Life as of February

Well, it's been awhile, so I better write just for my own sake, even though not much is going on!

We've all been sick for awhile; Mitch got a bad cold 2 weeks ago and it lasted him about 10 days; Nathan and I got the same cold a week ago; he's better, I'm not quite better yet. But, we're glad to be over the worst of it, and that it was just a bad cold, not influenza!

Nathan's jamming out to his Pandora station on tv...this kid is so uptight that he NEVER dances. I love the rare times it happens, and I love that he recognizes so many songs from his little toddler lab class!

I love watching him in toddler lab through the observation booth one-way windows. It is SO FUN to see him and how he acts when we're not there! He is loving it and having so much fun! He doesn't cry when he goes anymore, but is still clingy for awhile after Mitch or I pick him up. We turned in his application for next semester already; if he gets in, he gets in. I told the teacher we'd be having a baby in the middle of the semester and that it could either be a good constant in his little life amidst everything else changing, or it'd be too much and we'd have to pull him out. She said to go ahead and try it. I just really think his timid little personality that's so afraid to try new things (THAT part he got from me...) will benefit from more than one semester of socialization and play time with things we don't have or do at home. So far he loves painting; I haven't braved that mess yet at home!

Mitch is doing well in his classes and studies very hard. He ended up dropping a class because it was requiring too much combined with his other classes, but we'd both rather he keep his GPA in mind than try to cram in credits while he's also working a lot and is feeling the impact of responsibilities at home. I don't have much patience for my classes; I'm SO glad this is my last semester! I'm so DONE!

I went back to counseling today. It was awesome. Not much to say about it in detail, mostly just planning out goals for the time span that I'm going, but it was so nice to be back with that resource. My counselor is awesome, and it was great that I didn't have to explain everything, all over again, to someone new! The one different thing about this counseling center (on our school's campus) is that, because they're offering the services to any student, FREE of charge, they ask you to stop coming as soon as you can; not to draw out the process unnecessarily because there are so many students on their wait list that may desperately need someone to talk to. Of course, everyone's needs are met, they just try to help as many students as possible.

On a random note, I got a very sweet, sincere compliment from a woman working in the store that Nathan and I were shopping in. It made my day! So, give compliments...it means a lot more than you think!

Miss Eliza is doing very well! I realized some funny things about this pregnancy: (Not really funny, just interesting)

- I feel so much more AWARE of everything that's happening. I think having done it before really helps.

- Feeling her move all over, at SUCH an earlier point in my pregnancy than Nathan, is really fun!

- She totally has a pattern and schedule already; luckily her movements aren't strong enough yet to wake me up at night, but they work themselves into my dreams :o)

- My coughing fits scare her sometimes, poor girl!

- Nathan points to everything pink he can see and says, "for baby sister!" It's really cute!

- I haven't been as diligent at figuring out how many weeks I am exactly, like I did with Nathan. I think the novelty has worn off a bit. I didn't even take a belly picture until THIS week, at 23 weeks! (I labeled the picture 22.5 weeks on Facebook until I realized that I was, in fact, 23 weeks as of TODAY. Thank goodness for the Kindle app that tells me or I'd never know!) 

Here is the said belly picture and some other random pictures of what's been going on lately:

This is a comparison of my baby bump at 23 weeks with Nathan and with Eliza!

We had a crazy weird snowstorm a few weeks ago and the snowflakes all stayed perfectly separated and complete! I was kicking myself that I sent that macro lens back so I couldn't get a perfectly sharp shot, but I did the best I could with what I had!

Nathan looking cute in the snowy weather :o)

 Nathan was hammin' it up in the bath the other night, and I love taking bath pictures of him, so here ya go!

Brushing his hair :o)

Haha I love this face, eating his duck :o)

Bathwater never hurt anyone, right? lol

He's pretty OCD these days and was mad that the shampoo bottles weren't lined up just right.

 My favorite cute little boy :o)

I asked him, "where's cute Nathan?" and this is what I got :o)

I will never get over my love of little feet :o)

20 week appointment: Eliza Kay

Our little Miss is looking fantastic! She was so funny during the ultrasound. MUCH more cooperative than Nathan; he kept hiding in this one corner, with his hands over his face. The ultrasound tech said that isn't rare; that it's kind of like an early defense mechanism. His little world was feeling a bit intruded on and he was just trying to get away! Knowing his timid little self, especially as a baby, I feel bad! Haha, oh well, he turned out just fine :o)

Little peach is absolutely perfect! We are feeling very, very blessed. Of course, there are always things they can't diagnose in an ultrasound. Out of curiosity, we asked the ultrasound tech (who we love!) and she said the list includes any random webbing the baby may have (fingers, toes, etc.), cleft palate (they can diagnose cleft lip, which is usually a pretty good indicator of cleft palate; I didn't even know they were different!), and some heart issues. All of that has to be assessed at birth. As far as everything they could check, however, our little Eliza passed with flying colors :o) 

The sweet tech worked very hard for this profile shot; little baby E loves having her limbs up by her face!

