8/31 - Made it to 34 weeks!

So it's been a while since I've updated. Things are going well. Eli is still cooking in my belly which is great. I'm 34 weeks today!! I have two more weeks of bed rest and then I can be free again. How exciting. The video above is too funny. It's Aiden sleeping and eating at the same time. He falls asleep if we feed him lunch too late ... he couldn't even make a 11:15am lunch last week and feel asleep eating his yogurt and puffs.
The picture above is grandma and Aiden hanging out on the deck and the hammock. They go out there everyday Aiden is here and play for about an hour. They have so much fun and it's one of Aiden's favorite times of the day. He had a special treat this day because I put slices of apple in his mesh bag to munch on. The picture below is Aiden having his afternoon snack one day and me moving down from my chair to try and "play" with him.We went to Babies R Us on Saturday to get some stuff for Eli. Brad put together all the new baby furniture on Sunday and I was so excited. Aiden slept in his new room for the first time last night. He didn't like it because it was so bright in his new room. He went from having one window with black out curtains to 3 windows. We put the blackout curtains up in one window to help a little.

The picture above is Aiden rolling around and playing with Bronco. The video below is Aiden having fun playing tug of war with Bronco. Aiden is getting strong!

We put Aiden's monkey backpack/harness on the other day so he can get used to it. He was walking himself around the house. It was pretty cute and he loves it now. The picture below is from tonight when Brad was giving Aiden a piggy back ride around the living room.

Aiden's room is almost done and I'll take some pictures in the next couple days. Eli's room is still a mess because Brad has to adjust the crib and we have to put up some themed wall decorations in his room. It's a work in progress. Today my mom washed a bunch of Aiden's newborn clothes so they will be ready for Eli. We'll get the 0-3 month stuff ready soon but still need to go find some long-sleeved stuff. I have a doctor appointment on Thursday to see how things are going.

8/25 - A New Toy

The past few days have been pretty good. Aiden has been in daycare on Monday and Tuesday this week. On Monday, I had a doctor appointment that went pretty well. My doctor was glad I was still pregnant (she was gone last week) and said things looked better than they did before she left (the last time she saw me was in the hospital 1.5 weeks ago). She said I was still on bed rest but is pretty confident that if I stay on bed rest and medication that I can make it to 36 weeks. The picture above was taken a few days ago when Aiden was playing with his bunny that Aunt Pat gave him. You push his paw and he plays a song. Aiden was scared of it for a while but now he loves it. It's ears and tail move and cheeks light up ... he was trying to hold the tail in place.
The picture above and video below are of Aiden watching TV. We let him watch 10-15 min at nighttime and he loves to watch these nursery rhyme videos that we get OnDemand. He's started tapping his toes when he hears music and it's so cute. He only did it a little bit in the video below.

On Sunday, a friend from church and Aiden's former daycare provider, gave us a new toy for Aiden. It's a zebra that he can bounce up and down on and it makes noises. After he figured out how it worked, he liked it. He was a little unsure at first (see picture below) but thinks it's fun now. After he saw me unscrew the battery compartment, he got his screwdriver and tries to do it to. His feet barely touch the ground and he likes to have one planted firmly.

The picture below is Aiden interested in his grandma putting away the mixer she was using to make mashed potatoes.

Today we got our new king bed delivered. I can't wait to sleep on it. The other news for today was Aiden climbed out of his crib for the first time. It was scary to hear the thump but we are glad he somehow landed on his feet and was fine. Needless to say, Brad lowered the crib mattress before bedtime. Brad picked up Aiden's new crib and dresser on Saturday and now we just need to finish cleaning out the office and then he has to put them together. Hopefully by this weekend we can get Aiden's new room done and he can move in. Hopefully he won't crawl out of his crib tomorrow either .... stay tuned.

8/19 - A Special Birthday Hello

The picture above is a special Happy Birthday shout out to my Aunt Becky. Happy Belated Birthday (notice Aiden's toy .... it's his favorite).

