Chilling on the Homefront

Now that all the hospital and bili-light drama from the past week or so is over, we've been able to fall into some kind of routine around the house. We still have some help from momma b. for the next few days - not looking forward to her leaving...  :(  so trying to get the most out of the next few days that we get to share with her. 

Anna adores her little brother - she gives him lots of kisses and hugs and nose rubs. Here's a picture of the duo getting chummy.

peas and carrots

We've been lucky enough to keep Bo on a pretty general sleep schedule. He hasn't had the day/night confusion and sleeps for good chunks of about 3 hours at a time at night. During the day though - all bets are off. But overall, he's been pretty patient with us.

And have I mentioned how much I love not being pregnant anymore? I can "sleep" (AKA - lay down for minute or two) on my stomach and eat lunch meat without heating it first. And that's just the tip of the iceberg... Having my little guy here is way awesome too - he's snuggle-riffic.

Right now - Bo's snuggling with his 'gwamma' (as Anna says it). I'm going to take this opportunity to grab a bite for lunch and maybe even change out of my jammies. Maybe.

No - seriously. What's with this Bili person?

As we had agreed to - we had Bo into the clinic early the next morning (Tuesday) for his well-baby check-up. There were some complications with his circumcision, so we had asked the pediatrician that was seeing him to take a look at that too. She did. We weren't happy with her handling of the situation - thinking she had been quite rough with him - our poor little guy was screaming and crying - something he doesn't do very much of. It was enough to send me into a lactating tailspin. We left the office amid the confusion and chaos and apparently didn't get any of the other issues taken care of.

I mentioned in the last post that Bo's bilirubin count was starting to cause some problems. At first check it was at about 11. The next check (prior to leaving the hospital) was around 14.  It would be roughly another 36 hours before we checked it again. I called in again and managed to get in with another doctor (one that I trusted) Wednesday afternoon. He was great - listed closely to my concerns for my little guy and was able to address all of the issues, even discussing the bilirubin levels again. He convinced me to go to the lab before I went home and get one more check, just to be safe. The nice thing about bili checks is that they get results pretty quickly. Usually in about an hour or so.

After I got home, I got the phone call that Bo's bili level was up again. It was at 16.7 (at 77 hours of birth). We were told we should take Bo in to the emergency room and have it checked again, first thing in the morning. So off we went, thinking we would be in for a quick check and back home again. I had no idea how serious things were going to be.

So - we meander into Saint Anthony Hospital - where we had just been only a couple of days earlier. We find our way to the lab and get his bili checked. Then we waited. And waited. And then we were shown into a small room on the pediatric floor with another bili baby and her mom & gma. So - if you're keeping count, that's 4 adults and two newborns in one tiny little room. Ugh. Our roommates were great though - and when we got the results back, both babies were admitted - we ended up being roommates for the next couple of days. Bo's results were 18.1. And the doctors seemed pretty concerned. And that's when I thought "maybe I should figure out why this is a big deal..." turns out - high bili levels not only cause jaundice (which is the yellow-ish skin and yellow in the whites of the eyes), but it becomes toxic at about 20 points (which Bo was very quickly reaching) and can even cause brain damage at those levels. It was more important than ever that we get those levels down in Bo and do it right away.

waiting for phototherapy to start...

Phototherapy is one of the main ways that doctors and hospitals help little babies lower their bilirubin levels. Basically, babies sit under and/or on top of these lamps that break down the extra red blood cells in their skin and systems. The babies then poop out the bilirubin. So - ideally, keeping your kiddo under the lights and feeding them like crazy is the way to get their levels down and keep them safe. Enter the crazy cycle.

Bo would NOT stay under the lights for the entire first day. He fussed. He cried. He writhed. He hated the lights. We had no idea what was wrong. It was frustrating and anxiety-inducing. No matter what we tried, he just would not simmer down. We even tried adjusting the lights so that he could lay in my lap and then we pulled the lights over to be over him on the bed, in my lap. That only lasted for about 30 minutes. The only way we got him down under the light in the bassinet (at the very end of the day when he was worn out from a day full of fussing), was to have him swaddled tight. And, of course, that doesn't really work for exposing his skin to the light. Ugh.

getting creative with phototherapy

His bili levels were checked again that evening (Thursday evening). And had risen even more - up to 18.8. That - combined with the fact that his circumcision spot was starting to look infected meant that I was officially in freak out mode. The resident doc seemed to be getting more concerned too. She even mentioned that if he spiked a fever because of the infection that they would have to test him for sepsis, which would probably include a spinal/brain tap.  Have I mentioned I was in freak out mode? Don had already left for the day (visiting hours were over) so I called him to get the word out to our prayer supporters.