This goofy girl had her foot RIGHT in her face a lot...even in the 16 week gender check! Check out that little bony leg! They look so freaky without any fat! I'm loving her profile, though; hopefully she gets the same cute nose Nathan has, not her mama's big honker!

I, however, did not pass with flying colors. This wasn't something we were anticipating. 

Several weeks ago during a physical exam, the doctor warned me that my placenta was lying pretty low. He also said it was very early to jump to any conclusions and worry me for nothing. During this ultrasound the tech looked at my cervix (okay, men, this post will have some womanly words in it...I'm not getting gross, don't worry!) and saw that my placenta was lying way too close to it. It didn't cover it, but if it doesn't move it will be too small a space for a baby head to fit without crushing the placenta. They are calling it "partial placenta previa". Complete previa would mean that the entire cervix (which is of course a very small area right now) is covered.

For those of you who am wondering what I am talking about, the cervix is where the baby has to pass through to be born. If there's a big ol' organ, filled with blood supply to keep both me AND the baby alive is in the way, you have to worry about the baby bursting the placenta on the way out. If a placental abruption occurs, it is common knowledge that both baby and mom will be lost in 10-20 minutes if emergency actions are not taken to stop the bleeding. This is obviously a huge risk.

So, I was told today that there's about a 50% chance that I'll need a c-section; either the placenta will move as my uterus grows or it won't. Luckily, there's no possibility of it moving downwards; if it's going to move, it will be up, away from my cervix.

 As far as my VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) chances go, I was at about a 90% chance of having a normal birth (because I dilated to a 9.5 with Nathan, so my body's "done" the labor thing, just not the delivery part!), and today it shrank by 40%. It's not set in stone, but still concerning.

The plan so far is to do a follow-up ultrasound in 4 weeks. By then my uterus will have grown a bit, and should hopefully be grown enough to show improvement. They will keep following up with ultrasounds every 4 weeks until the problem is cleared up, or until 4-6 weeks before my due date, at which point they'll decide whether or not to schedule a c-section or let me off the leash and let my body do what it will.

Part of me (the wimpy part) wants to take the easy way out, throw in the towel, and just do a repeat c-section. With c-sections you know exactly how every birth is going to go. The risk of complications is very low, and you can plan everything (flights or trips to get moms here, babysitters for Nathan, other outside commitments), down to the day. You go to the hospital and have a baby in your arms half an hour later. (ALL the work is in the recovery, not in the labor!) Plus Eliza would get to stay in the OR instead of being rushed off to NICU like Nathan was, if of course she's problem-free. I'd get to hold her on the operating table, unlike with Nathan. That was what I felt like I was deprived of the most; by the time I got to hold Nathan, everyone had been called and sent pictures. I felt like the last one to experience my own baby. 

The only reservation I have about this plan is the obvious one; it's not the intended way for our bodies to have babies. It's a perfect alternative to gambling a baby's health, but I do feel a bit deprived of a "typical" experience!

I am glad that there are only selfish reasons to be concerned about. I am forever grateful that I don't have to worry about the health of a fetus; I had this weird feeling today that we wouldn't get the news that we were expecting. I would rather have it be about me, ANY day, than about this little one! 

(Haha, I totally hoped that my "weird feeling" didn't mean that Miss Eliza would be a boy this time!)

So, we are praying for everything to grow normally, including my body. Any prayers and good thoughts would be welcomed! :o) I just hope I don't give myself panic attacks with all the worry over the next four weeks!

Exciting Appointments and Going to Counseling

We loved seeing our little peach, Miss Eliza, on her 16 week ultrasound, when they did her early gender check. It is so fun to see these tiny ones swimming around!

Well, we have another appointment in about half an hour, the full 20 week ultrasound where they'll check her top-to-bottom to make sure nothing's wrong. We're praying for health in our little girl! 

 I know I've been lame at blogging since last semester when I was doing my practicum and never had time for much of anything. Even any facebooking was done from my kindle in between classes!

So, here's a promise: As soon as I get home I'm going to blog about this, before I forget the details. This blog is my journal, and I've taken pride in actually keeping a journal over the last few years! However, I need to be less lame and write more, and I want to remember some of my first ever memories of our daughter. (Man, that's fun to say! I just got used to saying "our son" regarding Nathan!)

