The Revealing Date

I received a call today from the maternal/fetal specialist and we will be having the ultrasound on January 18th! So, hopefully if all goes well and the little one cooperates (unlike Camden who we had to go back a second time to find out the sex) we will know if we are having a boy or girl!

Appointment - 16 Weeks

Today I had another appointment with my OBGYN. I was not looking forward to the weigh in due to the holiday goodies I have been partaking of! Well, to be honest, I know what my weight was at the doctor, but pregnancy brain has got me and I have no idea what my starting weight was so, I either have gained 5 or 8 pounds ( I am leaning more towards the eight). At my next appointment I will definitely figure out what my starting weight was so I can know for certain! Anyway, the babies heartbeat was 145 bpm and was nice and strong. I discussed with Dr. Bruce some of the gastrointestinal issues I have been having and she suggested some over the counter medications to try and said if they didn't work, then she could prescribe me something for the heartburn that is plaguing me at my next appointment. I had heartburn with Camden, but it definitely wasn't this early in the pregnancy!

Dr. Bruce is sending me to a maternal fetal specialist for an in depth anatomical and physiological ultrasound due to my advanced maternal age as well as the fact that I denied all of the extra testing for Downs Syndrome, spina bifida, etc. With Camden I also did not have any of the extra testing performed knowing that it would not change the outcome of me having my child, but I understand that it is best to be prepared both mentally as well as from the doctor's aspect so she can have any resources available that may be needed during delivery if there is a possibility of any abnormalities. She is hoping that they schedule my appointment in 2 to 3 weeks which would be great because I will be finding out the sex of the baby at that ultrasound, which is a week or two sooner than I expected. That particular doctor's office should be calling me in the next day or two to schedule that appointment and I will definitely let you know once the appointment is scheduled!

Pictures - 22 months

On December 3rd, Camden had some professional pictures taken. Here are our favorites:

Christmas 2011

I was very much looking forward to this Christmas since Camden is at an age where he gets excited about things and is just trying to figure out the whole Santa thing. He did something amazing this morning, which was sleeping in until 8:35 am. This never happens, so that was an awesome Christmas gift for his parents! While I was getting the video camera and camera ready, daddy went and got him out of bed and brought him downstairs. When he saw that Santa left him some toys, he smiled really big and started playing with them. Santa apparently knew how much he LOVES to play with pots and pans at school and  left him some pots and pans with some utensils. Santa also left him an RV with some people, a dog and all sorts of little odds and ends to go in the RV since he has really been interested in having people ride in and on things. Along with some odds and ends in his stocking including some Kit Kats (or Kitty Kats as he refers to them which are his favorite), he was thrilled with what Santa left him!



Notice the utensils in his hand, he had a hard time putting them down.

After eating breakfast, we all opened up our gifts from one another. Camden really got the hang of opening up his present and enjoyed ripping off the paper. It was too cute when he opened one of his gifts and said, "Oh wow!" (Not sure where he got that from!) We spent the whole morning playing with all of Camden's new toys. It really gives Christmas a whole new meaning when you have a little one in the house and can see such joy and excitement on their face. 

Attempting to open gifts while holding on to his utensils

Merry Christmas!

A picture with the plate Camden made at school for Shane and me for Christmas

Giving the Alabama football ornament a kiss

I will take this time to give a pregnancy update. I am now 16 weeks, and though I thought the nausea was gone after week 14, it revisited me Sunday and Monday night and then yesterday and today I have been horribly miserable. I am not certain why the nausea feels the need to linger on, but I would be more than happy for it to go for good. It makes me wonder if this is just more of a sign that it might be a girl - in 4 or so weeks I guess we will know for certain!

Merry Christmas

Camden's foot prints

Hood Family Christmas

We headed to Lumberton on Thursday in order to spend Christmas with them today. Camden did not sleep well Thursday night, which pretty much exhausted me all of Friday. At 1:25 am he and I headed to the couch to sleep. After him stirring around for an hour and literally kicking me off of the couch onto the floor, he finally fell asleep around 2:45 am. I laid there the most of the night, feeling the baby move and just waiting for morning to come. So Friday, I laid around in my pajamas until around 4:00 pm when I finally got up and got dressed so I could go and meet my best friend Lisa for some sushi and good conversation. Now, no one fret, everything we ate was cooked! As usual, we had a great time laughing and catching up!

