Meet Puppy Jack...

I know you all are going to think I am crazy but... we got a puppy.

Let me start at the beginning... A couple of years ago my grandparents and my cousin each got a dog - a malchi (maltese chihuahua mix). Sugar and Willis were from the same litter. Then last year when another litter came along, my aunt got one too, Elvis - a brother to the others - just from a different litter. Eric and I had talked about it back then, that if we were going to get a little dog we should go through the same breeder since we knew how good the dogs were. Pacey had been around Willis and Sugar and they were both great with her.

Last fall we heard from Terri, my aunt - the same mother and father dog were expecting a litter over the winter... well that wound up to be a false pregnancy and we were told that maybe the breeder would try again in the spring. We didn't really think much of it, especially after we found out that we were expecting.

About 4 weeks ago, I got an email from Terri saying that there was a malchi pup available for us if we were still interested. We talked it over and decided that while the timing was not so great - we would go ahead and get the pup... after all, this would be our last opportunity since the breeder would be spaying the mother after this litter. Plus, this pup was especially bred for us. The breeder had bred the mother, a chihuahua with male chihuahua then remembered that we wanted a malchi so she then put the mother in with the maltese stud - I know it sounds crazy and a bit gross but it worked. We got our malchi and the rest of the litter were full bred chihuahuas.

Wow, as I type this it really does sound insane but trust me, once we saw his cute face we couldn't say no.

We planned a trip to get him, to North Carolina, the weekend of March 14th. We got him on Saturday the 15th and he has been with us ever since. It has been a bumpy road for Jack (named after Captain Jack Sparrow) he was under a pound when we got him and has had some episodes of low blood sugar. We had to put him on puppy formula and syringe feed him increasing from every hour to every 4. He is now doing well, eating every 4 hours - a mixture of formula and wet food - and hasn't had a low blood sugar episode in almost a week.

Again, I know you all are thinking that I must be insane, and maybe I am but we are hooked on Puppy Jack (as Pacey calls him) and wouldn't have it any other way.

Long time, no post...

Wow, I know it has been a long time since my last post. Everything is fine with me and the baby. I am approaching my 16th week and I can't believe how time is flying by. I go back to see Drs. Sweeny and Lance in my 18th week. We will be leaving that appointment with a lot of information. They will be able to get a look at the baby's organs and systems and likely be able to tell if everything has developed without complications. We may even know the sex of the baby after that appointment. I saw Dr. Buckson a couple of weeks ago and got to hear the babies heart beat again. I asked her, "according to the old wives tale about the baby's heart rate, am I having a boy or girl?" She said "well it would be a girl, if only it were that simple" We will just have to wait and see.

a little scare...

Today we had quite a scare. I tripped coming down the concrete steps in front of our house, fell down 2 steps and landed in the driveway. I broke my fall (somewhat) with my toes, knees, and hands but I did land on my belly and it was a hard hit. Eric was home - he had taken the day off - and rushed out to help me up. I was obviously very upset but Pacey had an ENT appointment at 8am and we were on our way there. I decided to go on but called my OB while in route and she advised me to go to the emergency room. I took Pacey to her appointment and called Eric. He came to the ENT office and stayed with Pacey while I went on to the ER. I called Mom, and she and Dad (also off from work) met me there. I was terrified but tried to stay calm. By the time I was answering questions in triage, Eric and Pacey were there. Pacey stayed with Grammy and Grandpa in the lobby while we waited in the back. The nurse was able to hear the baby's heartbeat but wanted to send me for an ultrasound to be safe. Back out to the lobby to wait for the doctor... when we were called back, Mom and Dad took Pacey and went home as we knew we would be there for a while. The doctor came in right away but it took quite a while to go for the ultrasound. When we finally did, we were relieved to hear and see the heartbeat as well as little arms and legs moving about. All was well. An hour later the doctor came in to confirm that everything was fine and we were on our way. Not the way we had planned to spend our day - especially Eric who had big plans to get things done around the house - but we are so thankful that everything is fine. I am sore from head to toe and will probably hurt worse tomorrow, but all is well with the baby.