Here are a few little memories from the last 20 weeks:

Movements came SO much sooner than with Nathan, as is common with most subsequent babies, or so I've been told! When I lay flat on my back we can even see her moving and kicking. It's SO cool! She loves my bladder...not cool.

I had my first birth dream with this baby the other night. It wasn't anything long or detailed, just simple.  Everything actually went perfectly in this dream, which is exactly what I NEED to be envisioning at this point. Although I know that something, whether it be little or big, almost always goes wrong, I like having another scenario to picture. Being at my friend Juanee's birth really helped; THAT was a fast, flawless first labor! But remembering this dream has already brought me a lot of comfort in the last few days, and I'm grateful that it seems so real to me still!

As far as the other half of this blog post title goes, it was recommended to me by our family practitioner to go back to counseling. My anxiety is horrible right now, almost as bad as when I was in counseling last time. His opinion was that I should give a thought or two to preparing for a situation, and being counseled in preparing for having Eliza. Since my last experience, having Nathan, was what turned my life and personality completely upside down, I consider it to be wise counsel to try and prepare to do this again. That way, whether I'm dealing with a normal, uneventful birth or being rushed back into that OR, I will be mentally prepared for it all...or at least as prepared as possible!

Our newest little baby face...and her NAME! :o)

We could not be more excited about our sweet new addition, who we found out on Christmas Day is a little girl! 

I didn't have a specific preference as far as gender goes, honestly, because if it were a boy: (1) we've done a boy before...not that children are in any way carbon copies of each other, but it just adds a bit of comfort and familiarity to the whole situation, (2) Nathan has been so much fun: how could we not be excited for another boy? and (3) we have 29358 rubbermaids full of NB-2T boy clothes...can you say cheaper than buying girl clothes!?

However, we got a GIRL!!! When we were pregnant with Nathan, all I wanted at first was a girl (sorry, Nathan--obviously no hard feelings now!) because I am the oldest in a family of all girls. All I knew were girls. I had no idea what to do with a boy, and it still surprises me when he's obsessed with words like "gross" and "pee-pee/poopy"...it's an ever-learning process :o) 

In any case, when I thought Nathan was a girl, I couldn't be more excited to buy headbands, baby tights/leggings, dresses, and other fun little things that boys just don't get. It didn't take long for that to change, though. I love it on days like today, when Nathan is running around in little blue jeans that look like an adult's and a fun little shirt that could be his dad's also. He looks so grown up and adorable! I love how classy he looks on Sundays in his little sweaters or button-downs and sweater vests, complete with little leather shoes. I love the mini tennis shoes, etc. This whole girl shopping thing is just a completely different world! I have only looked at girl clothes a total of, oh, three times so far, but it is just different! And I tend to be picky. I hate how ALL baby clothes are cute as can be and then you see a stupid butterflies or puppies embroidered right in the middle. Just leave it plain! Anyway, I'm glad we have time to buy all these clothes because it might take me awhile :o)

As far as a NAME goes, we have put a lot of thought into it, since we got pregnant with Nathan and wondered if he were a boy or a girl. We used our boy name on him and saved our girl name for this little sweet pea! We like to use family names. Nathan is Nathan Patrick Dooley. Nathan is just a name we liked, but Patrick is my father's name, Mitch's brother's middle name, and their uncle's first name. 

Dooley is a weird name to match first names with. Larson was easier. But anyway...

This little girl name has quite a story behind it as well. Mitch's parents were sure they were going to adopt a little baby girl from China years ago, after they had their four kids. At just about the last minute, things fell through. My poor mother-in-law felt as if she'd had a miscarriage, losing a baby she was sure would become part of their family. So we picked the first name that they were going to use for her, in honor of the sweet little girl they never got to hold. As far as a middle name, that was easy: my mother and mother-in-law have the SAME middle name! So, we name our little baby after both grandmothers at once. Awesome!

So, come end of May/beginning of June 2013, 

Eliza Kay Dooley

will join our family, and we could not be more excited :o)

(Disclaimer: YES, I know that Eliza Doolittle is the main character in My Fair Lady, and Eliza Dooley is a close call to that character's name. I will also probably end up calling her Liza for short, it just rolls of the tongue easier, and I know that Liza Minnelli is a basket of weirdo. However, no one our little Eliza's age will know who either of these people are, so I don't really care! Ha!)

Overdue Updates (plus tons of pictures, of course!)

Wow, this semester has been by far my busiest! 

