18 Months - It Seems Such a Short Time Ago That She Was Just a Little Baby!

I wanted to wait until today to post so that some vital stats could be included! At the official 18 month checkup, Julia weighed in at a Tinkerbell-ish 22.6 pounds, which is actually a significant increase considering how sick she was in the last month (more on that in a minute). Her height is now 31 1/2 " long and her noggin is 17 3/4 " in diameter - this is good because she was on the low side in the last round, which was cause for concern (although dad and I think there was a measurement error that the nurse will not admit to). Overall, she is in good health and on-track developmentally, according to Dr. "Let's Wait and See".
In the last month, Julia had her first bout with urinary tract infections, which is no picnic for people with a vocabulary and especially not fun for little people who can't tell you what's wrong. The kicker is that once we took her in to find out what the problem might be, we were told to wait a few more days, which wasn't very much fun for anyone involved. Once diagnosed (which involved catheterization - another "not fun" activity), the doctor was concerned that this might be a bigger issue, which lead to a trip to the hospital for testing, which Julia did not like at all. Even the ultrasound was detested. The news came back as good and we did find out why cathetering her is difficult.
As you saw in the last post, Julia is now walking which means she's getting into everything. It's actually very cute to have her follow us around and "help" with whatever we're doing - laundry, dishes, vacuuming, etc. Right now she's big into helping. She helps us get her in and out of her highchair and car seats (this includes buckling). And just yesterday she was standing in the doorway as I was trying to get in and out of the porch area to grill some chow and when I said, "Excuse me" she stepped aside to let me out and then went back to her post as door guard. or whatever it was she was doing. She's also very big with taking the kitchen towel off of the oven door and wiping the floor. Apparently she does this at school because they asked if she helped clean at home. I said, "Well, sort of - if you mean "does she wipe things with towels" then yes. If you mean actual cleaning, I will refer to the DVD pile she leaves daily in the living room after she pulls them all from the shelf and say no." Along with this new mobile independence comes an impishness - she likes to try to push our buttons and see how far she can get with what she knows she shouldn't do. I have yet to capture the look she gives us, but it is precious in its naughtiness.
It may seem that we're a bit biased, but Julia is also sharp as a tack. On a daily basis she picks up daddy's iPad and requests certain games to be played or books read on it. If this is not done immediately, she either whines until it IS done immediately or, more recently, has figured out how to get the iPad to work and is now doing it herself. It is a little scary to watch an 18 month old comprehensively using a piece of technology that some adults have a hard time getting to work. On a less technological note, she can make several animal noises (mum is so proud), continues to have a wickedly funny sense of humor, and now doles out real kisses when asked (and sometimes spontaneously, like when she's home from school). And apparently everything good is called "daddy" - daddy very much likes that.

New Routines

Well, like it or not, Steven and I are now back at work - Steven had a four-week head start on getting into the groove of work, which means that Julia and I are on our second transition; for the first six weeks, Steven or I would take Kennedy to school, then come back home to do whatever Julia needed (which, thankfully, included taking naps when she did). The last four weeks has been a similar pattern with me getting up to make some tea, eat some breakfast, take Kennedy to school and then come home and crash with Julia for a few hours because she had kept me up a good chunk of the night. Yesterday was our first day of life with two working parents - Steven taking Julia to the sitter and me taking Kennedy to her dad's (since she's on break this week, which means another transition next week because as of today, we wouldn't have made the tardy bell - oops). We've got a few kinks to work out.
So, you may be asking: did Wendy cry? I'll be big about this - yes, I did. In fact, all last week was difficult for me because I knew I only had so many days left. Saturday and Sunday were particularly rough with me fighting off tears for much of the time while trying to be all cool and whatnot around the family; once I was home and putting youngsters to bed, the gloves were off, so to speak - waterworks galore. Monday's drive in was challenging as well, but I kept it cool - once I got home, though . . .well, I think we all needed cuddles.
Update on being a baby: Julia is sleeping much better, thanks to something called "gripe water" - handily found in any pharmacy, this liquid wonder has been around for over 100 years and boast the ability to sooth colicky infants. Century-old or not, this herbal infusion has been a godsend, as has the addition of probiotics to Julia's diet. Yes, she still farts like a mad fiend, but at least she's not doing her Jekyl and Hyde act on a daily basis with Daytime Baby being so angelic and sweet and Nighttime Baby being equally cute, but very loud and fussy.
Also in the news, smiling is very big and thanks to taking countless pictures, we FINALLY got one of her smiling (most shots were the immediate emotional phase after a smile - usually interest or confusion). She is a doll (this is a direct quote from Steven's grandma, who met her great-grandchild a week ago)!