Growing Babies...

Several weeks ago, I came to the realization that I would need to stop working with a particular student who was just too physically demanding for me now that I am pregnant. I was very nervous about how his mother would take the news but she was great. I just thought I would share here email with you all. (I changed their names to first initials)

Hi Carrie,

First let me say congratulations! There is nothing more exciting than a baby on the way.

That being said, if anyone knows about high risk pregnancies, it is me. As I am sure you are aware, because of E’s extreme prematurity, I was considered extremely high risk when I was pregnant with M. I was put on modified bed rest at around 25weeks and full bed rest about a month later. With weekly visits to a perinatologist, weekly progesterone shots, and lots of rest, I was able to keep M in until one day shy of 36 weeks. No one thought I’d make it much past 36 weeks and it was our ultimate goal. I saw Dr’s Sweeney and Lance during that pregnancy – they are high risk doctors in Annapolis. They did a wonderful job easing my mind during pregnancy. Because M’s pregnancy showed them that my body is incapable of carrying a pregnancy full term without a lot of intervention, I was told that any other pregnancies would require bed rest to start at the beginning of the second trimester. Needless to say, I think we are quite content with our two beautiful children.

Please don’t feel guilty about this. I am sure that Eva and her team will do a fine job working with E. I will certainly be thinking about you over the next several months and wish the best for you and your baby. It is not easy growing babies, especially when high risks are involved. Rest up and be good to yourself.

All my best,

Sara

No news - is good news...

Hi friends, sorry I did not post after my appointment on Friday - No worries, all is well. We braved the ice storm and went to the appointments. I had an 8:30 with the diabetic educator who is also a diabetic and pump wearer. When I walked in she said " I thought you were gestational diabetes but your not, are you?" I said, "Nope, I am a lifer..." she said "well, I don't think I have anything to teach you." She probably didn't but it was nice to sit and talk to someone who knows EXACTLY what I am going through - very refreshing.

We finished up early so I moved on over for my ultrasound - we got to see and hear the baby's heart beat - I love that sound. The images were nothing to write home about - very blurry and hard to tell what anything was. The tech pointed out the head and arm buds but they are really not visible on the pictures. Finally, I know exactly how far I am. Based on my new due date, I was 10 weeks, 3 days at the time of my appointment - the baby measured 10 weeks, 4 days - I figure he/she knows best - I was officially 11 weeks on Monday.

I go back to see Sweeny and Lance in 8 weeks - at that time they will be able to check the babies organ development and maybe even determine the sex.

My next appointment with Buckson in about 3 weeks. Say some prayers for me that I can keep all of this straight. Between my endo, OB, and high risk OB plus Pacey's ENT and 4 year check up - we have at least one appointment a week!

Dr. Buckson doesn't play...

I had an appointment with my regular OB today, Dr. Buckson. From my previous posts you know that I find this woman's sense of humor refreshing and relaxing. Today, she asked me if I had any religious beliefs that would interfere with her giving me a transfusion should I lose too much blood during delivery. I told her, "No" then while she was making note of it in my chart, I said, "I fully expect you to save my life... how is that for pressure?" She smiled and said, "I have never lost one yet, I have no problem pumping you full of blood and yankin' out your uterus to save your life, cuz I don't play!" My response… "Good!"


The outcome of the appointment other than establishing that I would gladly accept an transfusion - My due date has been officially changed to September 16th - my Uncle Harry's birthday! That makes me 10 weeks.


I go back to the high risk doctor next Friday - I will have another ultrasound to post after that visit. Say a prayer for us that the baby's heart and spine are developing normally - those are the 2 major issues for diabetic mothers.

Ultrasound pic...

Well, we finally got a new scanner and I was able to scan our first ultrasound photo. It was taken on January 25th when I was 6 1/2 or 7 1/2 weeks - depending on which doctor you ask...

