RIP Ford Escape :(

Thursday, October 22nd was supposed to be a great day! Ian had a half day at work, Grace was exactly three months old so I was all prepared to take her "I'm exactly three months old" picture that afternoon and I had an afternoon outing to Target planned with the family!

Jacob had just started coming down with his THIRD cold of the season and at the last minute Ian suggested he stay home with Jacob. I decided to take Grace with me because she was due to nurse at 5 and I was thinking I would be home between 4:30 and 5. Just in case she got hungry a little earlier I wanted her with me. At the last minute, I decided to run to Target by myself to "save time" and leave some room in the cart (infant seats render a shopping cart useless!).

I was finished and headed home around 4:20 leaving me plenty of time to get home and feed Grace. As I was entering Manomet, near Gellar's, I noticed an "anxious" (read tailgating) fella on my bumper eager to get home. As the traffic ahead slowed for someone turning left, I hit my brakes and looked up in my rear view mirror to see anxious fella fiddling with his radio dial. I knew it was coming before he even looked up and braced myself for the impact and anxious fella slammed into me at approximately 40 mph. I was pushed about 6 feet into the guy in front of me who just so happened to have recently celebrated his 78th birthday....poor guy.

To make a long story short, the police came, accident reports were filled out and cops debated whether or not the gigantic pile of baby stuff I emptied from my 08 Escape could have possibly fit in the vehicle. The car was deemed a total loss which was a blessing in disguise. Thankfully I had left Grace home (don't want to even think about what could have happened), nobody was hurt and we were actually in the market for a minivan, but didn't think we could afford one at the time.

My insurance company settled with us so that we were able to pay off my Escape and have a nice $5,000 down payment on our new 2010 Toyota Sienna LE!! We pick it up Saturday and to say I am excited is an understatement! The lesson of this story is never proclaim that you will never ever become a minivan mom. You will eat your words! :)

Road Trip to Nashville

Well, we are home from our long and exhausting journey to Tennessee. As tired as we are when we return home, and as complicated as it is trying to organize a week away from home with an 18 month old and a 2 month old, we all had a good time even though three out of the four of us got sick. Jacob started wheezing on Friday morning a full 7 days after his cough started and after a trip to the doctor's office we were told he has Bronchiolitis (RSV). The next day Grace came down with it and is now sleeping upright in her bouncy seat because she can't breathe when she lies down. I am hoping it passes quickly, but I also have a feeling our time in large crowds of people is over until the Spring thaw. :)

We had a great trip and enjoyed the spiritual uplifting we had at the Berean Tennessee gathering. We saw many familiar faces that we hadn't seen in years and it was nice to socialize with everyone and take in the local sights. We arrived in Nashville late Thursday evening and spent the night there as we were planning a trip to the Nashville Zoo on Friday. The weather cooperated and we had a fabulous time! I was a little skeptical going in because the reviews on Trip Advisor were hit or miss, but Ian and I thought it was a fabulous zoo and Jacob had a blast. I was worried that he would be too timid and not old enough to enjoy it, but Ian took him into the petting zoo and he had a great time. We also took a ride on the carousel and he absolutely loved every minute of that!

On Friday afternoon, we headed to Montgomery Bell State Park where we would spend the next 4 nights. The theme of the Berean gathering was the Cherubim and the many talks surrounding the subject were very enjoyable. We also enjoyed socializing with everyone between and during meals and exploring the State Park in our free time.

On Monday, we attended the outing in the State Park which was a BBQ along the creek. By this time, Jacob had already come down with his cough so we took off a little early and let him take an extra long nap. In the late afternoon, we headed to Jim and Terri Rankin's house about 60 miles away for dinner and goodbye since we were leaving the following morning. We returned to our room and packed up the car. Our alarm went off at 4:3o AM and off we went with the kids still their PJ's and sleeping soundly. We drove all day and made it to Staunton, VA where we had hoped to land that night because we wanted to spend the first part of the next day driving up Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. The foliage at that elevation was pretty amazing and there were many lookouts, but it was awfully windy and about 20 degrees colder as you neared the top. Towards the last few lookouts, Ian and I took turns getting in and out since it was too cold for the kids.


We drove the rest of that night and stopped in Mystic, CT for the last night on the road and departed the following day following a lazy morning of baths and breakfast. We arrived home around 1 PM and then the laundry began!