Today we woke up and got ready for a great breakfast with Shane's family. After eating, Poppa Ron read the story of Christmas from the Bible and then we opened gifts. Camden received several different kinds of trucks that make noise along with some clothes.

Camden and Gavin playing with their new toys

His big gift from Nana and Poppa Ron was a motorized ATV. He had fun riding it outside with his cousing Gavin, despite the cold and slight drizzle.

The cousins racing on their ATVs.

I Love That Feeling

I have been looking forward to feeling the baby kick and move inside my belly, but honestly was not expecting it just yet. I was about 17 1/2 weeks along with Camden when I felt him kick, but they do say with your second you can feel it sooner depending on your body shape. Well, earlier in the week, I would think that I felt a little something, but as with Camden, just chalked it up to gas. Well, I decided today it was definitely baby movement and can I say, I just love that feeling!!!

Picture with Santa

I must be honest and say I never took the time to take Camden to the mall to see our favorite Santa. I thought about it multiple times, but finally just told myself that next year when I have two children we will definitely make it to the mall to take our picture with the Santa there. Camden did however get to take a picture with Santa here in our neighborhood. I was anxious to see how he would react, since last year he was full of nothing but tears and anxiety when he sat on Santa's lap. This year, there were no tears, however he still appeared fearful. He sat for a picture and did give Santa a high five, but then was ready to be done with it all.

Key Family Christmas

Today we celebrated Christmas with my family. Since we had Thanksgiving at our home, my sister agreed that we could have Christmas at their house. However due to some time constraints, we went and ate at our local favorite Mexican restaurant, which was as delicious as ever. After that, we returned to Melissa's house and opened gifts. It seems everyone received what they wanted or asked for.

Dad enjoying time with Braden and Camden

Camden received some Mega Blocks, cars, DVDs, a nice ornament and a tricycle. Mom had been asking me what she and Dad could get Camden and I finallly came up with a bike of some sort. He loves seeing kids in the neighborhood ride bikes as well as in any of his books. I figured he would be thrilled with a bike. Well, he did not disappoint. We all opened our gifts and after everyone was done, my Dad went and got the bike from the garage and brought it inside. Camden was playing with two Jeep cars he received. The minute he saw the bike, he turned directly to Mason and handed him both his Jeeps and headed towards the bike.

Notice Mason has the Jeeps

The smile on his face was priceless! He climbed directly on his bike and was thrilled!!! He would not get off of his bike, so we ended up taking our family picture with Camden on his bike!

Camden's Christmas Party

Today was Camden's annual Christmas/Book Exchange party at school. I really like this day because the kids are to wear their pajamas to school and I love seeing all the kids in their pajamas. Since Camden is loving snowmen this year, I bought him snowmen pajamas. They are made of a real soft fleece, and when I put them on him this morning and he felt them, he let out a big, "Ohhhhhh". And of course, since he can't wear tennis shoes with pajamas, I put on some Elmo slippers that my great friend Lorrie gave him. When I put them on them, he was afraid to walk in them. After he realized they were okay to walk in, he decided he would wear them to school. I went ahead and sent his tennis shoes to school, not certain how long he would wear the Elmo slippers. Well, when I arrived at school to pick him up, he was sitting on the floor reading a book and I noticed his Elmo slippers were still on. Ms. Caroline told me that he had not taken them off all day long and anytime a friend touched his slippers, he would let them know that he was not too fond of them touching HIS Elmo slippers.

Ms. Caroline said he had a great time at the party eating pizza, goodies and exchanging gifts with his friends. We are so glad he has such a great school, teachers, and friends to spend his days with while we are at work. We are very blessed!!

The Drano Test

As you may recall, when I was pregnant the first time I did the Drano test before we had the ultrasound to see what it would say the sex of our baby was. Our friends that told us about the test had 100% accuracy with the test predicting the correct sex 12 times and with its prediction of a boy for us, they then became 13-0. Well, this morning I once again performed the Drano test for fun, to see what it had to say. I am a bit nervous to say that the test said a girl. If this is true, Shane better start preparing for a life of being poor. I guess in 6 weeks we will know for certain if the Drano test once again was right!