I return to the OB on Thursday, I will keep you all posted.

I decided today (2/14) that in this picture it looks like I am pregnant with a rubber ducky - no wonder Pacey thought it was a bird!

Shopping...

God bless America... where they house elections in county schools and we teachers get the day off!

After taking the cat to the vet for her annual checkup where Pacey did announce that "Mommy has a baby in her belly but we don't know if it is a girl yet!" we met Mom at the mall for some traditional "day off from school in the middle of the week" shopping. We had a delicious lunch at CPK - where the thought of salads made me queezy - so I ordered the Mandori Mango Chicken pizza -YUM! We had the sweetest waitress who I perplexed with my pregnant diabetic question, "Do you have anything that is sugarfree and de-caf?" Her first response was "coffee" so I ordered an ice water with lemon with intentions of making my own lemonaide at the table. After bringing our drinks she returned to the table and said that she had figured out some other options for me - she could make me an italian soda with club soda and sugar-free flavored syrup - and she did - mango flavored to match my pizza - I was in heaven and so was she because I gave her a generous tip.

After lunch we wandered the mall and wound up at Motherhood Maternity. Four years ago, our local Motherhood store did not carry plus sized clothes and the clerks were super snotty when I asked them why...but now things have changed. They had some really cute things. I tried on clothes for an hour or more. Mom and Pacey would bring me different sizes and of course Pacey thought I looked "so beautiful" that she had to give me a kiss everytime I opened the fitting room door. We had a good laugh when I tried on the strap-on-belly-pillow under a dress. Pacey kept trying to lift the dress to see it, all the while showing my business to the whole store... ahh good times. I made it out of there with 4 new bottoms and 2 new tops - I am pretty psyched. I used what was left of the mall gift card I got from Dad for Christmas but the rest was on me - good thing tomorrow is payday!

Dancing Queen

Last Saturday was Pacey's dance show. It was all pretty adorable. The girls were all dressed in matching costumes - black with white polka dots and a BIG pink bow. They did 2 routines in the dance room - tap and ballet. Then, in the gym, they went through a balance beam and bar routine. Pacey's fan club was in attendance - Bryan, Summer, Mom-Mom, Pop-Pop, Grammy and Grandpa - it was standing room only!

Here are 2 video clips that I took with my digital camera - Enjoy!

Having technical difficulties - will try to get videos uploaded soon. I still can't get the videos up but I was able to load some pics - enjoy.

What kind of baby?

Last Friday (1/25) I had my first ultrasound. Eric went with me and we were able to see our little "blob". We got to see the heart beating - Amazing! Everything seems fine for right now, it is too early in the game to know of any diabetic related defects. We will have a better understanding of the heart and spinal development closer to 18 weeks. Which brings me to my next topic. Dr. Buckson calculated my due date for September 9th putting me at 9 weeks this coming Monday. However, Dr Lance (who is in with Dr. Sweeny) said that the baby was measuring 1 week smaller than we thought - he did not change my due date and maybe Buckson won't either. I am eagar to see her again on 2/14 to know exactly how far along I am.

After getting the ultrasound photo - which I will upload once our scanner is working - we decided to tell Pacey the news. I showed her the picture and asked her if she knew what it was,

"a bird?"
"no, its not a bird, its a baby"
"what kind of baby?"
"a baby, baby"
"a baby squirell?"
"no, a real baby - its inside mommy's belly"
I explained to her how I will have to go the doctor for check ups and that Pacey will get to see the baby on a special TV when the doctor puts a camera on my belly to take a picture of the baby - after everything, I asked Pacey how she felt about it,
"sad"
"why are you sad, this is very exciting"
"I am sad because you have to go to the doctor."

Well, I wasn't really sure of how much she understood until she started retelling the story to EVERYONE we saw, including a young couple with a new baby at Starbucks. She gets it, alright. She has even picked up on the fact that the baby is making my belly upset. Pacey has also started talking to the baby and kissing it good night, so sweet.