She Ain't No April Fool

Ah - we must apologize for not posting recently. Believe it or not, having a newborn takes up a lot of time. Aside from the care-taking, we do spend a good chunk just staring at her - for good things, like wonderment at such a beautiful being and the daily changes in her appearance and capabilities, and for other things, like wondering what the hell we're still doing up at 4 a.m. and why what worked to calm her last night isn't working tonight.
There are more pictures . . .tons more, and I'll get those up here shortly. In the meantime, in observance of April Fool's Day, here's a guide to all things Julia:

Zodiac Sign: Aquarius ("When the Moon is in the Seventh House, and Jupiter aligns with Mars . . ." Yeah, now that's going to be in your head all day - MWAAA-HAA-HAA)
Chinese Zodiac: Ox (Just like Big Sis - how cool is that?)
Eye Color: Turning blue - kind of like the sea after a storm
Hair Color: Light brown, but after a bath or in the sunlight has blond-ish look with red highlights (hmmm - could we have a Ginger on our hands?)
Favorite Activities: Cuddling, eating, smiling, cooing, screaming, sleeping and farting (not necessarily in that order)
Enjoys: Being in her Baby Bjorn carrier while shopping, watching the ceiling fan, holding her head up, sleeping in weird positions, being naked, kisses, bath time, and looking adorable
Skills: Peeing all over herself and yet totally missing the diaper when being changed, collecting "neck cheese", and wrapping her daddy around her pinkie
Things She Doesn't Like: SHOTS, having to wait to eat for more than a nanosecond, gas and poop, when mommy gets shampoo in her eyes, and being put down when she wants to be cuddled (which is always)

Flipper's Shower

This past weekend, we were treated to an awesome baby shower by Steven's mom and sisters - as you can see from the picture, we enjoyed ourselves (note laughter abounding to the left). And to appease those who keep asking to see what I look like, take note of picture to the right which demonstrates not only my buffalo belly, but the approximate position and activity of its contents.
It was a beautiful and cold day, but despite the frigid temperatures, we were very happy to spend time with friends and family - in fact, we were overwhelmed by the love and generosity! It was a great day - thanks to all who were a part of it!
Alas, after a great party and some additional time with family sorting through gifts and assembling stuff that requires some assembly, we retired to our customary places in the living room, in our PJs, doing what we normally do on a Saturday night (hanging from chandeliers, making prank phone calls, egg tossing . . .) when tragedy struck - the frozen water pipe issue we were trying to solve turned ugly. Yep, the pipe cracked. Behind a wall. And flooded three areas. At the time, we didn't know it was behind the wall - we thought it was under the concrete. So, quick action stopped the water flow, Sham-WOW and a shop vac caught some of the worst flooding, and the patience and help of Steven's parents kept us in comfort while we sorted through repairs and clean-up.
In the meantime, amidst the chaos of our house, we were able to take a time out to watch the inauguration of Barack Obama all the while explaining to Flipper the significance of a day she'll never remember, even though, in a way, she was there. She was pretty active the whole time, moving around and pushing (she's been advocating for room expansion for the last few weeks - I told her "no").
All in all, it was an emotional roller-coaster of a weekend/week start but I can't say that it was bad at all - we got to see people we love, spent time together as a family in both fun and adversity, and saw history unfold. It's definitely a time we'll never forget . . .

