Updates Again

Last week, I was swamped with work stuff so I didn't get a chance to post and this week will be pretty busy too I am afraid! :) But I will try to keep everyone updated at least so you know what is going on, and I will definitely have some news on Friday although we have about 15 people coming into the office for interviews that I will be shuttling around so we'll see how much I get to post!!!!

House: Things are great - starting to get used to the commute. The evenings are worse than the afternoons but that was how it was when I was commuting in and out of downtown Dallas too. It's worth it though to come home to our nice, new house. Now if only the boxes would magically unpack themselves!!!

Baby: Went to my 36 week check up last Friday. Actually went to the perinatologist first and got to see the other doctor this time. He was really nice and quick, and I was in and out of that office in like 15 minutes which is always good. No time for scary Mary to come out and talk to me! :) The kidneys are actually looking a little better so hopefully that trend will continue so we don't have to worry much about it. Of course, he gained over a pound in a week though, and now weighs 7 pounds 14 ounces. Needless to say, we are going to probably schedule a c-section, and Austin will be coming with me to my appointment this Friday to pick the date and have one last ultrasound to check the weight and kidneys before our "plan" is developed. It's pretty exciting to know that he will be here in just a few weeks!!!! I will definitely let you know once the date is set. We also had our last baby class this weekend (and I did the breastfeeding class last Wednesday) so we are all set as far as that goes. Now, this weekend once we know when he will be arriving, I can work on packing a hospital bag, getting some nursing bras and other necessities to bring to the hospital, and doing the baby laundry so he has some clothes to wear and blankets to use! I'm so excited!!!! :)

Life: Otherwise, things are going really well. Work has been good even though busy. And I don't have too much longer to go before I will have 3 months off! My parents are in Hilton Head this week - I'm very jealous! ;) Hopefully we'll get to go with them next year and maybe even celebrate Cooper's first birthday out there! LOL

I think that is all for now! Hope you all had a good week and weekend and talk to you soon!

A Few More Weeks

Today I had my 35 week checkup. Despite the fact that I was at the doctor's office for about 2.5 hours (apparently today was the day to be born if you have my doctor as your ob!), it was a good visit. Cooper is doing well - healthy and big as ever. He is now 6 pounds, 14 ounces!!!!! That is bigger than I was when I was born, and I was 10 days LATE! Needless to say, it is almost definite now that they will be bringing him into this world early one way or another so that I don't have to deliver a 9.5 pound infant. So in about 3 more weeks, we will get to see our precious little boy! I can't wait!!!!!!!!!! :)

Other than that, his kidneys did not get any bigger which is good because it's the first time ever that they have not grown between ultrasounds. That is definitely a good sign. His heartbeat was great, I could see the fuzziness on his head which is hair, and everything else was good. I had to do the glucose test again because the neonatologist requested it since he was in the 90th percentile again. But I survived! Next week I go back to the neonatologist (but luckily no more genetics counselor!) and then to see my doctor for my checkup. Then in two weeks, I will have another ultrasound at my doctor's office to determine his size and probably make a decision about whether or not they can just induce early or if we will need to schedule a c-section. I'm supposed to stay off my feet this weekend because of my foot pain and see if it gets better so we'll see if that works or not. It's supposed to be a cold dreary weekend so that's okay. Just need to get out tomorrow to run some errands and then I don't mind being curled up in the new house with some good movies and maybe season one of Grey's Anatomy! :)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend - I will be off work on Monday and since our Internet is not "guaranteed" until next Wednesday, I probably won't be on again until Tuesday! Talk to you then!

Updates!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I have been quite busy at work, and we still don't have Internet at the new house until probably next Wednesday! But here are a few highlights and updates.

House: The house is GREAT! Moving went fairly well this weekend - the movers were really great, quick and careful with our stuff, and reasonable which always helps. Now if only we could get the last of the things out of the apartment and get everything to magically unpack itself at the house! At least it is liveable and we have some of our kitchen and bathroom stuff out and ready to go so we can function. Hopefully we can get a lot more done this weekend! :) Just need to get used to the commute again into work since I had such a short one for the past few months, but at least it's not too bad and worth it to have such a nice house. I will post pictures once I a) find my digital camera and disk loader and b) have Internet at the house with which to upload the pictures! I was not allowed to do much of anything per my husband and family and friends, but still managed to hurt my foot somehow although finally today it is feeling better so I hope that trend continues and it stops bothering me so I don't have to go to yet ANOTHER doctor appointment.

