20 week ultrasound

BABY'S HAND AT 20 WEEKS

BABY'S FEET

WHAT A SWEET PROFILE!!!

We had our 20 week ultrasound last Thursday. It went great. Again....so far so good!!

The perinatalogist we saw last time told us he wanted us to ONLY SEE him. But, he was called out of the office for an emergency. So, we saw one of his partners. The Dr. in the office really wanted to scan us b/c we were 20 weeks and did not want the baby to get any bigger for the "typical" anatomy scan. But, they rescheduled me to go this Thursday just so the original peri can check the brain. The "new" peri did check it and asked us all about the history of Anderson and Chiari. He too scanned the brain and said....looking good. Nothing to indicate any problems. We are still cautious about these statements, but still encouraged. This Dr. actually admitted to Charlie and I that we knew more about Chiari than he did.....he said with a smile, "this is one of the cases where you know more than the peri....as we diagnose it, but we do not do the care of the infant so we are not "up" on the latest and greatest when it comes to the treatment of it." He was really nice and sweet.

They checked the brain, heart, legs, gender parts (no we did not see!), stomach, kidneys, etc. The peri watched the baby's ankles move....sometimes a neural tube defect could cause problems with the ankles....according to the Dr. Little #4 was kicking away ;) So that is good too.

I have to say.... I thought I saw a little penis at one point on the scan. I waited about 5 minutes after I saw it and asked the Dr. if he had seen the gender at any point in the scan so far. He said back to me, "NO! I can tell you and your husband are "savvy" at reading these ultrasounds...so, I am not going anywhere near that area". So....who knows what I saw ;)

It was so fun to see the baby again. I will be able to get another glimpse this Thursday. This baby is going to have quite the photo album from all of the u/s before it is born.

The heartbeat was at 145.......the u/s tech said there is NOOOO truth to that old wives tale ;) and for me not to read into the rate......

Rain

Woke up this am and thought that people were moving their trash cans around at 6:30 AM...and the weird thing is....garbage day is not until Thursday! ??? Charlie came upstairs to see if it was me making the noise.

It is thunder and lightning! WOW!!! We have not seen lightning or heard thunder for about 8 years. We do not have those storms here. Growing up, Charlie and I always heard them. Ryan was calling it the "ROAR"...

How fun!! Makes me want to get a fire going and curl up and watch a movie. OH yeah, forgot. It is Monday, Char has work, and the kids have school. Back to reality and making PBJ!

HAPPY MONDAY!

Good Manners...Good day.....

Today was a GREAT day for the kids.

ANDERSON - He had a wonderful day at therapy. His speech therapist said he was doing really well. He signed want and said "wa" for her today! They tried blowing bubbles, but he tends to lick the wand instead of blowing. I have been practicing this at home as well and he does lick, not blow! ;) CUTE!! But, he is still blowing his Thomas whistle! Way to go Anderson!

RYAN - When I picked Ryan up from preschool today, his teacher found me. She said...."I wanted to tell you that Ryan is my BEST listener in class. I have noticed this in Ryan all year so far...he is my role model for the other children. ;)" I was so happy. Ryan told me in the car when we left school that he was sitting on his carpet square, with his "lips zipped and locked" waiting patiently, while all the other children were chatting!! ;) I was so happy to hear that Ryan is a good listener and a role model for the other students. We went to Jamba Juice to celebrate with a smoothie. Ryan was also thrilled b/c I let him have a piece of gum when we got home as well! ;)

KAITLYN - At school, if Kaitlyn is "Caught being good"....you get a "ticket" to place in the principal's office. Kaitlyn got a "caught being good ticket" last week. Then, every morning during the morning announcements they draw a name for the entire school. Kaitlyn's name was chosen out of the box during the morning announcements today and she was able to go to the principal's office to choose a toy. Kaitlyn said her whole class was cheering for her when they read her name over the loud speaker at school ;) how cute!! Also, every Friday, Kaitlyn is tested on her "turtle words". They are site words that are on a "turtle shell". The teacher will test ech of the students every Friday, then you color in that part of the turtle shell (easier to follow if you see the test). Anyway, Kaitlyn finished Turtle 1 last week...and had her Turtle 2 test this week. She got 100% on it today. So, she was able to pick a prize from her teacher's treasure box as well today. What a day at Kinder for Kaitlyn!!! Way to go.