So Far, We're Fine and TOMORROW is 30 Days

Ok, so a non-stress test (or NST, as they refer to it) is basically me sitting in an easy chair-like chair with heartbeat monitors hooked up to a thing that looks like a polygraph machine - you know, with the graph paper and all. The basic idea is to capture Flipper moving around to see what her heartrate is when active - if she's taking a nap, it doesn't work for them. So you sit around hoping the kiddo decides to play, read whatever magazines they have on hand (note to self: bring something in that's cool) and listen to the machine do its thing, which can be a little freaky, especially if you watch too many "Forensic Files" shows and slip into a moment when you think you're supposed to be answering quetions and yell for your lawyer. Anyhoo, we didn't get to talk with our doctor, which was a bit puzzling - the graph paper disappeared into the hall and next thing we know, we're told all is fine and "see you next week and then each week after in which you'll be doing this again." Wait, what was that? We hadn't gotten the "you'll be doing this often" memo, but I guess since I've got gestational diabetes (which the doc says is looking fine) and creeping blood pressure, they need to monitor closely. The weekely checkups start, well, I guess now. The technician working with us informed us that not only were we going to get to know her quite well, but that we were naming Flipper for her (her name is Lillian, by the way); for the record, no on the name, although I'm sure we'll get somewhat familiar with her - you tend to get to know people who put goo-covered monitor things on your exposed belly. In the near future, I'm sure I'll be great pals with the medical staff at Riverside hospital, whether I want to be or not.
In other news, we didn't get to do the ultrasound - apparently they were very busy yesterday and we hadn't been scheduled for it, even though both of us heard that Kim wanted to see what was going on - we plan to ask about that next week. So the bad news: no pictures to share this week. The good news: we must be doing ok because they sent us packing.
Last week I was griping about heartburn and insomnia; this week I will continue to gripe about insomnia but will add to it having a cold (thank you, Kennedy, for bringing that home) and doing a masterful job of pulling a lower back muscle - you know when you do it right, you can almost hear the "ping" of the muscle as it pulls. Anyhoo, that last action made life as I know it pretty interesting - it's already a task to walk, sit, stand, roll over (my God, I'm starting to sound like a trained dog), but add to that a reminder that I shouldn't have been putting dishes in the dishwasher . . .yes, I strained it doing something as simple as putting a bowl in the dishwasher. Isn't that pathetic? Of all the things . . .anyway, it's better now. Let's just hope I don't do some other benign activity and throw it out again.

Update

My last entry said something about updating you all on January 5th - we had a bit of a delay and didn't see the doc until today . . .something to do with a vehicular breakdown in Indiana and a hormonal pregnant woman meltdown, but I won't bore you with the details.
Here's the scoop:

• The 24 hour urine test (which I did study for, ad nauseum) came back as normal which is a very, very good thing. The main concern was that I might be dumping protein, but I'm not (in fact, it sounded like I was well within normal perameters). Too much protein in the whiz means naughty things are afoot, so from that standpoint, no nautiness.
• On the other hand, the blood pressure issue is a matter for caution. Although it's not off the scale, it is elevated for me, so Kim is keeping her eye on me. This means another appointment Monday with what she calls a "non stress test" (the meaning of which is a bit confusing to me, but apparently does not involve me having my feet massaged while sipping a glass of wine and watching live video of a calm beach in Belize) and - oh excitement of excitement - an ultrasound to see what Flipper is up to. Oh, and to see if the amniotic fluids have decreased and how the blood vessels and placenta are doing - you know, important stuff like that. I have never had a late stage ultrasound before and am super excited, even though the reason is to check for problems. Did I mention I was excited? We'll get to see pretty much what she will look like when she's born - that's really cool.

So, that's what's up. In related news, chronic heartburn sufferers have my complete sympathy, seeing as how it now keeps me up at night (and for which I now have a remedy - thank you Kim), insomnia comes and goes but tends to have a lot to do with my body getting sore at night and a little somebody thinking late night bathroom trips are her cue to start playing, and I have a belly that seems to resemble something akin to a watermelon (although much less green). I am sadly watching my navel go from "innie" to "turkey timer". Still, Flipper is a daily source of entertainment for Steven, Kennedy and I and will continue to be so, even when she's busy doing whatever she's doing now on the "outside" (and I'm hoping to catch some of her shenannigans while seeing ultrasound so I know just exactly what she's been doing).