Baby: Sunday we went to our first birthing class at the hospital. It went fine although it was long and rather boring, but I know it's necessary. We watched the video on natural childbirth, and Austin & I started dying laughing during the end of it (don't ask!). At least we can find entertainment in an otherwise boring class. Next Sunday we get to take the tour of the hospital which I'm looking forward to and find out more about c-sections which I want to hear about since it may become a possibility depending on his size! Yesterday we went to see the pediatric urologist, and he was very nice and gave us lots of good information about the plan for after Cooper is born and was very positive about things so that was definitely a good experience at least. Friday, I go back to my doctor for my check-up and have to take the 1-hour glucose test again. I don't have gestational diabetes (at least I didn't before and don't think it randomly popped up), but they want me to retest just to make sure since he is so large. So I will get to be prodded again on Friday after my syrupy drink! At least I'll have another ultrasound to see how things are going, find out more from the doctor, and see how large he has grown! I can't believe he'll be here in just a few more weeks!

Other than that, not a whole lot going on. At least this weekend I have a long weekend (Monday off for President's Day) so that will hopefully help me with the unpacking and organizing of the new home. Plus some rest too! It's like 80 degrees today and supposed to be in the upper 70s tomorrow, but there is a cold front coming through that will hit by Friday morning and all weekend it is going to be in the 20s, 30s and 40s with RAIN - I hope it snows at least - I HATE cold rain!!!! Oh well what can you do? I'm sure I'll write again at least on Friday afternoon if I have a chance after my appointment! Hope you all are having a great week! :)

We Have a House!

Yesterday we closed on our new home. It felt really good to stop having to worry about the paperwork and finishing everything up. It doesn't quite feel real yet since we aren't moving until this weekend, and I'm sure it will take some getting used to waking up in the new place and driving to/from work, etc. But we are both really excited about it!!!! Now if only we can get through the move on Saturday! :)

Update on my friend, Phil: They transported him by ambulance yesterday to Philadelphia to the University of Pennsylvania hospital system. He is apparently in an extreme amount of pain from the pressure in his skull/brain, so he is on morphine and other drugs to keep him pretty much out of it. So I'm really, really glad that I got to speak to him on Monday night because who knows when I will get to speak to him again. They were going to try to move him down to Florida eventually, but they have now decided to go ahead and do all the tests and surgeries and everything there in Philly so we'll have to see. Hopefully after the surgery, he can go back to Florida for his chemo and radiation and all of that. Today they are doing a surgery to relieve the pressure and to do a biopsy and a bunch more scans and tests. So hopefully we will know more tonight or tomorrow about exactly what kind of tumors they are, what his prognosis is, etc. My friend, Ryan, is flying a red-eye flight tonight to Philly to be with him, so I know if nothing else by tomorrow night I should know more since Ryan is good about asking lots of questions and getting the info. Plus I can ask him to tell me what's really going on where I feel bad asking Phil or his mom about it because I don't want to upset them any further. So we'll see. Keep on thinking and praying for him! :)

Other than that, busy again today with more applications but it's good because it keeps me distracted. I am looking forward to the packing/moving stage to be over because we've been working at it for so long that it's time to get going. And it will be fun getting to set up Cooper's room and put together some of our new furniture and things. I can't wait! Hope you all are having a good week! :)

Thoughts & Prayers

It is 5:15 in the morning, and my body has apparently decided that it has gotten enough sleep as of 4:45. So rather than sit in bed with a million thoughts in my head, I decided to get up and come out in the living room to put a few of them into writing. I will start out with the sad news first and then end with some happier thoughts because I am trying to stay positive! :)

I found out yesterday that one of my best friends, Phil, has two malignant tumors that are brain cancer. He had been having headaches and started having some cognitive errors and went to the doctor to figure out what was going on. After several MRIs, they have determined that it is brain cancer and that he will need to undergo surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation to even have a chance of fighting this off. Like I said, I just found out most of this yesterday afternoon and last night, so we are still not sure the extent of how bad it is or what his prognosis might be. He was attending Princeton for his PhD so luckily has gotten great medical care in the process at the Princeton medical center, but they have advised him to seek his treatment in Florida so that he can be closer to his family since this will be a long and arduous process and he will need his family close by. Luckily his fiance will be able to come with him as well, so they are now in the process of trying to find a great neurosurgeon and cancer center in Florida to transfer him to so that he can begin treatment as soon as possible.