After talking with Bo's pediatrician - and the resident doc on call that night, it was decided that we would try to give Bo some formula (he had been exclusively breastfed up to that point) to see if he would be able to sleep better. After the very first bottle, which he ate most of the bottle, he passed out for an hour. Then he woke up and took another full bottle. The little guy ate so much and I felt terrible for not being able to feed him more (we figured it out later - much thanks to a lactation consultant - that the jaundice and infection were much harder on the little guy than we thought - the act of feeding was terribly exhausting for him and he wasn't able to get enough milk that way). Switching to the bottle (using formula at first and then transitioning back over to breastmilk) was how we had to feed him for the next day or so - he was too wiped out for feeding. He needed to be fed.

Feeling content after getting a belly full of milk

As soon as he had a belly full of milk, he was the relaxed, easy going baby that we met the first couple of days after his birth. He had been exhausted and hungry. So for the next 24 hours he pretty much only woke up to eat and have his diaper changed. Otherwise, he was happily sleeping under the bili lights.

catching some rays

That's when the good news started pouring in. His bili levels were going down - the next check showed them at about 14. He was at 11.5 at his final check on Friday night. And the antibiotics he was on starting working wonders for his infection. He was healing up in fine style. (And have I mentioned that I love the nursing staff at Saint Anthony's? Seriously some good peeps there...)

We were finally discharged Friday night at about 9 PM (what is it with us being discharged so late?)
Again - we were told we needed to get his bili checked bright an early the next day. So I called Don to come and pick us up (again - visiting hours were already over and we had assumed that we would be in the hospital again for another night.)

chillaxin' - waiting for the discharge papers...

We had the best news yet the next day (Saturday morning) when we got his bili checked again. Not only did it not go back up, but it went down to 9.1. Awesome, little guy.  :)

Side note: several times, we were told that jaundice is a very common thing in newborns. We were told this by friends, strangers, random nurses. I get that it might be common. But it's somehow different when it's your baby that won't take the therapy they need to get better. And it even more different when it's your baby (the one that you just delivered HOURS earlier) that could possibly be getting brain damage if things don't change. And soon.  So - thanks to all the well-meaning comments and conversations about how common jaundice is, but just know for future reference - it really wasn't all that comforting...

So - now we're back at home. Happily adjusting to a much-less-stressful life at home with our newest addition. He's so happy and a really good baby. He sleeps and lets us sleep too. And he's got a hearty appetite (such a good sign). Love this little guy and so happy to have everyone at home together again. It's been a crazy week.


Thanks, everyone for reading and sharing in this story with us. And thanks to everyone who gave us love and support during this crazy time in our lives. We relied heavily on friends and family to help us through - and relied most heavily on our prayer warriors. Thanks again for all the love.  :)

Recovering. And Bili who?

I think my last post ended with Bo squirming and wiggling his way into my heart. Into all of our hearts. Then we were taken to the "taking care of mommies and babies" wing of the baby delivering floor of the hospital. I remember waiting quite a bit for that to happen - think several hours longer than usual. But it paid off - I got my own room and didn't have to share with anyone (score).

The recovering portion was largely standard. For anyone out there who has already had a baby - you know how it goes... start walking a bit once the epidural wears off, eating anything and everything you can get your hands on, and drinking more water than you ever thought possible. Ever.

I bounced back a lot sooner with this pregnancy than I did the first time around. I think most of that has to do with the fact that it wasn't my first time around. My body was kind of like "oh - hey, yeah. i know what to do... I'll take it from here." I was walking on my own almost right away, but felt kind of like I had just had the flu for a couple of days - my stomach muscles and entire body was just so sore from having pushed so hard to get my little guy out on his own. And my left foot was sore from pushing against the stirrups - I couldn't feel my foot at the time because of the epidural, but was apparently not in the stirrups all the way when I was pushing. Hence, the crazy sore on the bottom of my foot. That's seriously one of the weirder war wounds from this delivery experience.


The rest of that day was quiet and restful. The hubs and mom did their best to keep Annalee occupied and happy while tending to any needs I had and getting some quality snuggles in with the new arrival. (And some diaper changes too - I recovered quickly this time around, but I'm not too proud to get help with diaper changes). Because I was the only one in my room, Don was able to stay in the extra bed - it was nice to have him around for all sorts of "fresh from the womb" goodness with the little guy.