The Results



Neurology Appointment

I had an appointment today with a neurologist, Dr. Santamaria. The main reason for this appointment was to get established with a neurologist in the event that the ocular neuritis reoccurs with this pregnancy, as well as the need to have a follow up MRI after the baby arrives.  Dr. Bruce recommended him and said I would like him. He did not disappoint. He was extremely nice and knowledgeable. He agreed with the treatment and follow up I have received up to this point regarding my ocular neuritis. After hearing my history and reviewing my past MRIs, he told me he truly did not think that the ocular neuritis would reoccur with this pregnancy - which I pray he is completely correct. However, if it does reoccur, he did let me know that I would have to go through the same testing and treatment as I did when pregnant with Camden. That would include a lumbar puncture, MRI and IV steroids. Then after the baby is born, he would recommend that I start medication for multiple sclerosis, but he said we would have to have much more discussion if that did occur. The only positive point that came with that bit of news is that he did not see the need for me to be admitted to the hospital if it did reoccur; he instead felt everything could be performed outpatient. So, the high point of the visit was the fact that he truly does not feel it will reoccur, and the low point is the fact that I would have to go through the same treatment if it does - UGH!!!! If no ocular neuritis occurs, he would still like to do a follow up MRI after the baby is born and again in 2 years. If those both look well, then he feels like I should be in the clear. I will continue to pray that the ocular neuritis does not reoccur not only with this pregnancy, but also in the future.

Appointment - 12 Weeks

Today I had my 12 week OB appointment with Dr. Bruce. Of course my weight was obtained, which was up 4 pounds from my starting pregnancy weight. The babies heart rate was 160 bpm, which is a bit faster than the 144 bpm that Camden had at 13 weeks. Dr. Bruce reviewed my labwork and told me that my thyroid is low, which we will recheck at 28 weeks, Also, my Vitamin D is low and I was instructed to start Vitamin D 1000IU  2 tabs daily and again it will be rechecked at 28 weeks.

I find it very interesting that just 2 years ago I was pregnant, and so much has already changed with some of the prenatal care. For instance, I am taking a prenatal vitamin but along with it I am taking a DHA vitamin. Also I don't even recall them checking my Vitamin D level during my last pregnancy, but I do know that the Vitamin D issue is more of a hot topic right now. It ought to be interesting to see what else will be different as the weeks progress.

As to how I have been feeling, I still have some nausea, but it is not daily. It seems my energy has still not gotten back to where I would like it. I am definitely more exhausted this first trimester then when I was pregnant with Camden. The evenings seem to be a really bad time for me and when I seem to be feeling the worst. It also seems if I do too much, like when Mom and I spent the day after Thanksgiving doing some shopping, then I definitely pay for it the next day. That is really hard for me because I feel like I am being lazy and not getting near as much accomplished as I want. I am definitely looking forward to some energy returning in the second trimester. Also, even though my weight is 5 pounds less at this time in my pregnancy then when I was pregnant with Camden, I am feeling much 'larger'. I again am taking pictures of my progression in the same outfit as I did with Camden.

12 Weeks

Sharing the News

After keeping the news of our upcoming arrival a secret from my co-workers, I finally decided to share with them today since I am now 12 weeks. It was fun seeing some of their reactions. No one had any idea, although some did comment that they noticed I had not been myself off and on. Those are probably the times when my nausea is at its worst and I probably was not my spry self. The two ladies that work the closest with me commented that they knew I had been in my office more, but had not realized I was in there eating snacks. Oh goodness, if only they knew. I was eating at least every 2 hours to ward off the nausea. Glad that somewhat is coming to an end.

First Hair Cut

Before my parents left today, I had one final job for my mom and that was to give Camden his first hair cut. As I have mentioned before, I have such a hard time with his hair due to the crazy 8 cowlick he has on the front of his head. I do realize that the best option for that would be to cut it very short and just spike it up a little in the front, however I am not even remotely ready for my baby to turn into a little boy. So, I had mom just trim up his hair since it was hanging over his ears as well as his collar.

She cut off quite a bit, which was needed, and I think he looks very handsome!

