Going to Alabama!!

My best friend is Clayli, and she lives in Huntsville, AL. We've known each other for years and have been able to visit each other a few times since our kids were born. Clayli's twin daughters were born very premature at only 25 weeks gestation (that's 15 weeks early). Her girls were 1lb 3oz and 1lb 4oz. That's, like, the size of your hand. Abigail and Adalynn stayed in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) for 108 days before they were healthy and big enough to come home. Today, they are healthy and very happy 20 month old toddlers!

This weekend is the March of Dimes walk in Huntsville. Zane and I are leaving right after I get off work on Friday to drive the 7ish hours to Alabama so that we can walk with Clayli and her girls to support the fight against prematurity on Saturday morning. I am so excited! We were not able to go last year, so I'm very happy that we can this year.

The first time that I was able to go down and visit Clayli and her girls was when Zane was about 5 months old (her girls were 7 months) in March of 2011.


Me on the left with Zane; Clayli on the right with Abby. (side note: Clayli wore Abby for all of ten minutes like this before declaring her too heavy.... As I wore my child - ten pounds heavier - the whole walk.)


Addy, Zane and Abby. Can you see how much larger my child is? We had the two extremes here - the girls were on the small side and my child is on the very large side.

Later that summer, I surprised Clayli by driving down on the sly with my sister and Zane to surprise Clayli at her girls' first birthday party. Her reaction was THE.BEST. It made getting up and on the road at 4am so worth it! Here's the video we took:






The birthday girls!


My sister, Lauren, holding Abby. Clayli with Addy. And of course myself holding Zane. Zane had a little crush on Addy.

The last time we got to see Clayli and her girls was for Zane's 1st birthday party in October 2011. We tried to get a group shot of all of us.... Here was the result:


Oh mobile babies.

That is Jeremy's hand holding Zane's head up because he was trying to bite Addy. Those poor girls got beat up that visit.

I cannot wait to see how big the girls have gotten!! Two more days!

Baseball!

Devyn's baseball season started this weekend! I have to say, I'm really excited to watch him play. He's 12 this year, and this will be the last year he gets to play at Southside. I'm not sure what happens next year - I don't know if there's an older league (probably) or if he would just play at his school. I'll have to ask my husband about that one. It will be a few more years before Zane can play there (obviously, lol).

However, Zane and I will be missing roughly half of Devyn's games. Devyn plays at either 5 or 7pm on weeknights. The 5pm games should be no problem for Zane. But the 7pm games we're going to have to skip. :-( Toddlers need their bedtime and bedtime routine to stay consistent. Especially my child. He cannot handle staying up late. He gets a touch cranky. (okay, more than a touch)

We tried going to Devyn's late game last night and Zane lasted all of one inning. He fell asleep on the way home - a not even ten minute drive.

But I heard Devyn played well! He started as the pitcher and pitched for five whole innings. That is a huge accomplishment for the kid who was benched most of last year! His team lost 2 to 1 though.

Lots of updates!

How far along: 13 weeks and 3 days! Officially in the second trimester!

Total weight gain: Zero! I lost a few pounds after my first OB appointment and I've now gained them back. So I'm at zero.

Maternity Clothes: Just maternity jeans if I leave the house. Otherwise, since I work at home, I just lounge around in sweat pants and t-shirts.


Stretch marks: None new - but the ones from my pregnancy with Zane are still there.

Best moment this week: I had an OB check up this morning and, despite a few tense minutes while the nurse had to search for the heartbeat with the doppler, we did get to hear the sweet thump thump! 160 bpm

Movement: I sear I've felt a thump or poke a few times, but nothing concrete enough to say "Oh, that's the baby!"

Food cravings: Sweets. Reese's peanut butter cups - I admit to stealing several of these from Zane's Easter basket. And dill pickles.

Labor signs: Nope!

Belly button - innie or outie: It's an innie still.


What are you looking forward to this week: Devyn's opening ceremonies for his baseball season are on Saturday! I am actually realy looking forward to his baseball starting up again; I love getting out of the house and watching his games.




Do you see that sweet profile?? I am so in love already!

Last Monday, 4/2, I had the NT Scan, which was an ultrasound to check for any early markers for Down's Syndrome. There was also some bloodwork to check for our odds of having a baby with Down's or Trisomy 13 or 18. Everything came back PERFECTLY. Our odds of having a baby with any of those conditions were less than 1 in 10,000. I declined any other screening at this point.

I feel like I am starting to show, but I know in reality I just look pudgy still. I came out on Facebook last week! Here's the picture that I used to announce:



Do you see how thrilled he looks to be a big brother? lol

In other news, Zane is 18 months old! How in the world is my baby getting so old? We had his 18mo well baby check up yesterday. My big guys is weighing in at 33.2 pounds; 34 inches tall; and has a 20in noggin! He is over the 100th percentile for his weight and head, but dropped down to the 90th percentile for his height. Dr. Z says that his height growth curve looks to put him at being about 6'1" when he's grown.

I haven't mentioned on this blog yet that Zane is severely bowlegged. We took Zane to a pediatric orthopedic specialist three months ago to have his legs checked out. Zane's pediatrician sent us, because he has never in his 20 years of practice seen a child with legs as bowed as Zane's. According to the ortho, yes, Zane is bowlegged outside the range considered normal. However, when they examined an x-ray of Zane's legs, his bones are still within the range of normal. They looked at the way his knee presses on the top of his tibia bone. Here's a picture of his x-ray:



So, we were told that there is nothing the ortho wants to do about Zane's legs at that time. She wanted to see us back in nine months. Her reasoning for it was that toddlers legs hit their worst bowing by about 18 months. So, she could see us back at 18 months and only be able to tell us that yes, his legs are worse (and they are). She wanted him to get past the worst and have six more months to see how his legs improve. And if they do not improve.... We are looking at a scary surgery. :-(

I mention this now, because Zane's follow up appointment is on October 9th. I'm due October 15th, but due to my history and the medications I take, I'll be induced no later than 39 weeks. Annnnnnd.... I hit 39 weeks on October 8th. Obviously, I'll have to reschedule his appointment; probably push it out a month or so. But I am very scared that Zane's legs will not straighten enough on their own and he will have to have surgery on them. A newborn and a 2 year old going through surgery and then in casts? Not my idea of fun.

I don't want to end on such a dour note, so here are a few other pictures from Zane's 18 month photos!