The next day, however, was pretty much chaos. It seems like everyone was stopping by for various reasons. My OB was checking on me and making sure I was recovering in fine style - and also to circumcise our little guy. The pediatrician stopped by to check on Bo. Lab stopped by for various blood work from both of us. The hospital photographer stopped by to get some newborn shots of Bo. The social worker or whoever she was stopped by with paperwork for Bo's birth certificate and other newborn paperwork. The lactation consultant came by to make sure everything was going well with breastfeeding. The list goes on...

Here are some pictures from the hospital photographer. We got a fun little goodie bag of newborn stuffs, like diapers and this funky hat - had to use the hat in the photos. Although - glad we have some without it too...

giving his best "sleepy" look

in one of his favorite blankets

don't look at the camera...

getting some snuggles from the daddy.

he looks great on his right side.  ;)

best big sister.

i love this little guy.

she's just so happy to help with Bo. love her!

And it's in the middle of this chaos and after Bo's circumcision (which I asked Don go with to watch - poor guy), that we learned Bo's bilirubin count was kind of high - meaning he was at risk for jaundice. We were hoping to get discharged that night, so we agreed to take him for his well-baby check the next day and get his billi checked again. Little did we know what a huge impact his bilirubin count would have on our lives over the next few days.


We were finally successfully discharged that night around 9:30 PM. Talk about a whirlwind day. Largely restless too - for everyone. When we got home, we put Bo in his bassinet right away. He slept for 5 hours straight the first night. He's a good baby.

Waiting Game = Over. Welcome Boaz!

Boaz has officially arrived. And this past week has truly been a blur.  To make this story easier to tell and easier for anyone that might want to read it, I'm planning to share his birth story and the following days (up to this point) into a few blog posts.


So - here it goes:

BIRTH STORY

Boaz was due on Wednesday, 11/28. But like his sister before him, he did not arrive on or before the day that we were expecting him. Or the next day. Or the day after that. (I'm starting to notice a pattern here...) We had already decided with my OB, Dr. H., at my last checkup that we would like to induce the following week if he still hadn't arrived. He didn't. So I met my doctor at the hospital this past Saturday night, 12/1, for a 9 PM induction. Here are some pictures of us on our way to the induction "ceremony".

I carry my babies big and low...

looks playful, doesn't it?  ;)

our family pre-Bo

After some basic registration paperwork, we were shown to the Labor & Delivery wing and settled into my room (and new home for the next day). I was hooked up to an IV (albeit poorly - I'm still bruised from the IV) and the Pitocin started flowing. At my initial check-in cervix check, I was at a solid 3 cm and roughly 50% effaced.


The night was largely uneventful. Don and my mom were both with me as my exclusive L&D team. We all napped. Mom worked on her knitting/crocheting. We even watched the crazy new Indiana Jones movie - the one where he survives a nuclear blast by hiding in a fridge. Yes, I know it's a bad movie - but that's what was showing.

As soon as I could, I got the epidural. It was about 2-3 AM when that went down. Also, largely uneventful. And I was much more pleasant overall once it did. I also got a bit more sleep. I think we all slept from then until about 8 or 9 in the morning when the nurses changed shifts.

Also - as a side note: it was nice to be able to compare my childbirth experience the first time around with everything that happened this time. With Anna, I delivered at Prentice - a beautiful hospital with some crabby staff. This time around, I delivered at St. Anthony Hospital - a more run-down hospital with super nice staff, especially the nurses. One of the many things I really appreciated this time around is that I wasn't constantly poked and prodded. There weren't dozens of residents or students or whoever trolling through my room and checking my cervix. Not only is it awkward to have your cervix checked by anyone that wants to - but it's also not very restful. Hence, it was lovely to just fall asleep and not be disturbed at all, especially not to have someone jab their hand up in my baby-making parts to measure parts that aren't meant to be touched.

So when morning time rolled around and we met our nurse for that next shift (I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I don't remember her name - but she was really wonderful. really), we decided Don could take a break to move the car and mom would check out the cafeteria to grab some nourishment for the morning. Dr. H. stopped in before anyone left. She checked my cervix for the first time since I had been admitted. I was only at 3.5 cm and 80% effaced. (I think my water broke about this point...? It's all a blur...) At that point, I was determined that I would be in labor forever and more grateful than ever for the epidural - even though I could feel everything in my left butt cheek (talk about painful). I also felt confirmed that Don and Mom could leave for their respective errands because really nothing was happening.

And wouldn't you know it - as soon as my L&D team was out of the room, my labor started progressing very fast. Even through the epidural, I could feel the contractions coming on and really getting in the way of my relaxing (to say the least). Within about 30 minutes, my nurse came back in with an oxygen mask for me to wear. Apparently, the fast progression of labor caused some distress in Bo - his heart rate was lowering after each contraction. The Pitocin was also turned off until he could recover. My awesome bod took it from there though - I didn't need to turn the Pitocin back on. Rock it.

