32 weeks!

I'm so in love with this baby boy!!! He has a cute little button nose that looks just like Eden's, and look at those lips! He is adorable, and I'm already smitten...



We are so excited that today marks 32 weeks! It hasn't been easy, and we have had a few scares up to this point, but I'm so grateful to still be pregnant and to have made such significant progress in this pregnancy versus my pregnancy with Eden. Our baby boy is measuring big, about a week and a half ahead so we are feeling more and more confident every day that we are going to get a healthy guy! With every week that passes, I get more and more excited about this baby coming, and especially that it's a boy! I look forward to seeing his cute face and hearing his baby noises.

The pregnancy the last few weeks has been really interesting for me. Because Eden came so early, I'm experiencing so many "firsts" with this pregnancy already that it makes it feel like I'm so new to this. I'm amazed every time as I watch my stomach move and contort as this little guy moves around (he is super active!). I love feeling his hiccups and even smile when his movements wake me from my sleep. I'm also experiencing a few negative sides to being this far along, like heartburn, and the fact that it's quite difficult to sit or lay comfortably in one position for more than a few minutes at a time. However, I don't want to complain... I'm so grateful to still be pregnant and will bear any discomfort if it means my baby is growing and developing right where he needs to be!

I'll even gladly accept that fact that I am getting rather large, and I know there's still a LOT of growing ahead of me...




Here's to a healthy and completely adorable little boy!!

Eden Medical Update

About 10 days ago Eden had an eye exam to check her eyes since getting the shunt out. Unfortunately, her optic nerves looked really swollen again, worse than they did in December when the shunt was still in. Next step... check the pressure.

So the following day (a week ago yesterday) we took Eden in for a lumbar puncture. Unfortunately her pressure was high again. The neurosurgeon told me that she needed a shunt back in. At this point, I was feeling somewhat desperate so I peppered him with questions about the possibilities of doing something other than a shunt. He said he felt the shunt would be best, but because of my persistence, he said he would take a couple days to review her records and do some research to see if there was anything else we could do.

I immediately came home and spent the weekend doing research of my own and found information about a medication that has been used to treat high CSF pressure and papilledema. I sent all this information to the nurse practitioner and asked her to talk with the neurosurgeon about this medicine.

Monday morning I got a call back that if we wanted to try a medication route, rather than a surgical route, that Eden would need to be seen by a neurologist who would prescribe and follow that treatment.

So Thursday we got in and met a neurologist who I really liked. She came to the appointment already having reviewed Eden's extensive medical history and she spent about an hour with us (which is a LONG time for being with a doctor). She said that earlier in the week, a team of neurologists and neurosurgeons had discussed Eden's case and that they were all somewhat baffled about what is going on with Eden. There is no identifiable reason her pressure is high, and she doesn't exhibit one single symptom of the problems she is having. She continues to be a medical question mark.

The neurologist felt that trying this medication was a good plan though. She has used it to treat similar problems, but not as often in little children. We discussed the possible side effects which all seem very minimal in severity. So we have decided to give this a try and see if it will help. The plan will be to follow up with the eye doctor probably in a few weeks to see if the papilledema is getting better, and then we will go from there.

Here's to possibly avoiding the shunt once again!

PT and OT

Since we have been down at my parents, Eden hasn't been getting her regular occupational and physical therapy appointments that we were having a few times a month at home. As far as PT goes though, she is getting plenty of physical stimulation with the trampoline and swinging and all the other outdoor adventures she has been having. We have seen her improve a lot in her physical abilities since we have been here.

For her occupational therapy work I try to do play dough, or practice with scissors, or other craft projects that help strengthen her hands and her coordination. This particular day we used the strainer and I had her put the pipe cleaners through the little holes. She loved it and was quite entertained for a while, and then she decided it was going to be her hat for the day. :)

Playing in "Snow"

My mom has a big tupperware filled with flour out in her playroom for Eden to play in. It's always a huge mess, but Eden loves it and says she is playing in "snow". She dumps and pours, and makes castles, but she also loves to put it in her play dishes and pretend she is cooking. It provides some pretty good entertainment, despite the mess.

The Zoo

A few weeks ago, for Austin's birthday, my mom was kind enough to take Eden to the zoo so she could hang out with her cousins and see all the animals. I was definitely bummed to be left behind, but am so grateful my mom was willing to take Eden. I heard it was a blast and that Eden loved it. She even enjoyed lunch time and eating all the other kids' food (she will pretty much only try eating when she is around other kids and sees them eat). Thanks mom for the fun day for Eden, and thanks Kally for inviting Eden along!

The Corn Pool

It's going to be a huge adjustment when my bedrest is over and we are back at our house everyday. Grandma's house is so much fun, and Eden is absolutely loving being here. Here's another one of Grandma's fun creations which has kept Eden very entertained when it's too cold to go outside. Who would have guessed a bag of corn in a plastic pool would be so fun. :)

Sandpaper legs

So my husband is entertaining in many ways, one of which is his sleep talking. Although, I have to clarify, in most cases, he isn't completely asleep, but he isn't awake either. He somehow exists in a world between the two where he thinks he knows what's going on, but in reality he is usually saying something completely weird. To him at the time it makes complete sense, but if I egg him on long enough and keep the conversation going he usually wakes up enough to stop the fun. Needless to say, it has given me quite a lot of good laughs since we have been married. And the best part is, he never has any recollection at all about any of it the next morning!

I have found that in order to create the perfect scenario for this type of entertainment, he needs to have been asleep for a good 30 minutes before I go in and get into bed. When I crawl in and start to get comfy it wakes him just enough for the "semi awake" sleep talking to begin. ha ha

It used to happen a lot when we were first married because I quite frequently stayed up later than him studying or doing homework. It was happening so often, and he was saying the most bizarre and hilarious things that I even went to bed with a tape recorder once to try to capture the moment. Unfortunately, that happened to be the one time he wasn't asleep yet and he busted me.

These days, we usually we go to bed at the same time so the opportunities for fun don't come often, but last night I was finishing watching a movie with my family and Brad decided to head to bed a little earlier. When I crawled into bed he rambled off a few things about the movie and I knew that he was starting one of his sleepy conversations. Just then he put his hand on my leg, and the conversation went as follows:

Brad: "I found the sandpaper"
Lisa: "what?"
Brad: "I found the sandpaper" a little more annoyed this time
Lisa: "what sandpaper"
Brad: "This sandpaper right here" as he was rubbing my leg
Lisa: "Ok goodnight, I love you" as I was trying not to laugh

Ok, so confession - yes, my legs were quite prickly and to his sleepy, somewhat unconscious state of mind, they must have felt like sandpaper. In my defense, this big round belly I have makes it quite uncomfortable to shave these days, not to mention the fact that I usually end up with contractions after contorting in weird positions so I can indeed shave. So yes, I'll admit, I hadn't shaved in a couple days so my legs were feeling particularly sharp and unfriendly. I don't think Brad has ever given me a hard time about this while awake, but I suppose his true feelings come out about it when he isn't fully conscious. ha ha

Sorry to break it to you Brad, but I have a feeling my sandpaper legs will only get worse before it gets any better. :)