So She Really IS Sugar and Spice?

We had the first real snow here this morning - my favorite kind, too - that big, fluffy stuff that sticks in all the branches and tall grasses. Makes for some nice scenery . . . and some bad drivers.
Ok, so here's the news from last week's test: unlike other people, who will either be well below or well above a threshold, I am just over - four points over the limit after a fast, and one flipping point over while zooming on glucose. Still, according to the doc, one point over is still considered in the zone for gestational diabetes, so I have it. Poopy. The good news is that they are planning to treat it with diet, as opposed to insulin shots (at this point, anyway), so I will meet with the dietitian tomorrow to find out how to test my own blood sugar (sounds ominous) and learn what I shouldn't be eating that apparently I have been eating but didn't know was giving me issues. Unfortunately, the first thought that comes to mind is that I can't have sweet stuff, which I normally don't gravitate to much, but now WANT. And what really honks me off was talking to a person the other day who gained 56 pounds with her recent bundle, having eaten ice cream, milk shakes, chocolate and all the otherr junk food crap that you're supposed to do in low doses (or balanced with good stuff) and she never contracted gestational diabetes - nor has she had a problem loosing all that baby weight. Makes me sick. Of course, I am old enough to be her mother . . .but that is beside the point. Maybe it was because she had a boy and I'm having a girl - girls are made of sugar and spice, right?

Food, Glorious Food

Eating is always a topic of discussion when it comes to being pregnant - everybody's all about "eating for two"; interestingly enough, current conventional wisdom suggests that we only need about 300 calories more a day than we did prior to becoming pregnant. Current personal wisdom suggests that fitting more than half a plate of food into my gullet in one sitting would be a bad idea, seeing as how internal space is at a premium. Ironic that my favorite holiday is soon approaching and I'll barely be able to scratch the surface of my favorite dishes. Boo. Good thing Thanksgiving usually means eating leftovers for a few days, eh?
So what has "pregnancy craving" meant for me - oddly enough, Flipper has had some interesting effects on my usual dining proclivities. While there have been no late night runs anywhere, or pickle and ice cream pairings, the first real and true craving I had (and within days of finding out about Flipper's presence) was for the very thing I had turned away from some nine years ago: meat. Yes, sports fans, this pesco-vegetarian (a vegetarian who eats fish) fell waaaaaaaaay, waaaaay off the tofu wagon. And guess what the mouth-watering, mega-craze item was that I could not live without for nearly a daily basis for the first 2-3 weeks . . .an Arby's roast beef sandwich. But here's the deal - now I won't touch it with a ten-foot pole; this is the other odd effect - my taste crave changes every so many weeks. For about a month, I may want carne asada tacos and tostados, or for six weeks it'll be Chinese food, or a trimester of egg and cheese croissants, or two weeks of blueberries. For the most part, I roll with it; apparently whatever I want is filling a basic need and for the most part, it's pretty healthy stuff - except the week I was all over those pumpkin doughnuts . . .oooooooh yes. The only item of real concern was at about the second trimester, I had a deep need for unsweetened iced tea (and still do); this needed to be passed through the OB because tea, while not a bad thing, does contain some caffeine - Kim said, "No big deal, and the caffeine thing is only an issue during the first trimester." So, I roll with that, too. Right now, though I am in an ambiguous phase; I don't get super cravings, so I don't always know what to eat. This gets frustrating. With Kennedy, the formula was pretty simple: Taco Bell. Anything with beans at Taco Bell. This would explain why she is so gassy.
Related to the food thing is the newest issue. Today's checkup went well - heartbeat is at a happy 145 and she's growing well. The issue is the glucose tolerance test in which my results came back one point over the cutoff for normal. What that means is that there is potential for gestational diabetes, although with it being one point over . . . chances are low. Anyhoo, this means a mandatory three-hour test with fasting, more glucola crapola drink and four more blood draws (a fasting baseline and three more draws at hour intervals). I look forward to this in very much the same way I look forward to getting stitches or speaking in front of 4,000 people. On the bright side, at least we'll know what's going on and how to deal with it. On the not-so-bright side, the glucola drink ruins Sunkist soda for me because it tastes just like it; good thing I don't drink soda much anyway.
So - cross your fingers for an "all clear" on Thursday!