I traveled all over the country in our family van as a kid and I was very excited to start road trips with my own family. I am happy Ian is on board and we already have a family trip to Yellowstone in the works. We just have to wait until the kids are a bit older for that one! Lord Willing, we are hoping to attend the Hye gathering in Texas next Summer. I started going to Hye when I was 8 years old (20 years ago!) and had only missed one Summer up until the year I got engaged. Then it was the engagement, the wedding and one kid/pregnancy each Summer after. Hopefully, next Summer we will not have any wild and crazy plans that keep us away again.

Until next time.....

Appointment Recap

On Wednesday, we took Jacob into Boston to see his Pediatric Opthamologist. They have been monitoring him since birth because of his ROP and laser surgery treatment. The doctor seemed pretty optimistic in the beginning and said babies with ROP can go either way. Some babies have horrible eye sight and side effects from the laser treatment and some babies are not affected at all. He was hoping that Jacob, like most babies, would outgrow the issues he was seeing (farsightedness) and so he had been monitoring him every three months since March. At our appointment this week, the doctor informed us he hasn't seen any change in Jacob since March which is unusual and also not very good. Jacob's eyes strain to see objects close to him and if we do not correct the problem now then we could further damage his eyesight. Long story short, Jacob needs glasses. I asked the doctor how often he needs to wear them and he said all the time. I was pretty shocked and upset by this because most preemies start out wearing them for a few hours a day and work up if they need them more. Some of you may or may not know that I wear glasses (contacts most of the time), but my vision issues stemmed from me needing glasses only to see the chalkboard at school and wearing them all the time. My vision is now horrible because I ruined my eyes by wearing them all day instead of just to see the board. I am hoping by making Jacob wear the glasses all day we will not make him more reliant on them. He also doesn't cross his eyes which is what many babies with his condition do when they are looking at an object close to them and trying to see it clearly.

In other news, Jacob's heart murmur is back. They thought they heard it again at his 12 month NICU follow-up, but he wouldn't sit still long enough for the doctor to confirm that it was the murmur she was hearing. Our pediatrician heard it at Jacob's 18 month visit this week and Jacob was very well behaved so we have confirmed that it has, in fact, returned. I am making an appointment at The Floating Hospital for Children this week for Jacob to see a Cardiologist. Hopefully it is just a benign murmur and nothing serious requiring surgery. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we head into the next challenges Jacob faces as a result of his prematurity.

On Thursday, Jacob and Grace had their 18 month and 2 month well visits. I was shocked to learn that my two month old now weighs MORE than half of what my 18 month old weighs! The good news is that Jacob has finally made it on the charts for his length. His weight and length have consistently been -3% since he came home, but Jacob was 30.1 inches which puts his height at 4% now! He weighed 21 lb 1 oz and is still -3% for weight and his head is still big (no surprise considering he is a Stewart) at 47.5 cm and 42%.

Grace, on the other hand, is growing like a weed! She weighed 12 lb 5 oz (83%), was 22.4 inches (50%) and her head was 40.0 cm (78%). I was pretty surprised at her stats given the fact that she was 4 weeks early. She is reaching all of her milestones right on target and doing well. She sleeps through the night (usually at least 7 hours!!!) and takes naps on and off throughout the day. I am very lucky that both of my babies slept through the night relatively quickly.

This weekend will be spent cleaning the house and packing for our trip next week to Tennessee! We are very excited about this trip, but nervous as well. We know Grace will do well and sleep most of the way, but we are a little worried about Jacob. He is constantly on the go and always moving from one thing to the next so I am a little concerned about how well he will do in the car. He normally loves to go for rides, but we haven't been on a trip this long since last October when he was 6 months old (2.5 adjusted). He slept most of the way last year. Part of our plan is to start driving at 4 PM and stop around 7 PM for feedings, diaper changes and PJ's. Then we will continue on until 2 AM and hopefully they will sleep the majority of the ride. If that works out as planned then we will stay in our hotel room until check-out and get on the road once lunch is over. That is usually Jacob's afternoon nap time so hopefully he will sleep for a couple of hours again. We are packing lots of board books and small toys to keep him occupied! If anyone has any suggestions on how to keep an 18 month old (14.5 adjusted) entertained on a long road trip please let me know!