At this point, my mom returned and I had to explain the oxygen mask. She texted Don and told him to get back to the room. The next thing I know, I'm at 8 cm dilated and 100% effaced. The nursing staff called Dr. H. who came back after her rounds - turns out it was perfect timing. It feels like all my progress happened between 9 am and 11 am. I started pushing about 11 am. And pushed for only about 45 minutes before Boaz Thomas Donald Bratschie was welcomed into this crazy world of ours.

after his bath - Boaz is ready for his debut!

I'm definitely proud of my PR this time around. I cut my L&D time almost in half from about 22 hours to 12 hours. And my pushing time was slashed from 2:45 to just a flat 45 minutes. If I keep this up and have another kiddo at some point I might be able to deliver the wee one in about 6-8 hours, including pushing time. But no - there are no plans for future kiddos at this point - I'm just stoked that I wasn't in labor for over 20 hours.

As soon as Boaz was delivered, he was placed on my chest and he squirmed and wiggled his way into my heart.  Don took the honor of cutting the umbilical cord (so if Bo has a funny belly button, you know why. Kidding. Sort of.) And then it was time for recovery before being taken to the mommy recovery room portion of the birthing floor...

Nested. And waiting.

We've been pretty set here for a couple of weeks now. Much thanks to my folks for coming out to help us get random odd jobs done, along with the fun of washing and sorting baby clothes. It's crazy how small newborn baby clothes are - totally hoping I don't lose all the socks in the dryer lint filter.

I even got the letters up for my babies' names in their room. (see pics below)

upgrading from the crib to the big kid bed. daddy built that new ladder just to make it more accessible for our little monkey preschooler.

so excited to use this crib again.  :)

It's exciting to be in the home stretch, but also a bit anxiety-inducing. I'm ready to have this guy already. And super ready to not be pregnant anymore.

Speaking of being ready - I'm scheduled for an induction tomorrow night if my hefty little guy doesn't make his grand entrance before then. I think 12/2 is a great day for a birthday.  It should be about 60 degrees here in Chicago then. Somehow that seems appropriate.

Now - I'm off to reorganize Bo's newborn clothes again and triple-check my hospital bag for the 10th time.

Anxious and Expecting... Still...

So my maternity leave from work has officially started, but my labor has not. The estimated due date we were given is today - but if my pregnancy with Annalee is any indication, this little guy is going to be hanging on/in until the bitter end as well... I sense an induction may be headed my way.

I was hoping for a Thanksgiving baby. And though I had a few contractions, nothing happened except maybe a little overindulgence in some delicious gobble-y morsels earlier in the day. Now I'm hoping for an 11/29 baby. I'm not sure why - but I like that date. The hubs isn't expecting this baby to drop until early December though - sometime near 12/5. I'm not too worried about his prediction - he's only right sometimes...

LARGE and in charge...

Bo that is. Not me. About being in charge. Although I guess we're kind of large together...

Things are going well in the Bratschie house. Momma Mags is visiting to help us prep for Bo and things are winding down in the nesting process here. Gearing up for the waiting game and all the fun little "honey, wake up!" moments that happen a thousand times in the middle of the night.


Starting last weekend (after my cousin's gorgeous wedding weekend - our family is awesome), baby Bo seemed to grow exponentially. The fundus grew 3 cm to 38 cm. And now he's officially ginormous. Everyone that sees me (seriously everyone - neighbors, friends, co-workers, strangers on the street) tells me that the baby has dropped. But he hasn't according to my doctor. Which just means that he's growing lower too and straight forward - and have I mentioned exponentially?

At this point (38.5 weeks along), I'm just hoping to have him while he's still able to wear newborn size onesies. Game on, Bo - I'm ready. The waiting game has begun.

Answered Prayers! God is good! :)

Just got the good news that the placenta has raised enough for us to attempt a delivery without needing a c-section. This is huge!

And to celebrate, I'm including this diagram of placenta positions:

more info here: http://www.lucinafoundation.org/pregnancycomplications-placentaprevia.html

Bo and I have a similar situation to the picture on the upper right hand side. Loving that we have been blessed with about an inch of leeway between the bottom of the placenta and the cervix, giving him plenty of room to birth without me having to get cut open. (Not that C-sections are the worst things in the world, but if I can avoid it, that's awesome.)

Thanks to everyone who has been praying on our behalf. Now - I'm selfishly asking that you continue to pray for a quick & easy delivery. THANKS AGAIN!  