Charlie and I were happy parents tonight. Yes, I am bragging right now....but, I am proud that our little ones were using their manners and others noticed and they were recognized for it. Way to go Kaitlyn and Ryan.

And Anderson....he continues to grow and amaze us every day and every week! Way to go little warrior!

Healing Mass

Last night Charlie and I took Anderson to a healing mass. It was at the Church affiliated with Kaitlyn's school. There was a visiting priest from Jerusalem that was in town to perform the healing service.

A friend of mine, Laura, told me about the mass and suggested we go with Anderson. Laura was one of the many people that helped organize masses and prayer groups while Anderson had his surgery 6 months ago.

The mass started at 7:30 PM. We were NOT sure how Anderson would do since his bedtime is 7:30PM. We had a babysitter b/c there was a parent meeting at school at 6:00. So, Char and I went by ourselves to school, then went back home, picked up Anderson in his PJ's and took him back over to mass. We got there around 8. There were 3 seats left....right next to my friend Laura ;) Anderson was simply an angel throughout mass. Did not make a sound. Just went from my arms to Charlie's arms, back and forth.

Then, after the mass was the healing service. It honestly was like something you would see on TV. It was overwhelming to see what was happening. Row by row you were asked to step forward if you wanted healing. They had 5 "catchers" stand behind people to catch them if they fell over after the priest prayed over them.

Since we were in the BACK of the Church and it was almost 9 PM by this point....Laura suggested....why don't you go forward and have Anderson prayed over since it is so late. Laura knew one of the woman (Karen) organizing the people approaching the altar and suggested I go see her.

So, I took Anderson to the front, introduced myself to Karen and said I was here for my son and it was late. She understood and had me wait for the 1st 2 rows to go b/c they were "reserved". No problem. As I am standing there, I watched about 30 people being prayed over......most of whom all fell over after the priest prayed over them. I did NOT see the priest say anything to the individuals.....just praying and healing ech of them. You were not suppose to speak to the priest, as they told us "Jesus knows what needs to be healed in ech of you already". So, you were suppose to stand at the altar and accept the healing w/o words.

Then, it was our turn to stand up there with a row of people. Karen asked me, "Is your husband here, do you think he should be up here holding the baby?" I told her I would be fine (I did not want to make a big scene and go back and get Charlie since I was "jumping" the line so much!) And, I thought I would be fine. Karen said, "Are you sure?" I said, Yes, I am here for my son, I just want my son prayed over.

I stood there and watched as the 5 people to my left all fell over and fell over. It was our turn. The priest approached us, and I said, "Pls pray for my son". The priest prayed over Anderson, touched Anderson's head, held Anderson's head and prayed over him for a long long time. Anderson made NO noise! Anderson sat in my arms perfectly still.

Then, the priest prayed over me. I started to feel (honestly) like I was going to fall backwards, the priest grabbed my elbows and held me. He then held my shoulders and continued to pray. Then, I looked at the priest and he said to me....

"I wish you MY PEACE. I can tell you are living afraid. Do not be afraid!"

It brings tears back to my eyes to write this. First of all, I did not hear the priest speak to ANYONE else. But, he spoke to me. And secondly and most importantly......I believe that was God speaking to me thru this man. Those words he said to me have been my life for the past 12-18 months. I have been living in fear and afraid. Afraid of what was wrong with my son, afraid of what the future holds for our son, afraid of what all of this means....fear and afraid. I could NOT believe this priest who does NOT know us, does NOT know Anderson's story would utter those words to me. I just held Anderson and cried after the prayer. It was incredible. Then, we walked back to our seats to Charlie. A friend, Betsy, was in the audience and she was crying, crying after she saw us at the altar. Betsy stood up and gave us the biggest, sweetest hug. Then, Laura did the same.

Today, my friend Elaine wanted to know about the mass. I called her and told her about it and she pointed something out to me. She said....Liz, you said to the woman in the front.....I am here for my son, could we possibly go sooner since it is late. You said to the priest, pls pray for my son....you were not there for you, but yet the priest KNEW what healing you needed.

