that point. I'm glad to get another ultrasound. I know it isn't long now till we'll get to see her in person but I just love getting to peak at her in the womb.

Doctor Appointment

Had a doctor appointment today. Blood pressure good, measurement 33cm, heartbeat good. I did get another blood draw today. Apparently they lost the order for my anemia test last time so they had to do it now. No biggie.

So I go again in two weeks and then after that it is once a week! Time is definitely flying. I'm trying to enjoy all the belly-baby movements. While I can't wait to see her, this being my last pregnancy I will definitely miss feeling her wiggle in my tummy.

Oh and for future reference... don't ever make an appointment at 3pm on the day before Thanksgiving... traffic getting there was nuts!

Doctor Appointment

Went in for a routine appointment today. Baby's heart rate is at 154, uterus measuring 32.5cm. All seems to be going well.

I asked her about the thigh pain and as I suspected she said it was just normal ligament stretching. She said the flip side is that normally means a quicker labor. So... more discomfort now means less later I guess? :)

I also asked about relief from my confused bowels (either everything moves to fast or two slow). She said I can take tums for the to fast and Citricil for the too slow. :)

Next appointment is on the 26th.