Walking

A few weeks ago, Jacob took his first steps. We were overjoyed at this milestone especially since we didn't expect him to walk until his 2nd birthday. Many 24 weekers are very delayed when it comes to walking so we basically "prepared for the worst" for lack of a better term and expected to see it sometime between 22 and 25 months (this is the earliest and latest I have heard of a 24 weeker walking). Imagine our surprise when he walked at 17 months (just about 14 months adjusted). He is so happy and as soon as I stand him up and run to the other side of the room and hold my arms out he starts giggling and wobbling across the room. It is pretty funny to watch and melts my heart at the same time. I have so many videos of this, but I will share the one I think is the best. It shows how excited he is and he claps at the end after collapsing on me for a hug. :)

Gracie is already smiling a ton and loves to "talk" to me. Once I start talking to her the coos start right up and continue until I stop talking back to her. She is doing really good holding her head up and will be ready for the Bebe Pod any day now. She loves practicing on my lap and taking naps on Daddy. I can't believe how fast she is growing and I am looking forward to her 2 month appointment on Thursday to see how much she weighs.

This week is pretty busy as far as appointments go. Tomorrow Jacob has another follow-up at the Pediatric Opthamologist in Boston and I am just waiting for the day they say he needs glasses. I wouldn't be surprised seeing as how I am blind anyway. If his extreme prematurity didn't cause it I'm sure his genes will. On Thursday, both kids have appointments with the Pediatrician (Grace's 2 month and Jacob's 18 month) and both are due for two immunizations each. I will have two crying babies to comfort at the same time. What is a Mom to do? Friday morning Jacob has PT and EI and I am really looking forward to Joann (Jacob's PT) seeing Jacob walk for the first time. She has been Jacob's PT since his days at Jordan Hospital (when he was transferred closer to home from Boston). He was only a couple/few months old and weighed no more than 6 pounds. She has loved coming to the house and seeing how much he has changed and the new milestones he has reached and this one is the biggest yet!

I will be sure to update at the end of the week on the result of all our appointments. I am crossing my fingers, but I think Jacob may be on the charts for weight/height for the first time. He has had a major growth spurt since his last appointment in June and I am looking forward to him "catching up". It usually happens by 2 or 3 and I can really see him making some strides toward that so we'll see how it goes. For now, he has outgrown his 6-12 month clothes and still growing into his 12-18 months which makes dressing him much harder. It is especially hard when the 12-18 month clothes are loose and he wriggles out of them and undresses himself. Not my favorite part of the day!

Back to reality....

We had a wonderful week down the Cape even though the weather wasn't very cooperative. For the first three days Hurricane Danny was passing by so we had lots of rain and wind. The sun finally came out on Monday around 5 PM and the rest of the week was mild, but enjoyable.

Jacob had his first adventure at the beach and loved every minute of it! He ate lots of sand and flirted with lots of women. Everyone who walked by commented on how adorable he was and he immediately started smiling and clapping. We spent a whole day at Nauset Beach not knowing that they had just spotted 5 Great White sharks down the beach in Chatham. Yikes! The beach has been closed indefinitely ever since! We spent a full day at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, had dinner in Provincetown, checked out lots of lighthouses, windmills,beaches, etc. I also ate my body weight in lobster rolls and soft serve ice cream!

We came home on Friday night to beat the Labor Day traffic and spent the following day in Boston at the Public Garden and Boston Common. We took Jacob to see the Make Way for Ducklings display and he had fun playing with the ducks while Mommy ate some fried dough. :)
Even though we technically have a couple more weeks, traditionally Labor Day marks the end of Summer and since school is starting up again and the temps have dropped significantly I have whipped out the Fall decor. We are looking forward to apple picking on the 20th and hope for cool weather. Every year we go it just so happens to be the hottest day in September. When I think of apple picking I think of turtlenecks and hooded sweatshirts not shorts and sunblock so hopefully we'll get a cool day this year. I hope to get lots of pictures of Jacob picking apples this year and will post them in my next update. Last year, he was only home from the hospital for 2 months and I had to carry him around in the Bjorn. This year Grace will be two months old in the Bjorn and Jacob will be picking apples. Funny how that happens.....

Gracie girl is here!

As usual, I am WAY behind on my blogging. That is what happens when you are chasing around a 16 month old and trying to care for a newborn!

Gracie arrived at 36 weeks 3 days on Wednesday, 7/22/09 at 2:53 PM. She weighed a whopping 7 lb 6.9 oz (not bad for a 36 weeker) and was 19.5 inches long.