Elaine is so right....so very very right.

It was an amazing night. I wanted to share what happened. It was very overwhelming to me what transpired. I had never been to a healing service so I was not sure what to expect. It was very moving.

PS - I think it was NO coincidence either that my son was 2 hours past his bedtime by the time we left and he was CALM, and relaxed.....not 1 fuss the entire time. Anderson felt where we were....I believe it!

2 more days....

until my next perinatologist appt. We will be doing our 20 week ultrasound at this appt. AHHH!!! We are NOT finding out the sex of the baby....unless it accidentally slips in one of the 5 u/s I will be having over the next 20 weeks.....I am getting anxious about it.....

God Rest

Our little fish ;) It had a good run in our house. The longest living gold fish......1 week.

19 weeks

Good morning!

I only a few minutes to write...then off for our morning routine.

Yesterday I had my OB appt. It went great!!! LOVE my doctor. LOVE her!!! She looks like Jamie Lynn Sigler...beautiful woman always dressed in her scrubs and then her Prada shoes, Gucci shoes, etc. She cracks me up. She will even wear them in the OR sometimes! hA! When Anderson was born, she asked me which pair of shoes I wanted her to wear in the OR...I told her the orange Prada ones I LOVED! ;)

Anyway, the baby's heartbeat was 149....It has not really gone away from there. It has been 148-151 everytime they check it. This baby is consistent!

I have been concerned the last few weeks b/c I have not been feeling much movement...at ALL! I was 19 weeks along yesterday with my 4th child. So, this was beginning to worry me. But, I asked the Dr. about it...she said my placenta is "anterior"...which means it is in the front, so I will not feel the littel flutters...more the BIG kicks...which obviously happen later. Whew. This made me feel so much better. With Anderson, I felt him move starting at 13 weeks. Okay, I know many of you are saying...NO WAY. But, THEN, I had an u/s at 13 weeks and told the tech....and she said, I believe it b/c the placenta is POSTERIOR (in the back). So, Anderson was laying on it like a pillow, pushing him to the front. And since he was my 3rd, they (Dr. and ultrasound tech) did believe I was feeling movement. SO, at 19 weeks....and I've got about a handful of movements thus far, I was slightly concerned. I knew 13 was early, but felt 19 was late. An anterior placenta made me feel much better! This AM, I was in bed trying to get Anderson to fall back to sleep (at 5:15 AM)....and I could feel this little one move around a little bit. Made me smile. I can tell the movements are getting stronger. LOVE IT!

I also talked to the OB about banking the cord blood. She said 100% yes...yes....yes!! She said she recommends it to all of her patients. So, we are doing it. Char was gone yesterday, so he did not know I spent the $$$$ for this (it is pricey, but you can't really, to me put a price on it). I laughed when I talked to my Mom and told her about the appt and that Char did not know I just spent all tht $$$. (PS - When I told Char about it, he said of course, we are doing it...so, he was glad the Dr. marked our file accordingly that we would be banking the cord blood!)

It amazed me how research changes...and so quickly. When I was prego with Kaitlyn, they approached Char and I about banking her cord blood....but the Drs. recommendation at the time was No. The chances are so slim, that we would not do it. And, at that point, they were using it to treat leukemia in children. So, we did not do it. Do not remember it coming up with Ryan or Anderson. Then, my friend Kristen sent me this link...... http://www.davisgoestochina.com

It is unbelievable to watch. Pls read and take the time to watch the video at the bottom. I was OVERWHELMED!!! I felt I was WATCHING Anderson ta 9 months of age. And for those that did not know, they originally were saying that Anderson possibly had cerebal palsy. HE DID NOT HAVE IT, he had CHIARI...but, watching that little boy at 9 months of age was like watching Anderson. So, the story really touched home for me. When you watch, you will see why. Then, I was AMAZED at what they did with his cord blood.