Today went pretty well. I actually got to rest quite a bit. The picture above was taken while Aiden had a little play time with me. This is the extent of me playing with him ... I get to sit up and play with him for as long as possible (anywhere between 2-3 minutes usually). Grandma was trying to teach Aiden how to pet Pouncer gently. He still struggles with that but enjoyed being tickled by Pouncer's tail.

Daycare tomorrow for Aiden, infusion for my mom, and maybe a new king bed for Brad and I. I get to take a field trip but have to use a wheel chair. We are going to Macy's to get a king size mattress. I'll still be mostly on bed rest because they say you need to lay on a mattress for 15 minutes to see if you like it. Hopefully it won't be too much for my body and Eli. It would be great to get a king size bed!

8/18 - Dr appointment today

We've had a good past couple of days. I got some much needed bed rest over the weekend although I was sad to miss sunday school and church. The picture above and below were taken on Sunday before bedtime. In the picture above, Aiden is playing with his laptop. In the picture below, Brad just brought him to me and I helped him brush his teeth before bed.

The picture below was taken while Aiden and grandma were coloring. He's getting much better at staying on the paper and learning the rules (no walking away with crayons, must color on paper).
The picture below is of my arm and how the nurse at the hospital tried to kill me last Thursday. She dug around in my arm forever to find a vein and now I have a huge bruise and my arm is still sore.
Aiden went to daycare today and mom and I stayed at the house. I got a call from the doctors office today and they wanted me to come in ASAP to get checked out. We left immediately and went to the hospital. The report was pretty good. All is the same as the end of last week. That's good because I haven't dilated anymore. I still need to be on strict bed rest and was reminded that gravity is evil.

The video above was taken today. We picked Aiden up a little early and he came home and "rode" on his truck from daycare. He's gotten into this thing of trying to ride his trucks. It's quite cute.
The picture above and video below were taken after Brad gave Aiden a bath and was eating dinner. Aiden decided to try and feed Brad some of his dinner. It was too cute. Tomorrow Aiden will be at home with us and then Thursday we take my mom to Annapolis to get her monthly infusion. (Hey Aunt Becky - Check back tomorrow for a special birthday picture for you!!).

8/16 - Filling in some blanks for earlier in the week

So I didn't realize until this morning that I missed filling everyone in on what happened on mon and tues. Brad and I talked with my doctor last Sunday and she decided I should come in on Monday to Labor and Delivery so I can be monitored and get an ultrasound. We did that and they found my cervix to be unchanged (not good because it's shortened but not back because it was closed). They also saw I was still having contractions though so they changed the frequency of my medication for contractions. The doctor also decided I was on strict bed rest and ordered the shots for the baby's lungs to develop faster. The shot required me to go back on Tues afternoon and get the second shot for the baby's lungs.

I didn't follow the doctors orders and went to work on Tuesday after I got the shot and on Wed took Aiden to the dentist and then went to work for another couple hours. On Wednesday night I started to feel tightness in my stomach and it last for a long time. I went to work on Thursday morning so I could teach spinning (sitting down with my feet up) and my stomach tightness continued to get worse. I taught spinning and then one of the participants in the class followed me to the hospital (which is an hour away).

Needless to say, I got a long talking from the doctor about not obeying her and still going to bed even though I was on bed rest. Hopefully this explains why there was a long gap in postings to the website. My doctor went on vacation on Friday morning but has called everyday to make sure I'm still okay and is having me see one of her partners on wednesday to check for dilation and contractions.

I just wanted to give an update as to why I didn't post for a while. You'd think I have plenty of time to post to the blog now but it's kinda depressing that I'm not up taking pictures of Aiden and chasing him around. Things will work out though ..... we have faith because God is good.

