2am Again

Dearest Joshua David~

Hello little man!  We need to think of something to help you sleep .... once again you woke up at 2am crying and crying.  You didn't calm yourself, so you ended up back in our bed again between us .... you immediately fell asleep though daddy and I were awake.  :-P  Actually, I was already awake before you started crying .... I had another tummy ache from something I ate (nothing to do with Peanut), so I was up and drinking some water when you started to create a fuss.  :-P  This is the second time in one week I've been out to a restaurant for dinner and ended up with a tummy ache.  :-(

You played in the morning after your usual breakfast of cereal with apple juice followed by a bottle.  I had an OB appointment this morning for Peanut.  They needed to draw my blood and check my glucose level, so I had to drink a special liquid one hour before the appointment.  With you, I had orange flavor.  Today, I had fruit punch.  :-)

Once we sat down, there was a lady in the waiting room that kept talking and waving at you.  You waved and giggled back while in the stroller.  You said you were very social!  Then, while I was waiting to get my blood drawn, one of the nurses went up to you and started playing with you.  I had you in the UNC stroller and she kept cheering for the Heels .... you gave her a high five and it was really cute!

We ended up having a good appointment.  My blood pressure was 120/60, which is 'normal' range but a little high for me.  No concerns however.  Urine protein was negative.  My weight is 144.8 lbs, which brings us to a 15.8 lb weight gain thus far for 28 weeks gestation.  For you, little man, I had only gained 17 lbs at 30 weeks, so I'm about a pound off at 2 weeks sooner.  My iron was slightly low at 11.8 .... normal is 12, but the MD said it was so marginal that he wouldn't give me any supplements at this time.  The fundal height (body of the uterus) was 28 cm, which corresponds to the weeks gestation we are, and Peanut's heart rate was 150.  :-)  When he was getting Peanut's heart rate, she kept moving and the MD said, "Got a wiggly one!"  Ha!  Everything looked and sounded good to the MD, so we have scheduled our 30 week check and ultrasound (we're on 2 week intervals at this time) for tuesday December 21st at 1:30pm.  The ultrasound will be first, and then we'll see the doctor at 1:45pm.  I'm sure daddy, Gigi, and Mimi will come since seeing an ultrasound is always amazing!  At this ultrasound, they will check Peanut's growth to her gestation (this will be more accurate than just measuring the fundal height) and the two-vessel cord.  And, hopefully we'll get more cool pictures to share.  :-)  

To give you a comparison, at 28 weeks gestation with you, I was unable to wear my wedding ring and my ankles were very swollen, however, everything else was fine.  Today, for Peanut's 28 week appointment, I can still easily take my ring off and on and I haven't had any ankle swelling thus far .... so, keep praying things run smoothly!

We came home in time for a little lunch before your physical therapy appointment.  Eliza suggested a 'push toy' as a Christmas gift for your age and gross motor skills (I already found a cute one online).   ;-)  Overall, you had a good appointment, despite the fact that you were off and on fussy from not taking a nap.  You had good left side neck rotations and your gross motor skills continue to be on track for your 'corrected' age.  Eliza's going to continue to keep you at every other week at this point, so your next physical therapy appointment is monday December 20th.  You see the Special Infant Care Clinic (SICC) at Wake Med tomorrow morning, so the neonatologists will take a look at you as well.  They haven't seen you since you've had the helmet!

I spoke to Carpets Plus this afternoon, and we're scheduled to have them come out a week from today to tear out our upstairs carpet that now has cat pee on it .... yes, we've been having problems with the cat!  :-P   We've decided to put engineered wood down so that it'll withstand the wear and tear of children and animals.  :-)  So, over the weekend daddy and I will get some help to move a few pieces of furniture around so they can change the carpet out for us.   

 Since you never took a nap this morning, you ended up falling asleep shortly after Eliza left.  You were in the play area and then crawled over to pillow and took a nap by yourself!

Oh, you got a Christmas gift in mail from our VA friends Karyn, Steve, and Charlotte!  I know what it is and you're going to love it!  It's all wrapped up for you for Christmas!

We cooked dinner for daddy before he got home.  We made some chicken with veggies on the stove.  Daddy gave you a bottle and some yogurt when he got home as I finished dinner. 

After your evening bath, you played upstairs with us and relaxed with daddy.  I hope you sleep better tonight.  Daddy and I are getting tired of waking up every morning around 2am.  :-P

Sleep tight little fellow!

I love you very much!  :-)

~Mommy