Anyway...back to OB....I asked the nurse about it 1st...she said 100% we tell our patients to do it. I said....you guys delivered Anderson and I do not remember it coming up. The nurse explained that it has only been for less than 2 years they have been recommending it. Anderson was "b/4" they started pushing all of their patients to do it. The nurse has a son Kaitlyn's age. So, we both saying that 5-6 years ago the rec was "No". But, the medical research has advanced so much...even in 2 years...that the recommendation has changed to "yes".

I had the same conversation with the OB....so, yes. We will be doing this. I think it is amazing what medical advances we have made...and how quickly things change.

Then, I asked the OB "How long will you let me stay pregnant" (since this is a csection, we get to pick the date). OB laughed and said she NEVER hears that question...usually it is HOW QUICKLY can I have this baby. I LOVE LOVE LOVE being prego...and want it to last as long as possible. ;) Then, I asked her..."Since this will probably be our last baby, was there any way she could arrange a room with a view" (our hospital is on the beach!) The OB laughed and said..."I think I can make that arrangement for you too, no problem!" FUN!!!

Also, asked her if the Drano test worked. She laughed and said about as good as anything else...you got a 50-50 chance! My guess is as good as those things..I asked the OB what her guess was...she said...girl. We shall see....

Great appt yesterday!!!

Off to make a PB&J sandwich for lunch!
Have a good Thursday!

The EVENTS of the day

Okay....let me start with our morning:

7 AM - Getting kids ready for school. Kaitlyn goes to the restroom, comes out saying, "Mommy I think there is a problem with the toilet." WHAT? Charlie is not home this AM to help me out....so, into the bathroom I go. It is over flowing....OH GREAT. I do not know what to do. I call my Mom ;) she tells me what to do. I have toilet water ALL over my bathroom floor, it is now 7:10 AM and we need to leave at 7:30 AM, I have not showered or dressed.....Got it cleared, thank goodness and cleaned up. I did manage to get a QUICK shower, everyone else dressed, lunches made and breakfast done.

7:40 AM - Left the house for Kaitlyn's school....and made it in time even though we left 10 minutes later than I like to leave...

8:15 AM - Meet Lyna at Starbucks, she is taking Ryan for the morning so he does not have to stay at Anderson's therapy! (Lyna, you rock!)

8:40 AM - TONS of traffic on the freeway. Call therapy to say I am coming. Sweet Theresa (who answers the phones says)...no problem, and she says "Liz, remember you were asking me if Ryan Seacrest was going to be here today for the fundraiser.....he is heeerreee!" I was cracking up, I was listening to Ryan's radio show on air that morning and knew he was down there.

9:00 AM - Get to therapy on time despite traffic, whew! Anderson's speech therapist takes him. She takes him until PT that starts at 10AM and he never comes back to me. They will transistion him from 1 to the next so he does not cry between when they bring him back to me.

9:10 AM - I get a "pager" from the reception desk in the therapy department b/c I am going upstairs to see what is going on at the fundraiser. This way they can page me if they need anything...

9:15 AM - 10:30 AM - I am watching the radio show being broadcasted, watching the smiles on the children's faces as they meet celebrities....Heidi and Spencer from the Hills were there, one of the guys from 90210 was there, Misty-Mae Traenor (Olympic gold medalist), Neo (a singer), Jesse McCartney. Fun. Got lots of photos of these guys, too shy to get in the photo with them since I do not have A with me.....Anderson was downstairs in therapy and I was upstairs.

10:30 AM - Go downstairs. A's therapy is suppose to be over at 10:50 AM. I think I am early! I get downstairs....one of the girls that does the scheduling says, LIZ they have been looking for you. I panic, WHAT IS WRONG?? She says...Anderson did not have PT today, it was cx. He only had speech. WHAT??? I am freaking out. She said, one of the speech therapists has him right now. SO, we go on a hunt for them. I am feeling SO so so so bad. They ask if I got the page, I pull the pager out of my purse, yep a page...I NEVER heard it go off...probably b/c it was SO noisy upstairs. Okay, I am REALLY feeking bad!!