8/15 - Aiden having fun with grandma

It's been a crazy past couple days. I haven't really been doing the whole bed rest thing and it got the better of me. I left work early on Thursday because I'd been having tightness and contractions for about 20 hours. I went to the hospital and they gave me lots of drugs and shots of the anti-contraction medication. After begging my doctor and promising I would do bed rest, she let me go home with the warning that the next time I had to come to the hospital I was staying. I started dilating and need to stay off my feet at this point .... at least for now.
The picture above was taken earlier in the week when grandma and Aiden were playing on the deck. We let him go naked because his yeast infection came back and nakedness is some of the best treatment. The pictures below are Aiden climbing on the cat gym. He's figured out he can climb onto the second level and has been exploring that the past few days.


This bed rest thing has been really hard to do. We came up with a plan on Thursday night and tried it on Friday. Basically, my mom watches after Aiden every second of the day if Brad isn't here. If I do it then I end up getting up and such since Aiden doesn't just sit still. Thankfully Brad came home early on Friday. My mom was exhausted after chasing Aiden around!!
I am taking this weekend very easy and pretty much staying reclined the whole time. It's worked so far because I've only had 2 contractions today so far (yesterday was a lot more). We are trying to calm my body down and then hopefully I can at least starting sitting up and taking it easy around the house. It's so hard to sit around and watch everyone but me care for Aiden. God is teaching us a lesson right. I'm not sure what it is besides the fact that I can't always be in control but we are keeping the faith that everything will work out. The video below was taken today on the deck while grandma and Aiden were playing. Aiden is having lots of fun with grandma and she's been such a huge help. I'm hoping he doesn't forget who I am. We'll see. Our goal is to get through the weekend without me going back to the hospital and finding a situation that works for all of us and still allows me to listen to the doctor. We just ordered a new crib and dresser and now just need some free time to clear out some of the garage so we can move books out of the office. Lots of work to do!

8/9 - Finally an update

So it's been a while since things have been a little crazy. I had a bad sonogram on Tuesday morning (showed my body preparing for the baby to come out). After the nurse saw the report, she called on Tues night and said I needed to come in on Wed morning. I went in and they did a fetal fibrocon (not spelled right) test which tests for the chances of pre-term labor. The results came back a few hours later and my doctor called and said I needed to come in for monitoring. I called my friend Cindy who had watched Aiden on Tuesday and asked if she could come get him. She did which was such a huge relief. I packed enough stuff for him to stay overnight just in case. I then asked our pastors wife if she could find me a ride to the hospital because I wasn't allowed to drive there. It was a stressful time but thankfully the Lord surrounded me with great people to help reduce the anxiety. I went to the hospital and left a few hours later with some medication to take every couple hours to stop the contractions (which I didn't realize I was having) and am supposed to be on modified bed rest. Brad got home safe on Friday night and my mom flew in on Saturday afternoon to help out. The picture above is from a shopping trip Aiden and Cindy took when she watched him. They only sell his favorite snack at Target and Target is going to stop carrying them while they do renovations. Needless to say, she bought all the remaining boxes!!
The picture above is Aiden playing with some groceries. He's gotten into trying to help me unpack groceries and was carrying around the biscuits and pizza dough. The picture below is Aiden trying to ride on his dump truck. He thinks its a ride-on toy although it's not designed for that. He's so cute.
The picture below is Brad and Aiden playing around downstairs. Aiden is very glad to have his daddy back (as am I).
After church today, we had our sunday school class come over and had a cookout and played games. The picture below is Aiden showing off daddy's bling bling. How cute. He's in love with this necklace of Brad's.
The last picture is of Aiden showing me where "mommy's belly" is at. This is new. Can can show my belly and his belly. He's too stinkin cute.
My goal now is to find out what "modified bed rest" is and try to adhere to it. It hasn't happened this weekend!! I feel so much better since taking the contraction medicine. I didn't realize how uncomfortable I was with contractions and Eli moving around until I started taking the medication on Wed night. I'm feeling better and will have some repeat tests done at the end of the week or beginning of next week. I'll be 31 weeks tomorrow and can't deliver at the hospital my doctor is at unless I reach 36 weeks.

