Friday, August 31, 2012

Baby Check Up

24.5 weeks and another visit to Dr. Sine.  It feels like the weeks are just flying by!  We had an early appointment today so Nate had to come along.  It was fun to introduce him to the doctor who delivered him and he managed to charm everyone in the office.

No news to report which is always good.  A bit slower heartbeat today, mid 130s but then he or she started kicking and we watched the heart rate jump back into the 140-50s.  My favorite nurse let me close my eyes on the scale and then told me I weigh 120 pounds.  Amazing how the baby's getting so much bigger and my weight just keeps shrinking.

The highlight of the visit for Nate was not hearing his brother or sister's heartbeat, but at the end of the appointment he saw his Aunt Kake in the doorway.  I loved seeing his eyes light up as he ran over for a hug. He's too little to understand what it means to see her (and Uncle Anthony) in the doctor's office but I think he'll catch on in another 24 weeks or so.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Another Week's Vacation

Life's good when you're two.  As soon as we got home from the Outer Banks, Nate left for Philadelphia to spend the weekend with his Bubbie and Zayda.  The week sounded action-packed and exhausting for all involved!  Trips to the fair, breakfast with friends, a day at Dutch Wonderland, Nate is one seriously lucky kiddo.

I'm doing okay

Little gym

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

OBX

Another August, another wonderful trip to the Outer Banks.  This year we visited the beach with my Aunt Jacki and Uncle Dick, their four kids (and spouses) and 12 grandchildren.  Also there to enjoy the sun was my aunt's nephew, his wife and their three boys.  If you're counting, that's 15 adults and 16 kids in one house.  Luckily the house was enormous and had plenty of room for a week of fun and relaxation.

Although Nate did very little relaxing.  He spent most of this time tagging along with the big kids.
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Ryan, Taegan, Shay, Nate, Avery and Stratton
playing with Logan, Landon and Sam (DSC00645)
playing with Logan, Landon and Sam
Our week included a few rainy days.  But even those days were filled with craft projects for the kids, a birthday party including Nate's first crack at a pinata (Avery and Greyson both turned six!) and a trip to the go-karts.  Poor Nate, too small to ride.  But he loved watching and waving at Dada, Richard and RJ.

And on the sunny days, Nate was a beach fiend.  He loved the sand, the waves and the water.  He couldn't get enough.  We're so happy he's like his parents!
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pointing because to get him to look at the camera, we asked him where Cyndy was
And no trip to OBX is complete without a visit to Duck Donuts.  We didn't stay in Duck this time so we thought we'd just have to make the drive to get our sweet breakfast fix.  But lucky us, there is now a Duck Donuts open in Corolla!  Needless to say, Nate enjoyed.  And on Sunday morning, when we were back in Maryland, I overheard Aaron ask Nate where I was.  Nate's reply, "Duck Donuts."  I wish kiddo, I wish.

Duck Donuts (DSC_0843)

Friday, August 3, 2012

It's A...

Just kidding.  We don't know.  But we did have our 20 week ultrasound this morning and we're happy to report the baby is growing and everything looks great.  Measuring 5 days ahead of my due date and the baby's head is down - both facts that mean absolutely nothing this early in the game.

We got some pictures but nothing really showing the baby.  He or she is very active and quite stubborn.  It took the technician a good amount of time to get the measurements she needed.  And she was very kind to try and get a good picture for us to take home but baby insisted on putting his or her hands in front of the face and turning away from us.

We followed up the sonogram with a brief visit with Dr. Sine.  Heartbeat is strong and loud, coming in around 141 bpm.  Again, we were told this is an incredibly active baby as she had to chase him or her around to get a long enough stretch of heartbeat.

As an interesting lesson, Dr. Sine told us they've changed their practice of circumcision since Nate was born. In 2010, they were still performing circs in the hospital but now they send baby boys to an outpatient service when they're a week old.  The reasons were increased hospital policies which were delaying patient discharge but also an updated recommendation from the AAP that it is healthier for a newborn boy to wait a week instead of 1-2 days.  Turns out the Jewish people had it right all along!