Cooking with Daddy

Before Bo gets here, we're trying to get as much quality time in with our sweet little girl as possible. Don and Anna have always shared a special bond with cooking - so he made her a little step stool (with storage) that's all hers. And now she can reach the counter to help daddy cook instead of sitting up on the counter or missing out. How cool, right?

He found the plans for the step stool online here. (That site has lots of great wood working plans, btw - lots are great for beginners too). It's not decorated yet, but we'll do that soon. This was Don's first woodworking project... It turned out so great that I've already started making a list of the other furniture I want him to make - looks like he's coming back to his Amish roots...  ;)

referencing the book "How to Cook Everything" for the perfect pancake recipe...

getting ready to add the strawberries

stirring to the perfect consistency

Halloween Costumes on a time-budget....

So we've obviously been a little busy recently. Quick & easy Halloween costumes were a must - if we were going to do it at all. We decided to go to a special fall event held by our church called Fallapalooza - that was yesterday. Cool name, right? The event was awesome too. Anyway - Annalee wanted to be a kitty cat and I found a great idea for a home-made maternity t-shirt online. Both costumes were quick and simple - with minimal cost (picked up everything at Target, except fabric paint - found that at a one-off trip to Walmart. (Total cost for both costumes about $20). What's not to love about that, right?


Anyway - here are some pictures of us in our fun costumes this year:

Annalee in the costume contest - worried about the mud in the field...

side view of her super cute kitty cat whiskers

this is my favorite picture of my favorite kitty cat

here we were trying to take the picture ourselves using the self-timer. kitty cats don't quite understand what ten seconds is...

here we managed to get Don to take our picture together

close up of the t-shirt. you can't really see it, but Bo is wearing a tie (blue paint). Cute, no?  ;)

this next chapter should be a good one...

so we're officially moved into our new house. we have almost twice the amount of space that we had in our perfect urban condo. and walls that go to the ceiling - can i tell you how much i love that? as we've been prepping the condo to show to potential buyers, it's been a different kind of feeling to walk through the hollow rooms that were once filled with our little family just living life. The place echoes now - our voices reverberating around the walls and off the tall ceilings. During one of these visits, I started to think about all that we've experienced in the past 5 years there. It's been kind of a wild ride, after all. Don bought that place to be his perfect bachelor pad a few months before he met me. It's seen us through our times as "just a couple" when I would visit Don on date nights and he would prepare some elaborate meals - to being newlyweds and all the ups and downs that come with that - and now, being parents (raising a little one in such a small space is not easy - and the huge all-surrounding windows that were so cool before parenthood are definitely a source of anxiety when babies and toddler-hood enter the equation.) It's truly been a place of transition for us as individuals and as a family. and I know there are parts of the loft we're going to miss (great location and a cool, urban feel), but we are so happy to be in our new home. and it's finally starting to feel like home as we settle in...

i think the bottom line of the entire moving process is knowing that we are exactly where we're supposed to be right now - for lack of a better way to express it, our new house just 'feels right'. it's big enough for us and our growing family and we really like our new neighborhood and the super friendly neighbors that we've met so far (even if it is a different kind of experience for us). And definitely appreciating our dear friends that helped us so much through the moving process and this crazy transition, as well as all the changes leading up to this one. Seriously - you know you have good friends when they help you move. #realfriends

now that all the excitement and work of our moving process is finally coming to a close, we're able to focus on prepping for Bo. It's hard to believe that my due date is less than 5 weeks away now! all three of us are so excited to meet him and hold his little baby hands and kiss his face all over (maybe that last part is just me...?) we're putting some finishing touches on his room and praying for him every single day. and if you think about it - can you say a prayer for us too? (selfishly, i'm going to ask that you pray for me to have a quick and painless delivery. note that i didn't say and/or. i definitely want it to be both...) 

and here's a pic of his latest ultrasound.

it's a close-up of his face - he's already got some cute chubby cheeks - and an adorable baby nose. and yes, the placenta is still low. i won't know what that means for me delivery-wise until I talk to my doctor again later this week. praying that we can avoid a c-section, but either way - i'm excited to meet my little man and give him hugs and kisses. and even put him in sweater vests. because everyone knows, there's nothing cuter than a baby boy in a sweater vest.  ; )

so - a fun family fact about us: every night we read a chapter of a book as a family before bedtime. we just finished our last story a few days ago and started a new one. that's kind of where we are with all these other changes in our lives. we're nesting and getting settled in at the new house, the condo will belong to someone else soon. and Bo is so close to being born... - a lot of things we've been waiting for and working towards are almost here... and that makes me think about how much we've been looking forward to all of it - and still are. this next chapter and book should be a good one.

and ps - if anyone has a great recommendation for a kids story to read at bedtime, let me know! we're also looking for great books to add to the rotation. 