As of today, there are 100 days left - well, according to the countdown thingy. Flipper will ultimately decide how many days are left, but it would be nice if she gave notice or something - maybe a letter of intent.
She's really been moving around (or at least thumping my innards with her appendages); the other day, Steven was lying with his ear on my belly to see if he could hear her, since he hasn't been able to feel her; he thinks he's heard her tapping. Once, from my perspective, she kicked him in the head - he heard it, but didn't feel it - I still thought it was funny.

Doin' the Civic Duty

Today is a pretty significant day in American history, and we've done our civic duty. It's rather sobering to think about the outcome of today - the new president and vice-president will barely have been sworn in when Flipper is born. These people will be integrated into her own personal history, and what's so . . .interesting, amazing, sobering, or what have you - is that Flipper will never have known a time when there hadn't been a non-Caucasian or a female in the White House. Isn't that something? From the get-go of her life, things will be different in our country and I think that's pretty cool. I hope you all played a part in making your voice known.
And one more thing - at least the TV ads and automated phone calls will be OVER, no matter what the outcome! If my write-in plan works, it'll be Gumby and Pokey . . .
Never the less, no matter what side of the "fence" you play on, remember to be civil, to value and respect one another, and to appreciate the differences - they are what make us truly . . .human.

Reminiscing

There are a lot of nice, fuzzy things about pregnancy - the fact that you're growing a new little being and knowing that in a matter of months you'll be holding a sweet, naked little pinkish thingy (to paraphrase "Babe: Pig in the City") can give you a pretty big lift. You'll hear people talk about this stuff all the time. What people don't often talk about are the things that, upon reading them, you think, "Oh, that's not a big deal - stuffy noses are mere child's play". Having forgotten these minor irritations, I am now remembering some of the less nice and fuzzy aspects of pregnancy that are rearing their heads - I will, however, spare you the somewhat icky or more personal aspects in my list of what I am now missing as a part of my pregnancy journey. Please note that this does not mean that I am not enjoying the experience - merely recalling fondly some of the abilities or indulgences that after about five months now I am realizing I am doing without.

Things I miss:

• my feet
• lying on my stomach
• an un-stuffy nose
• lifting things that I know I am capable of lifting
• getting out of bed or off of a chair or the floor without making it into a production of "Cirque du Soleil"
  
• wine with dinner
• being able to ignore (or at least tolerate) many smells
  
• the ability to speak articulately
• control of my gastronomic desires
• not being winded after walking upstairs
• memory longer than a nanosecond
• some of the foods I really used to groove on but now have no taste for (see "control of gastronomic desires")
  
• sleeping through the night without having to get up to pee at least twice
  

At 22 weeks, impersonating Julie Andrews atop Mt. Jeez near Malabar Farm State Park in Richland County, Ohio.
We took a mini family vacation this weekend to enjoy the fall colors, celebrate Steven's birthday, and get in touch with nature. Mmmmm, nature. We did a lot of tromping around!
If you're ever in the neighborhood of Richland/Ashland County, check out the farm, stay at a castle, do some leaf peeping, and visit a prison (which unfortunately we could not do due to haunted house age restrictions - yes, I am too young).

Our monthly checkup went off without a hitch yesterday (10/13); doc (Kim Shepherd) says things look good and reiterated that recent tests indicated that all was well. She did admit to laughing when she saw the report that Flipper was a girl; Kim was predicting a boy and told us a story about her own prediction woes with her three boys. Otherwise, Flipper is still playing hide and seek with daddy and Kennedy gained the distinction of having lost the last of her baby teeth yesterday while at the dentist's office. I, on the other hand, gained the distinction of having a small, molar cavity, but at least my teeth are clear of granite boulders.