10:40AM - They page the girl that has Anderson (she and Anderson went upstairs looking for me). Here they come...all smiles. I am feeling TERRIBLE!!! With that, I see A's PT and asked her if it was cx...she reminds me...liz, I told you last week, remember...you said great, 1 less therapy for that week, no problem. Oh, yes, we did talk about it. JUST FORGET in my PREGO scattered brain. In my mind when I woke up this AM, I remembered that conversation and in my mind it ACTUALLY happened last week, not that we talked about it. In my defense, his PT was on vacation 2 weeks ago and we did not have therapy that week, so I was confusing all of the weeks and cx and trying to keep it straight. Anyway, I MESSED up. I am upstairs trying to watch the celebs and my son is downstairs looking for me. Luckily in 2 years I have NEVER done this. I am ALWAYS in the waiting room waiting for him, but happened to be upstairs making a donation, buying a tshirt for the cause, watching the people, watching the behind the scenes stuff, etc. SO FUNNY! I felt BAD!!! In the meantime....look at the pic I was NOT shy to ask for....



Yes, that is Ryan Seacrest and me! I stood by "important" looking people....waited for Ryan.

I said "Ryan". He turned to me and said, "Yes". I continued to say, "Thank you so much for doing this fundraiser for this hospital. My son has been coming here for 2 years and it means so much to our family and we are so thankfull for this community. THANK you for doing this". As I am tearing up b/c I can NEVER talk about Anderson's hospital and his therapists w/o tearing up. They have been such an instrumental part of his growth. Ryan gave me the BIGGEST hug...(and he is ripped by the way, you can tell he works out ;)...I think with my prego belly I weigh more than Ryan right now!!)

He gave me a long hug, smiled and said, "It is my pleasure to do this for all of the families. I know how important it is." Then, I asked for a photo. All I had was my Iphone....and a security guard standing there to take it. The guard at 1st accidentally turned my phone off b/c he hit the wrong button ( I am so embarrassed at this point)....and then, he takes the pics. But, Ryan looks away!!!! BUMMER!!! He is looking at some of the kids that were waiting around us! SO much fun anyway!! Ryan was so nice, lots of smiles. And, he is short....but he is cute! I Like short guys anyway! ;)

*** I call Char and tell him. He is cracking up at me...saying...only you. Then, he says...did you tell Ryan we love watching American Idol? I said no, and I told Char what I did say...and he said, Oh, I guess that was more appropriate ;) hA!

** Oh, yeah....and don't forget my son is downstairs all the while waiting for his mother as I am doing this....MOTHER OF THE YEAR today!!! ;) HA! HA!! HA!!! I am taking some YUMMY cookies into the girls tmr to say THANKS for "babysitting Anderson" while I was upstairs hanging out with Ryan. ha, ha, ha! I do still feel really bad about it. But, one time in 2 years is not too bad of a track record...at least that is what I keep telling myself! ;) It is so hard to keep 3 kids straight....much less Anderson's 6 hours a week of therapy and moves and cx....but, I try! MOTHER OF THE YEAR TO ME!

Goldfish

This past weekend was the Church festival at our Church. Charlie got home early from work Friday night and we were able to attend with the kids. We had a blast. The kids rode rides and played lots of games. Kaitlyn won a stuffed animal playing darts and throwing the softballs in a tic tac toe. She did great. Ryan won a stuffed animal playing darts as well.

THEN, we went over to the goldfish booth. BACKGROUND: Last year Daddy was out of town and Aunt Patty was visiting, we won a few goldfish and had to buy the tank, etc with the goldfish. I think they lasted 48 hours. So....we have this tank sitting around the house. Kaitlyn has been asking for a few months when we would go to the festival and get new goldfish. BACK TO FRIDAY: Kaitlyn throws her balls...and gets 2 out of the 4 balls into the goldfish bowls. LUCKY us...we win 2 goldfish. At least this year, I do not have to buy the tank. My friend, Amanda, working the booth next door to the goldfish says...Perfect, JUST what you need...one more thing in your house to take care of!! I think ...what do you mean 3 kids, one with special needs, a dog, a cat, and a fish....why would we not need 2 more fish. Ha! HA!! hA!! OH, yeah and a prego Mom?? But, the look of excitement on Kaitlyn's face said it all......We did need these 2 fish!!