Excitement! And lots of work...

It's official! We're homeowners! We closed last Thursday, but the past week or so has been a blur of cleaning, small projects, moving parties, meeting great new neighbors and harnessing a toddler - just now getting around to updating our baby blog.

We were able to take a bit of a respite last night to go to a dear friend's birthday party. Wow - I needed that.  ;)


And now back to the moving grind. We have most of our boxes of stuff at the house now, huge thanks to several friends that generously volunteered their time, packing skills, labor and SUVs. Today is the day for moving the big furniture with a rented zip van. And this is where me and my low-lying placenta kindly bow out of the moving adventure. I'll be taking Annalee to see some of her buddies at church this morning and then working on the new house - hoping to work on the bedrooms a bit today. Get that ready for us to really get settled in. Pictures to come.

I'm not sure I can even express how happy I am that all of us are going to be in one house again. It was just way too hard to be spread out in two different locations. A huge shout out to our friends that helped us move. We seriously could not do this without them.


About our sweet little Bo - he's doing great. He's already turned and his head is lying really low - creating some interesting standing/sitting/laying down positions for me. The placenta is still low too - but our next ultrasound won't happen until early November - at that point, my talented doctor will determine if I need a c-section or how would should approach this delivery.


We're all excited for little Bo's arrival. I'm hoping we have enough time to get his bedroom in order before he's born. And Annalee is started to talk about being a big sister - she's going to be awesome.  ;)


Love and hugs, all!
A

Ridiculously Ambiguous Ultrasound Pic & Other Updates

I know it's been a bit since we've last posted. We've had lots going on - just like everyone else - but for some reason, without really having any 'news' to share, it didn't seem too important to give updates. So basically, our current status is the same. We're waiting. Waiting for my placenta to stop lying low. Waiting for Baby Bo to be born. Waiting to close on the house we want to buy. Waiting to find what's next. Waiting. (So thank you for stopping by and reading about our waiting...)

Because of my low-lying placental issue, I need monthly ultrasounds so the docs can stay on top of the issue. One of my regular ultrasounds was this morning. Mostly uneventful - but Bo did kick the tech once or twice - she wasn't impressed (for the record: I was impressed). My tech was chatty and nice though. But we still don't know if the placenta is officially covering the cervix or just laying low. Either way - I'll probably be back and get some more pictures and keep an eye on things. If the placenta doesn't move up, I'll be scheduling a C-section. Not really a warm & fuzzy thought - so keep my placenta situation in your prayers, eh?

The bonus of having to get so many ultrasounds is all the cute pics of in-utero Bo that we get. There was only one from our photo shoot this morning though. And, as the title of this post would imply, it's ridiculously ambiguous. I doubt a seasoned ultrasound tech would even be able to discern that they're looking at an OB ultrasound. Maybe a kidney or something. Regardless, it's posted here for your viewing 'pleasure'...

Now about the house situation: The closing date and time has finally been set for this coming Thursday morning, 9/20. This has been a very long time coming - we had put our original offer in back in early July. The home inspection found a few items that needed to be addressed, but the seller has been decent enough and the required modifications have been made - thus taking even more time. We've been spending most of our time lately talking about paint colors and how we're going to get everything done before Bo is born (especially as that timing-window keeps getting smaller due to this home-buying thing being such a long process).

We also just bought a new mattress! Oh the excitement of being a grown-up...

As for our plans for this weekend? We're going to take it easy and rest. The real work begins next weekend.

Love and Hugs!

Bo's 2nd Photo Shoot (AKA More ultrasound pics...)

After spending a couple of hours waiting to be seen, we finally got into the ultrasound room. We also agreed never to bring Annalee with us to a doctor's appointment that's not for her again. So unfair for her - two year olds aren't meant to wait in doctor's offices.

The ultrasound tech was patient with all three of us and took her time getting all the needed measurements. The good news is that we were able to get some decent profile shots of in utero Bo looking his best. The bad news is that the placenta is still pretty low - the tech didn't want to talk about it with us (not that I can blame her), but told me to discuss it with my doctor. So - more on that as we go along and learn more.

But for now - the moment you've all been waiting for...

 

Top to Bottom: Feet, Profile, Profile, "It's-a-Boy!"

I managed to scan the pics in so I could show them in super extra large size too.  You're welcome.  ;)

Keeping Cool & Other Updates

With temps staying low(ish), we're getting some help from Momma Nature to stay cool and relaxed. We were able to open the windows in our lovely loft space and get some fresh air over the past couple of days. The view of the lake is something we're going to miss.