So far I've been up to my ears with teaching preschool (my practicum for my degree), normal class workloads, growing a baby, chasing a toddler, running a business, and editing fun stuff like this:

 It's been SO fun, but I am feeling SO busy! Whenever I have down time it's editing time, not tv or nap time like I'd like at this point :o)

 

I also just found out that the little lady in the last couple you see pictured will be singing in her graduation ceremony (convocation) and she's asked me to accompany her! I'm so excited! She sings like an angel and I can't wait to revamp an old piece that she and I traveled all over performing years ago. I really can't wait!

As for Mitch, he's READY to be back in school. We just registered for next semester. I have so appreciated him during this semester (his "off-semester" of the year...mine is April-July like a normal university schedule, but his is Sept-Dec of every year). He has been Mr. Mom and has taken care of me when I come home from school exhausted and sick. I am feeling much better now, but it has been a rough few weeks for all of us! 

Mitch had the chance (aka HUGE BLESSING) to work for AFP, Americans for Prosperity. It is a non-partisan group that made millions of calls all over the country (mostly swing states) before the election, informing people and reminding them to vote. He could work 1-40 hours per week, coming in whenever he wanted, which worked out perfectly with my schedule. In fact, after doing some math, we decided it was worth it during the 3 weeks the job lasted to have our sweet friend and neighbor, Juanee, watch Nathan for a few hours, a few days per week, so Mitch could be at work while I was at school. We were able to have him grab enough hours to get us through Christmas and January (until our grant money comes...always a guessing game when THAT will happen...), which we were getting worried about. They spoiled him when he was there. He called it the happiest call center he had ever seen! Free food and drinks whenever you're there, candy every hour, prizes for answering random questions, etc. He had several people very angry with him on the phone, cussing him out and worse. He is glad it's over, but it was very worth it while it lasted. 

 

Other than that, he keeps himself busy donating plasma, working evenings on campus, and going duck hunting whenever he can (he just walked in the door from hunting, actually!). 

I realized I never posted about Halloween, Nathan's birthday, and other fun things we've done! Poor Nathan has just kind of been caught up with whoever has time for him during our busy semester. We're both in school from January-April, so it'll be even busier then. 

 

But, it's made him great at playing on his own. He has never been independent at all, and the last thing I've wanted is a clingy 6 year-old who won't do anything on his own. So, our busy-ness has helped. All he does these days is play with his trains. He got several more Thomas figures and engines from his grandparents (and a few from us) for his birthday, which he's just in love with. 

 

Whenever we go down for a nap and we're taking him back to his room he says, "Nigh-night, Thomas! Nigh-night, Percy! Nigh-night, James! Nigh-night, Harold! Nigh-night, Henry!" (The list goes on!) He knows all of their names and loves watching Thomas and Friends. He doesn't get to watch as much as he'd like, but he has learned a lot from them. 

 

He'll eat carrots for the first time since baby food because one of the engine drivers grew carrots for a vegetable contest! Sweet! Grow green beans and peas next, please!! He has also learned what cymbals are has learned probably 25 new words from that show alone. I always recommend it to other mom friends; whenever one of those engines doesn't have a good intention or is selfish, their end result never works out and they have to be humbled. Kind of deep for a kids' show. I love it.

I haven't finished pictures of Nathan's birthday yet, but here are some of what we've been up to:

Halloween:

Nathan was Charlie Brown for Halloween, because his hair is still mostly invisible in pictures, being the same color as his skin!

There was a cute little family Halloween activity one night. My friend Amy and I went with our boys while our husbands were working. Nathan wasn't quite sure about the hay ride!

After the hay ride we tried to take pictures with the horses "ho-sees", because Nathan always likes pictures of them and can neigh like a horse. Turns out it was a little much...

Haha I find this hilarious...

Nathan and his best friend Burton, who was a monkey. They loved the cheap-o little dum dums that were being given out!

 This morning it snowed for the second time this season. We are lucky that this is all has fallen this year! Well, we are lucky, the farmers are not. Don't worry farmers, more is coming, I'm sure!

I fall in love with this kid every time he looks at me :o)

Goofy boy :o)

Then it was Toby the train's turn to look out the window!

 Like I said, we are never without our trains!

  We are getting super excited for Thanksgiving! This year, most of all, I wish I could be in three places at once. I want to be here, where my sister and her friends (all people I grew up with) are coming to our house and celebrating with us. It's going to be tons of fun! I also wish we were going to be in Wyoming with Mitch's family, and in Kansas with mine. Oh family, why are you so far away!? Oh, western US winters, why are you so deadly to travel through!? Thank goodness for Skype!