So, we brought home the goldfish. One died that night. We had a 2nd one and it was going strong. I decide I needed to feed it this AM. I MIGHT have fed it too much. I am thinking, oh well...it will be fine. OH, about 3:30 PM...I realize it is not looking so good. My friend Bridgit was working the festival. I asked her if she could "win" us a new one b/4 anyone could notice b/c I MIGHT have killed this one feeding it too much...and it seemed like a "sturdy" one. Bridgit comes over tonight after the festival with a goldfish (and a milkshake for the 2 prego ladies...Bridgit is prego too!) So, I disposed of the other fish while everyone was sleeping, cleaned the tank and added the new fish from Bridgit. SHHHH don't tell. BUT, it is 10:30 and this 3rd fish is looking a little tired, a little sick. I think we will have dead fish #3 by the morning. Poor Kaitlyn. I hope she is not too heartbroken.

I think I will wait until after school to break the news to her.

Good effort Bridgit. Bridgit even called me from the festival "checking on the color" of the fish to help with the switch. I think I might have helped the sturdy one go a little sooner than necessary with too much food. But, that is okay....we still have "ah-duh duh"....Anderson's beta fish. That thing is quite hardy!!

We always have the festival next year!!!

18.5 Weeks

It is so hard to believe we are already 18.5 weeks. Time is REALLY going by so quickly....and I feel that this time of year (October-December) REALLY goes by so fast!!! WHEW! We will have baby #4 in no time at all.

I am feeling great. This (shhh......afraid to say it out loud) has been the easiest pregnancy yet. I did have contractions last month my doctor was very nervous about....she scared the pants off me. Basically, I MIGHT have done a hike in Portland that was a LITTLE, TINY bit too much. Climbing rocks, moving logs, wading thru waist high, zero degree water (well, Char did carry me thru this part! HA!), climbing more logs, scaling more rocks....might...just MIGHT have been too much to do at 13 weeks. But, hey...it was fun. But, OF COURSE not at the jeopardy of little Mescher 4. Since that hike, I started to contract. I would have contractions regularly for over an hour at time. Yes, some of them were closer than 15 minutes apart (one night they were 4 minutes apart). Yes, I should have gone into the hospital. But, I immediately put my legs up, put my head down and drank LOTS of water. I was always able to get them to slow down and then eventually down to only 2 or 3 an hour. So, that is good. That "rest" thing my doctor tells me to do really does work.

Carrying Anderson too much, taking the kids to Disneyland by myself (which I do), carrying laundry upstairs (darn) and stuff like that would all trigger the contractions.

I saw my doctor, she said to call her if I had more than 4 and hour. (Okay, that might have happened a few times, but I was ALWAYS able to stop them). So, luckily, no trip to the ER yet. But, my OB said....Listen, this is your 4th csection. Your scar is only 2 years old (Anderson being 2)....the scar is WEAK. With every contraction, your scar is thinning....YOU CAN NOT CONTRACT!!!

Okay, enough said. After that....I REALLY started to rest and be very careful. The OB asked me if I had help around the house and with the kids. I said yes a few hours a week. She told me increase it. Then, she says....let me guess you are at Target and the grocery when your sitter is there....WELL, YEAH! OF course I am. OB says, Not any more....you are in bed resting. My sitters have been GREAT about helping around the house, carrying my groceries in for me, etc. So.....everything is going great.

AND, as I said....it seems that the contractions are slowing considerably. I am not getting them nearly as often as I was getting them last month. Every night at dinner time for a few weeks I was starting up with them. Now they come a few times a week.

I promise I am taking it easy. My OB said to take it easy or I will MAKE you take it easy (bedrest). Since I can't afford to go on bedrest with 3 kids ;), I am doing what I can to rest on my own.

I feel great. I will post a picture tmr of the growing belly....It is getting BIGGGGG!!! (As Ryan pointed out to me last week! See previous post for that one......HA!)

Good night!

Car Accident

Hi all! Let me start by saying.....Everyone is FINE in our house.....

Little excitement this AM.....Charlie has decided he is going to start driving the kids to school on Thursday and Friday AM. A wonderful way to spend extra time with the kids and a GREAT way to help me out a few mornings a week. Everyone is HAPPY with this new idea. (Thank you honey for going into work a little later a few days a week!)