In housing news: So an update on the house situation: we finally got an official contract - our closing date is scheduled for September 7th. We're pretty excited about the big move and keep praying that everything goes well. A house inspection is scheduled for next week - so hopefully our contract home passes inspection with flying colors.

Outside View of our Contract Home - Isn't she a beaut?!

In related news: anyone out there great at painting walls/applying wallpaper and open sometime in early- to mid-September? We'd love your help! I'll even write a tribute to you on our blog! And of course, we'll keep you well fed and supplied with plenty to drink... {tempting, no?}

In toddler news: Anna-bears is doing great so far with all the changes. She talks a lot about "loving on Bo" and when she knows she's been bad and is about to get in trouble, she'll give mommy/daddy a hug and say "I'm just loving on you". Smart girl. It still works with me. #toddlerwins

In baby news: Bo has his next photo op (AKA ultrasound) tomorrow morning. Our low-lying placenta issue means monthly ultrasound checkups for us, which is kind of nice - I love having so many pictures of in utero Bo. And don't worry - we'll post some of his best shots to the blog soon after his photo shoot. 

Taking It Easy...

It's been a chill weekend for us Bratschies - well, at last 3/4ths of us. Don is sailing the Hook race this weekend so Anna, In-Utero Bo and I have been operating sans Don. And although Don has probably been working up a sweat in this blistering hit and nasty humidity, the rest of us have been kicking back and relaxing. We had a day at the Children's Museum - and another day at the park - but mostly we've been staying inside and catching up on Madagascar (again) and Little Einsteins (also, again). Annalee even had her very first root beer float! I think she preferred the ice cream to the root beer though.

Annalee building a skyscraper at the Children's Museum (with her friend, Abel - not pictured)

The heat isn't the only thing influencing us to take it easy, I found out late last week that Bo & I are dealing with low-lying placenta. The doctors don't seem too worried about it - apparently it usually corrects itself within a few months. However, it can cause some big problems if it doesn't move by the time Bo is ready to make his grand entrance - possibly blocking the birth canal and forcing a c-section. As a result of this news, I've learned that I need to keep a slow tempo until the placenta can get its ducks in a row.  (Done and done.)

Also - Bo & I are at 22 weeks! We're in spaghetti squash territory in terms of growth and produce. And for some reason, I've been feeling pretty tired the past week or so - I'm pretty sure he's having a growth spurt. I guess that's another reason to take it easy. ;)

Another thing to note: this boy is KICKIN'! I was joking with Don that I don't even know if I'll have the chance to birth him - I think he'll punch and kick his way out of my womb before my water even has a chance to break.  He kicks hard too... good boy - as long as he doesn't hurt his momma.

On the homefront - we still have a house on the line right now - but don't have an official closing date set yet. In spite of the limbo, we're excited to have room to grow and happy about the possibility. Waiting & growing (some of us, literally)...

I love this cake!

And the little person growing inside that it represents. For our newest little one, we decided to have a little cake party to answer the big question - boy or girl?

The basics of how it went down - we had our first ultrasound kind of late - I was already at about 18 weeks. Our ultrasound tech was able to determine gender, but instead of telling us there (for anyone who hasn't been to Mt. Sinai, it's not exactly a romantic or personal type of atmosphere...) we asked the tech to put the answer into an envelope and seal it. She handed us the sealed envelope and we stored it at home on our wine cabinet for about a week before we decided to throw a cake party!

After pricing around and seeing what our options might be, I ended up ordering our cake from Whole Foods in the South Loop. Not only did they have a great price for a really delicious cake, but the bakery team is awesome! And they had done a baby cake like this before, so they knew that they had to keep the insides a secret from me (the cake orderer). I've been craving donuts and chocolate, so I ordered a chocolate cake with vanilla butter cream frosting and chocolate ganache over everything. The trick about this is that the bakery team had to color the inside frosting either pink or blue to indicate if we're having a boy or a girl. Then Don and I (&Annalee) would find out with everyone else if we're having a boy or a girl when we cut into the cake. Awesome, right?!

Here's some pictures of us cutting into the cake...

I was pretty sure I knew what color the icing was, but not completely positive - it looked kind of purple-ish maybe. So we consulted the ultrasound photo we had given to the bakery team...

And there it was - plain as day - "it's a boy!" The delicious frosting was blue, not purple!  :)

And here's a picture of our number one reveling in the goods...

Delicious cake, great friends and family - all in all a really great way to find out the answer to that all important question "he or she?". And yes, for anyone out there looking to unload some baby boy clothes - we LOVE hand-me-downs...  ;)

And now to figure out where our little guy is going to sleep...