Some of Camden's hair

 

A view of the back of his hair

Grandma Key and Camden

Thanksgiving

Today we had a houseful of family and it could not have been any nicer. Between Shane's family and my family we had a total of 20 people. I must say I was a bit nervous as to how we were going to fit everyone, if we would have enough food, and if all the food would be ready at the same time, but everything was great! My parents came in yesterday, and mom and I started cooking pretty much right after they got here. Mom made pies, while I worked on the cornbread dressing. We did as much preparation as we could so that today would not be as stressful.

We originally thought we would sit everyone indoors in various places, but after seeing what a beautiful day it was, Shane suggested we put all the tables together and sit in the garage. That turned out to be a fabulous idea. We had a long table with 16 places, and then a kids table with 4 places. The food was great, we had plenty and it was all ready at the appropriate time.

It was great seeing some of Shane's family that we had not seen in awhile. It was definitely a long trip for them and we were very glad to have them celebrate Thanksgiving here in Texas with us.

Shane playing with Gavin and Camden

Camden trying to act like Mason and Braden

Things I Love

I have to comment about how much I love my child!!! He has such a sweet soul, and it makes me so proud. He LOVES to give kisses to me, which melts my little heart. He can be eating in his high chair, and just grab my hand and kiss it. Sometimes we will be sitting and watching television and he will just lean over and kiss me. Other times he will just want to grab my hand and hold it. LOVE HIM!!!!!

He is talking really well right now, and even says complete sentences. It definitely makes communication with him much easier. Some of my favorite things he says are, 'Yes' - the reason I love it so is because he sound so proper when he says it because the emphasis is on the 's'. Another cute word he says is 'barbeque' - which sounds like 'bar-b-coo'. And then there is the alphabet song! I can't even begin to tell you all the cute ways he says different things as he sings that song, but it is precious. I definitely need to video tape it! I also love how instead of calling my parents Grandma and Grandpa, he calls them G-Ma and G-pa. Too cute!!!!

Another thing I love is when Camden shows you his muscles. If you ask him to show you his muscles, instead of putting his arms up, he looks like he has wings and says, "Muscle!" And for some reason, he skips the number 5 when counting to 10. I am not sure what his issue is with the number 5, but he totally leaves it out every time. He also loves to imitate different things Shane and I do, like crossing our arms or legs when we sit. He studies very closely just how we have our arms or legs and then makes sure his looks exactly like ours. It reminds us just how closely we are being watched!

What Goes Around . . . .

When Shane went to pick up Camden from school today, Ms. Caroline informed him that Camden had been bit by one of his friends. She was very sad that it happened to 'her boy'. When Shane texted me and told me, my first reaction was to be mad. But how could I after Camden has bit several of his friends. So instead I was sad for Camden, especially after I saw the little bruise with bite marks on his back. But, as I told Shane, what goes around comes around.

Hazel "Maw Maw" Barnett

On Friday night, we received some very sad news that Shane's grandmother had passed away. To be honest, we were a bit shocked because just the day prior we had received an e-mail from Shane's mom that said Maw Maw seemed to be improving. She had been ill and in the hospital for awhile, but as I said, seemed to be improving. However on Friday, her sweet heart decided it was tired and she decided it was time to go and meet her dear Lord and Savior. How comforting that she had three of her sons, two daughter-in-laws and two granddaughters there at her bedside to be with her as she entered the Promise Land. Due to circumstances, I was unable to go to Alabama with Shane for the funeral, which was very hard. You see, Shane's family in Alabama is like family to me. Even though we were so far away from our immediate family when we lived in Tuscaloosa, we always had his family in Birmingham - which included Maw Maw, Ira, Ronald and Manya, Harold and Carol and numerous of Shane's cousins. We were invited often to Maw Maw's where she always had a big spread of food waiting for us. She always had her famous, delicious, homemade biscuits (which you could never get enough of) as well as home- made macaroni and cheese, ham, black eyed peas, green beans and several other things. She always made sure you left full and satisfied.

On your birthday, you ALWAYS got a card with money in it. Even as she was in the hospital over the past few months, in and out of consciousness, when she was able to communicate that her biggest concern was if her family members who had or were about to have a birthday received their card from her (because she always had them filled out and ready to go in the mail). You see, that is the type of person she was - always thinking of her family and putting them first.

Maw Maw, you will be dearly missed by so many that knew you. I appreciate you taking me in as a granddaughter and being so thoughtful and caring.