News Worthy

Charlie isn't breech any longer!!!!!

Here we are waiting to get the ball rolling (or should I say the baby rolling). We arrived at the hospital at 6:45am for an external cephalic version and got home at about 11am. So the whole ordeal took about 4 hrs. First they suited me up in the traditional hospital attire, got me hooked to an IV after only the second try (by far the worst part of the morning), monitored the baby for a while, did an ultrasound to make sure the conditions were right (size of baby, amount of amniotic fluid, etc.) and for my doctor to see his exact position, and then gave me a stinging shot of something to relax the uterus. Then the doctor and her nurse put a huge glob of cool blue gel on my belly and began to gently but firmly turn him to the right position. This part took all of about 1 minute. It was uncomfortable but not painful in any way. Everything went beautifully and he responded very well! They looked at him again via ultrasound, let me eat breakfast (yeah!) monitored for about 30 min more, had me walk the halls for 20 min, and then monitored him again for a while. After that, we went home!
One of the doctors in the room observing said/asked with a big smile on his face, "Now, wasn't that better than a c-section?" Absolutely!! I wish we would have video taped it, b/c I would have loved to see that!

Jack made the front page of the paper today! Two great things in one day!! The caption read, "Slippery Slide. Jack Day, 18 mo, finds going down the slippery slide a slightly scary adventure. He was on the playground at Healthworks (the gym we go to) enjoying a warm day on Thursday. Rain is in the forecast for today and for the weekend, so play may have to move inside."

Of course, I know that he loves going down the slide and the stranger with the camera is probably what he isn't sure about. And he is actually 21 mo., but I told the photographer 1 1/2. Isn't that fun!?

Doggy days

Isn't this a great picture! It was taken several weeks ago at Mark's parents'. Grandpa was taking Jack for a ride on the golf cart and Sam, the next door neighbor's sweet dog, insisted on tagging along. He is a rather large dog, but the neatest thing is that when he approaches Jack, he gets really low to the ground. I'm not a dog expert, so I don't know what that means in doggy language. But Jack always wants to see Sam when they go outside at the gramps.

In other baby news, there is no news. We're still waiting for Charlie to turn. Mark, Jack and I went swimming this afternoon and since the pool was so busy (school was out for Good Friday) and no one would notice, I did a few head stands in the pool to try to encourage Charlie to get moving. I'll do almost anything! Getting in and out of the pool, I get some stares. I don't actually have a maternity swim suit, its just a one piece that stretches really well, so I probably look a little funny. That suit will never be the same!

Jack's First Easter Egg Hunt

This past Saturday, Hope Landing had an Easter egg hunt for the children and their families. It was a beautiful day, although a little windy! Mark was asked to wear the bunny costume and the kids LOVED him! They all got their pictures taken with him and even Jack warmed up to him. He kept making his baby sign for bunny and pointing to him. In the picture below, Jack wanted to show the bunny a chocolate egg he had found.

Jack like carrying his basket! He would run to an egg he spotted, put down his basket, pick up the egg, put it in the basket, and then run off without the basket in search of another egg. Grandpa Day was a huge help in keeping up with him, as you can probably guess, my running is more like waddling now.

After the hunt, we all went to the pond for some fishing. Several of the kids caught fish (don't ask me what kind) which was great fun! Then they all dyed eggs and decorated cupcakes. Jack watched the fishing with great interest but by this time he was ready for a snack and something to drink, so we headed home (oh wait, we are home, haha) and took care of the little guy. All in all, it was a very fun day!

Baby Update

Well, Charlie is trying to be different from Jack already by making a different entrance into this world. As of today (36 wks), he is breech (bottom down, instead of head down). My doctor suspected this by palpation, and confirmed it with a quick ultrasound. Usually the baby has settled into a head down position by 36 wks. Although, they have been known to turn at the last minute. Yet, 3-4 % (according to What to Expect When You're Expecting) are breech at full term. So, if little Charlie doesn't make that turn, looks like a c-section. I'll keep you updated with the latest news.

Snow Days

Mark was a little scruffy, so we let Jack shave his face. Don't worry, there's not a blade on that razor. Jack concentrated really hard on the task at hand and seemed to really enjoy it.

Yesterday morning, Jack and I went to the park to play just wearing jackets. And today, well, you can see for yourself. This first snow pic is when it first started sticking. It started as sleet and then turned to snow. Altogether, it snowed from about 10am and stopped about 7pm. Thankfully, road conditions were good, but even for this small amount of snow, school let out today. Down here, we get excited about even the smallest flurry. I think this is the first time I've seen it snow here since getting married (it'll be 5 yrs this summer).

(Jack on the back porch.)


The scene from our back porch.

You can see it was coming down pretty hard at times. This is our street sign.

A lot of birds were visiting our feeder today. There were some very pretty cardinals and robins that really stood out against the white backdrop.

Mark building a snowman.

The finished product.