Daddy's first post (this time around)

Well, Amanda works now and I am Mr. Mom and I get those few blissful hours in the afternoon when Anna is napping so I guess I need to start carrying my weight on the blog posting...
Let's talk gender. And gender parties. I know - sounds kinda weird right? But not to worry... we are going to have a pretty original gender party at our place tonight!

So readers of this blog undoubtedly saw Amanda's post last week - "that new baby's" first photo shoot. Don't worry - you won't be able to tell if it is a boy or girl from those ultrasound pics. We decided to be surprised with Anna but this time we have too much planning to do. We are in the process of moving into a house (after 5 years of condo living this will be our first real house with real grass!!!!) and we need to figure out if we need separate rooms for the kids, etc. Soooo... two people know the gender right now. The tech who put it in the envelope, and the Whole Foods baker who got that envelope and is putting pink or blue icing inside the cake we cut into tonight at the gender party (see, its not nearly as weird as it sounded, huh?)  I'm kinda pulling for a boy but believe God decided to surround me with girls my whole life for a reason... sigh... I will never have my own space.

 

We will post an update this weekend with the answer... pink or blue? Take your guess now!

 

Baby's First Photo Shoot!

After much waiting, we finally had our very first ultrasound of our newest little bundle of joy!

The first few frames don't really look like anything - not very recognizable (at least not to me). I even thought the third one looked like a thumbs up - until I read the caption "foot". Hmmm... good thing I'm not an ultrasound tech.

We asked the tech to keep the gender a secret. We're still not sure if and how we want to find out the answer to the big question: girl or boy? So for now, the answer to that question is safely tucked away in an envelope. And the last I saw, said envelope was "safely" tucked away in Don's pocket.

So - how are things going overall, you ask? Well - so far, so good. I'm feeling pretty good in my second trimester. Made it past the nausea and overall exhaustion of the first trimester as of a few weeks ago. I'm not so terribly huge that I'm confined to maternity clothes yet - but they sure are comfier than my non-maternity duds.

And Annalee is excited for her little baby sibling. We talk about how babies are different from big girls and she's a big girl now. And that mommy is growing a baby in her belly. She talks to Baby and gives it hugs and kisses. She gets confused sometimes though and thinks that everyone is growing babies in their bellies. Most notably, that SHE is growing a baby in her belly. Funny? Yes. But we try not to encourage it (for obvious reasons).

Also - for anyone that knows how our current place is laid out - yes, we know it's small. We're hoping to be in a bigger place before Baby comes along in November, but I know we can make it work at our current address if we need to. After all, they ("they" being the Beatles, of course...) say that all you need is love, right? (And a couple dozen newborn diapers... and maybe some earplugs???)



And now, without further adieu, a close-up of my favorite picture from this morning's photo shoot:

It's official! Anna is going to be a big sister!

Our news is officially official. We went Facebook public with the announcement of our growing family on May 22nd.  Our little blog did such a great job of keeping loved ones informed on the coming of our little Anna-bug. So now, of course - we're back to blogging! (Aren't you excited?!)

See the newsworthy announcement here...

And for those of you not on Facebook, this was Don's latest update on the newest member of our clan: The deets: Amanda is due Nov 28th, she just hit 13 wks so we should be smooth sailing into the 2nd tri and baby is the size of a shrimp. Just a normal shrimp, not one of those gigantic shrimp cocktail. Anyway we are starting up the old blog soon and will keep everyone posted! (wasn't it nice of him to warn everyone about the blog? Yeah - I thought so too.)

As of today, I'm officially 14 weeks along and new Baby is about the size of a lemon. Which is probably just a coincidence, but I've been craving tart things lately. One of the first questions people ask when they discover/uncover/reveal that you're preggers - besides 'when are you due?' is 'have you had any cravings?'. Well - first trimester all I could think about was donuts. I think I did a pretty good job limiting my time at Dunkin Donuts and I may have even made it past that there's-no-way-they-can-actually-be-what-my-body-needs craving. Although, admittedly, I am familiar with their Men in Black 3 products and think that entire partnership is kind of genius (and delicious - picture below)

Crave-worthy

Yummy, right? But thankfully, my unstoppable cravings have started to focus more on things like lemonade, salt and vinegar potato chips, pickles, relish & mustard (on hotdogs) - really, just anything tart. And soft serve ice cream (unrelated). This is not a typical pickles & ice cream preggo story. Although - I really wouldn't be surprised if that comes in about a week or two.

And really - that's all the news and updates we have for the moment. Maybe even more than you really wanted to know - but thanks a bunch for tuning in with us and caring enough about us Bratschies to read our blog. We have some of the best friends in the whole world!  :)

Love and hugs!