She Likes to Move It, Move It

I remember the first time I felt Kennedy (some 11 years ago) - it was just like the books and all described it: like butterflies. With Flipper, she made herself known in no uncertain terms, skipping the butterfly phase and going straight for a healthy push. She goes through bouts of moving around, pushing and kicking, and I'm never sure of exactly what it means; some days are more active than others, though. One particular day about a week or so ago, she got fired up about us singing the Beatles' "Twist and Shout" and didn't quiet down for some time (hopefully this means she's a Beatles fan as opposed to punishing me for my vocal skills). All this movement, however, is felt pretty much by me at this point with no real impact on external feelers. I might be sitting around feeling a few notices of her presence and tell Steven, but by the time he reaches over it's done. It's almost like some game she's playing with him - I can almost imagine her giggling behind her little hand ("Ha ha Daddy! Try to catch me!"). She's lying on her side at this point, so at least we know where her feet are most of the time (and I know where her feet are every time she stretches and kicks- shees!).

The Specifics

Flipper Gibbous, a moniker to give us something to call the baby besides "the baby", is Flipper because all little guys start out with flippers and Gibbous because Steven is an Astronomy geek (plus, it just sounds cool - now I dare you to look it up).
Anyway, Flipper has gone through a few due dates: February 11, February 15, and now February 13 - the last two due to changes after ultrasound measurements (and how they know that Flipper is five and then two days behind original estimates is a complete mystery). The last date is kind of funny; February 13th is my brother's birthday, but it also happens to be Friday the 13th in 2009, a significant factor in that Steven was born on Friday the 13th and considers it quite lucky. I will consider myself lucky if I make it that long.
The most recent ultrasound (9/24) was very cool so wait for a hot minute because the photos should be up soon - things are looking good and we found out that we have a girl! It was neat for us because Kennedy and Steven's mom was there and it was great to share the experience with them; we've seen Flipper moving around before, but it was especially cool to see her doing her thing in front of big sis and Nana (well, that and she's much bigger now - oooo and she has finger and toe bones!). She wasn't as active as last time (thankfully, because it made taking the measurements easier), but she did do a really awesome karate kick, open and close her mouth, and move her hands around. She also tired of the attention, and like the apes at the zoo, turned her back when she was done with us. I could have watched her all day - in fact, when the technologist left and we were waiting on the doc, I was half tempted to play with the machine to look at what I wanted to see, instead of what the doc wanted to see; fortunately, the voice of reason stepped in before the doctor did - otherwise I would have been standing there like a kid with my hand in the proverbial cookie jar with a bystanding peanut gallery giving pointers. Still, it was a good day - we're happy, saw a healthy baby, and now have to get serious with girl names.

The Obligatory First Post

Some people start blogs like this the minute they think they're pregnant, others wait a bit to get some news, but people like me - well, we wait until we can figure out how to do this blog thing. A word of warning: don't expect anything over-the-top-firecrackers-shooting-out-of-your-keister fantastic; hormonal fluctuations will play havoc with my patience and ability to navigate the technical waters of the more advanced blog professional.

That having been said, here are the details concerning this blog, why it's here and the people behind it:

• Blogtastic Smiseck Baby is a blog site dedicated to the newest soon-to-be addition to our family; we're the Smisecks (Wendy, Steven and big sister Kennedy). For those who aren't aware of the name origin, it is Slovak, is pronounced "Smee-sheck", and means "smiling one" (pretty aprospo considering the general happiness factor in the household).
• Not everyone is internet inclined (believe it or not, we have relatives who require snail-mail announcement - *gasp*), but for those who are, they have requested a blog; maybe it's becuase they don't want ultrasound photos clogging up their e-mail. I don't know.
• The players: Steven (the dad unit), Wendy (the mom unit), Kennedy (the older sib unit and step-child to Steven), and Flipper Gibbous (the fetus unit - more on the name later).

So, there it is - a first entry and a teaser of info. Hopefully, the continuing development of this blog will be not only informational, but educational and entertaining as well. Feel free to comment or just look at it and wonder at the awesome skills I have attained in learning to blog.