8/3 - Back in MD

Aiden and I made it home safely after and uneventful for the most part. We sat on the tarmac for 40 min before we took off because the winds suddenly changed directions and they had to re-route everyone for a different runway. Aiden only slept for about 50 min of the 5 hr flight (15 min of that was while we were sitting on the tarmac). Even though he was awake for most of the flight, he did great. I'm very glad he had his own seat though. I couldn't imagine that much time wrestling around on my lap!!
Aiden didn't go to bed last night until 11:00pm east coast time. We had a pretty good day considering I planned on today being devoted to getting Aiden back on schedule. We did one nap and pushed up the time between nap and bedtime. He didn't nap very well today so I'm hoping for a good night sleep tonight. Letting him cry it out is hard to do in a hotel (other people staying in rooms close to us probably don't enjoy a screaming baby) so he's gotten a little spoiled to us coming to his cry so today was a little rough on him because he's had to cry it out a bit. In the picture above, you can see that Aiden let me put on his monkey backpack/harness. I will be using this more because he's starting to want to walk everywhere. This would have been helpful in the airport but he wasn't used to it yet. He liked it so much today that after I took it off him, he was dragging it around everywhere.
The picture above was taken right before I put him in his PJ's. I was getting his food ready for tomorrow and he came in and layed on the carpet and put his head down on his blankie and backpack. He's too cute!!

Take a look at the video below. It's Aiden dragging around his monkey backpack/harness. So stinkin cute! He's so much fun right now ... this is definitely my favorite age so far. I need to get a shower and get ready for work tomorrow. I also have an important sonogram at 8:30 to make sure I am not effacing or dilating early this pregnancy. I'll keep you updated. Hopefully the shots are working ...

8/1 - Leaving Vegas tomorrow :(

We've had a fun past 1.5 days. Brad came home early on Friday and we went to the Outlet Mall so we could go to Carter's (a children's clothing place). We didn't find much but Aiden enjoys playing with the lego's there (he's sitting on the lego table). Brad and him play legos while I shop around ... it works out quite nicely. While we in the outlet mall, we passed by a couple of little rides. We decided to use 50 cents and try out a truck. It was Aiden's first such ride. I'm not sure if he liked it or not. He was surprised it was moving. The picture below was taken before I put the money in!!

Last night Brad's boss came over at 6:30 and watched Aiden for us so we could go see the Cirque de Soleil show Ka. It was awesome. It was so great to be able to go to a show and we really appreciate him coming over and watching Aiden. The show was amazing. Today we had Brad all to ourselves!!! We went to the Bellagio this morning and met one of his friends and had breakfast. It was our 2nd breakfast of the day (since Aiden wakes up so early) but it was fun to go early and walk around the Bellagio lobby. It was beautiful and Aiden had fun looking at the flowers, plants, water spraying, and birds (I'll post more pictures later). The picture below is while we were waiting for his high chair. He's holding the menu and has chosen what he wants!

We've also started to learn family pictures with all of us looking are a thing of the past. We had three different people take pictures and none of them are very good. Aiden isn't amused by other people as easily any more and doesn't want to look at the camera. That said, this was the best picture with our ADHD child not looking at the camera!

We ended up not going to the Children's Museum like we planned. We went to Caesear's Palace and walked around this afternoon. That place is amazing. I remembered it slightly from when Brad and I were here about 5 years ago. This final picture is Aiden playing with the trains in the FAO Schwartz toy store. This last video is Aiden playing with the remotes and TV buttons. He loves electronics!! We've had a great day and Aiden is in bed and Brad is making a dessert run to McDonalds. I tried to get a later flight out tomorrow but everything is booked. That said, my flight leaves at 12:40pm. I'll be sad to leave Brad and slightly nervous for such a long trip on the airplane where I know Aiden will be awake the majority of the time, if not the whole time.