I had an amnio done on Monday, 7/20 that came back indeterminate. My OB tossed around the idea of waiting until Friday to deliver, but she was concerned about my incision and if it would hold up with the contractions I had been having. She called me Wednesday morning around 9 AM and told me to come to the hospital and bring my hospital bag, but be prepared to go home. They wanted to monitor me for contractions and see what was going on. Of course I was contracting every 7 minutes when I got there because they had told me the night before to prep for a c-section, just in case, so I hadn't had anything to drink since midnight. They eventually spaced out to 15 minutes and then 30 minutes, etc. with fluids, but she was still worried about my incision and decided to section me that day. At 2 PM, I was brought to the OR and prepped for surgery. Once the spinal took effect they brought Ian in and 10 minutes later Gracie was out!! This is where all the drama begins. Apparently, Grace did not want to be shown up by her brother's story of survival and needed a story of her own.

The first thing my OB said when she opened me up was, "good thing we took her today". That was all I got. Once Grace was out, I had seen her and Ian was wisked off to the nursery with her she informed me that my incision had not held up well at all. In fact, my uterus was paper thin and they could see through my skin to the baby! She asked if we plan to have any more children and I said we were thinking about possibly a third, but if she told me it wasn't safe we would be done. She said she was going to go ahead and open my old, classical incision and remove some scar tissue. After that she would close it back up again and overlap the old incision to make it thicker so it would hold up again if we have another pregnancy. This was scary news and enough to make me think I may very well be happy with the two healthy children that I have. My doctor said if we had waited two more days like we were going to it wouldn't have been good. Once my surgery was over I had been on the table for 2.5 hours!

That being said, Gracie is here, she is healthy, I am healthy and that is all that matters. The Lord has blessed me with two beautiful, healthy children and two very amazing birth stories. I am very grateful for the countless blessings I have been given.

As of her one month check-up this past Monday she is 10 lb 1 oz and 20.7 inches long! She gained 2.5 pounds in 3 weeks!! Next month is her 2 month and Jacob's 18 month check-up. We are hoping Jacob will make the charts for his actual age this time. Last time he was still -3% for both height and weight and 75-90th for his head circumference!

This weekend we are off to Eastham, Cape Cod for our first vacation as a family of four! We are very excited for this time away and hope to post lots of pictures when we return!

July is here!

When I found out I was pregnant back in December I thought that August would never come. I kept thinking how the summer seemed so far away, but here we are July 1st and my c-section is scheduled for this month instead of August! Only 3 weeks to go!

Luckily, we had so much going on in June that the month flew by despite the 20 or so days that it rained. I am starting to forget what the sun feels and looks like. Last month Jacob started pulling to stand and cruising which has made life interesting to say the least. As soon as he mastered that he learned how to crawl on his knees. His army crawl was cute and I am going to miss it although he still does it on occasion. He also erupted four teeth in June and they are all on top! The past couple of nights our 10+ hour sleeper has been up multiple times crying so I think more are on the way.

I had a doctor appointment yesterday and fortunately nothing has changed since my discharge from Tufts earlier in June. It is looking like I might go all the way this time and actually have a full-term (well, relatively full-term) baby after all. My OB is scheduling my amnio for Monday, 7/20 to check for lung development and if all goes well at that appointment I will be having Gracie on 7/22 or 7/24. I will be either 36w2d or 36w4d along. That is close enough to full-term for me. Then again, if the amnio comes back immature then we might have to hold off another week and I will make it to 37w! As long as the amnio comes back good it will most likely be the 22nd.

We are attempting to finish Jacob's new room, but I am not sure how much we will get done before the baby gets here, but no big deal since she will be in our room for awhile anyway. The carpet company is coming today to give us a quote on Jacob's new rug so hopefully that will be installed in the next week or two. We still need to install the replacement window, his closet door and organization system, replace the heater covers (which in Jacob's room is THREE ENTIRE WALLS!) and replace all the outlets and switches since the hacks who owned our house before painted over every single outlet and switch in the house. They also painted all of our doors (one side) white, however, when they painted over them they painted over STAIN. Yes, they were not very bright so every door is half dark wood stain and the other half is painted white and peeling/chipping since you can't paint over stain. Because of this all our bedroom, bathroom and closet doors need to be replaced as well. Once everything is done though the house will look like new!

Happy fourth of July to everyone and hopefully we will have some good weather for the weekend! I am looking forward to spending some QT with Ian and the Chicken Wing. Ian has been working hard to make sure all his loose ends at work are tied up by the time Grace is due to enter our crazy world so we haven't seen much of him lately. He is working in Waltham and his commute is two hours! As soon as we get Jacob's room together I will post pictures!