I have known Phil since the 8th grade when he transferred into my school, and we have been good friends since. He stood on my side for my wedding with another one of my best guy friends, and he has been an important person in my life growing up from high school and into the woman I am today. It is still kind of shocking even to think about all of this and to accept the reality of the situation, and he and my friend, Ryan, are extremely concerned since we don't know the extent that the cancer has already taken over or what his prognosis might be. But I have my dad looking into doctors and facilities that he can transfer to so hopefully he will have a better chance of fighting this. When I talked to him last night, he luckily sounded in decent spirits and even though he knows he has a long road ahead of him, he was joking with me that I know how stubborn he can be so he knows he can get through it.

If you pray, please include him in your prayers today and for the months to come. If you don't, at least please think of him and his family in their time of need. It is a difficult thing to even fathom, and even more difficult because I feel so helpless to do anything. But I know that I can at least be a support to him via phone or however else I can manage, and I just have to hope that when I go to Florida again in May during my maternity leave that I will be able to visit him and see him recovering. He wants to see Cooper and was so sweet asking about him and how I'm doing on the phone, even though he's lying in a hospital bed in ICU wondering whether or not he has much longer to live. He is a strong person, and I have faith that he will get through this. But please include him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

On a happier note, happy birthday to Kim! Also, we had a wonderful weekend this past weekend. Austin & I feel so extremely blessed that we have so many wonderful and caring people in our lives. Our little boy was showered with gifts on Saturday, and it was so great to have so many people we care about all in one place and all so excited about our new bundle of joy. They are so excited to meet him just like we are! We really had a great weekend - my parents were in good spirits and we all got along really well for a change, so I am very grateful for that. Things around here are almost completely boxed up, and I am so grateful that Austin has been able to do so much so that we can get prepared for the big move this weekend. Tomorrow afternoon is the big day when we sign off on everything, and I can't wait to get those keys! It is all coming together, and it is very exciting! Of course, it finally decided to be winter here this week and is supposed to be really cold this weekend, but since I won't be doing much of anything besides watching them move everything out and then making sure everything gets moved in, I can't really complain too much! :)

Sorry for the sad post at the beginning but I needed to get it out in writing and ask for your help. Things like this really bring home to me how short life can be sometimes and how much you have to let people know that you love and appreciate them because you never know what might happen. Hope you all have a wonderful day! :)

Quick Update

Not in the mood for a long post but I just wanted to update you with my doctor appointment today! My doctor had an emergency c-section this morning so everything was behind, so we sat for nearly 2 hours waiting for the appointment to begin with. We did another ultrasound and Cooper is doing well. He is 5 pounds 12 ounces now! She said around 37 weeks or so, she would be able to make a better decision about whether or not we would induce early or schedule a c-section or what. She said we would only have to do the c-section if he was projected to be 9 pounds or more. Of course, since he is ina higher percentile (85th this week I think - last time he was 90th), I have to do my one-hour diabetes test again. Good times! Otherwise, everything looks really good - heart is good, brain and spine are good, kidneys are okay.

At least next week I don't have to go to any doctor's appointments which is good because it will be a busy week at work. The following week I have the pediatric urologist appointment and my regular doctor's appointment/ultrasound and after that I have to go see her once a week. At least my blood pressure is good and I haven't had much swelling or anything concerning like that. So things are going well! :)

Tomorrow is our shower so that should be a lot of fun! Other than that, not a whole lot going on. Hope you all have a good weekend! It's our last weekend in our apartment - yippee! :)

Walking Zombie

So after a weekend of getting some sleep, my usual insomnia kicked in again last night. At 3:30 am this morning, I was wide awake and unable to even rest really. So I got up and went in the living room and got on the computer and paid a bill online and changed the address on a few of our magazines to our new address. I surfed the Internet for a bit, and then decided I should try to at least lie down and relax. Finally around 5:45, I think I feel back to sleep but since I could then sleep only another hour and a half (in and out of sleep at this point after Austin got up at 6:30), it wasn't very productive! So today I feel like a walking zombie. Luckily yesterday was busy but the rest of the week I can coast a bit until Monday again when I will be busy for two weeks straight pretty much. There is no one in my area today and my boss is in Philadelphia until Friday morning so I could probably fall asleep at my desk with no one noticing! But I won't!!!

I don't really have a whole lot else to say. But I do want to tell you all what a wonderful husband I have and how great he is. Despite my wanting to help with the packing/organizing process, he has obviously inherited the brunt of the work, and he has done such a great job! Things are really starting to get all ready for our move, and I am so grateful. I have every intention of working on stuff when I get home from work, but by the time I get home, eat, shower, and relax for a minute I'm ready to fall asleep. Oh well! ;) Thank goodness he is so good to me and is taking care of everything. He did the final walkthrough on our house yesterday and learned how everything works so a week from today we will be able to close as planned. Yippee! That is all for now - I'm going to go back to sleep-walking through my day! :)