Anyway, today...Char took Kaitlyn to school (Ryan only goes MWF). Char calls me around the time when Kaitlyn should have been dropped off. She left the house upset b/c it was picture day and I "curled" her hair....and she wanted me to use the straightening iron on it (yes, she is only 5 still and knows what that is! but, when I am her Mom...it is no wonder b/c of my crazy curls! anyway...I digress.....) When Char called me, I thought it was about the hair and pictures....

Char says to me....."Well, Kaitlyn has forgotten about her hair".....??? he proceeds...it is
"ironic" and a blessing I started driving her to school today....we got into a car accident. I almost feel over. He said EVERYONE WAS FINE. Char and Kaitlyn were sitting at a stop light on the way up the hill to school, when another Mom ran her car into the back of them. THANK GOODNESS Charlie was driving his Land Rover and NOT his Porsche!!! The Land Rover is a block of steel and it hardly was touched. So, fortunately, Kaitlyn and Charlie were okay. The other car....a Mercedes station wagon was not so okay. The car was trashed, not drivable...the poor person was a Mom of 4 kids!!! Luckily, they were all safe too. She was on her way to school with her little ones....

So, Char and the woman proceeded to drop the kids off at school and meet in the parking lot to exchange info. Char offered to drive her somewhere, let her use his phone, etc....but she said she was fine and got it under control.

How scary!!! Charlie was so glad it was him and not me with 3 kids and prego. And he was so thankful we drive such big SUV's ;)

Ironically, 2 days ago we were discussing "car seat" situations for the kids.......needless to say, Ryan is in his 5 point Britax Marathon car seat, and I bought Kaitlyn a 5 point harness booster today ;)

We are so happy everyone is okay. Charlie is not feeling "great"....but, Kaitlyn is doing fine, and her teacher said she kept checking on Kaitlyn thru the day and she said she was fine.

I hope the family is all okay too. Charlie said it was a HARD hit.....whew! Scary!

Thomas Whistle

New Trick for Anderson:

Anderson's speech therapists want Anderson to learn how to "blow" with his lips. It is part of developing the muscles and the control in his mouth to help with speech. They have told me to try and blow a cotton ball off the palm of my hands, and have Anderson copy. Well, he does not imitate....so this presents a challenge...plus, a cotton ball....not too exciting for a 2 year old. The other suggestion was to use bubbles....which, we have tried, but bubble are hard for my kids that CAN TALK and CAN BLOW....

So, at the drug store on Sunday...found a THOMAS THE TRAIN and at the end of it is a whistle...OKAY, THIS MAY MOTIVATE him. SO, for $4.99, I thought it was worth a shot.

Brought it home, showed Anderson, he was going crazy and wanted it out of the package. Got it out, I blew in it and showed him....at first he "sucked" it like a straw....but, I kept saying, BLOW, and I would blow right in his face (I know this may seem mean to some of you, but you do crazy things in therapy to kids sometimes for them to understand "concepts".) After about 3 tries..........HE DID IT!!! SUCCESS. I will have to get a video this afternoon after he naps and post it.

This may seem small and trivial...but ALL STEPS towards getting Anderson to speak.

PS - He is starting to say..."mmmmm". WE ARE GETTING CLOSER TO MA!!!!

Pearl

Last Thursday, Kaitlyn wanted to try the "carpool line" at school. This means I wait in my car to pick her up rather than park and walk and get her. The downside of the carpool line is that the kids have the wait a long time after school lets out for your car to pull in and pick up your child (sometimes 15-20 minutes, depending where you are in line.) Since Kaitlyn can't stand me being 1 minute late, I was not sure how this would go.....

I informed Kaitlyn's teacher in the AM that I would be doing the PM carpool, just so the teacher could help us out.

My friend, Courtney, came to me on Friday....laughing her head off. She said, Liz, I have to tell you the FUNNIEST thing...Courtney said, I overheard the following on Thursday afternoon:

Kaitlyn's teacher: Kaitlyn you need to sit down on the curb and wait for you Mommy.
Kaitlyn: I am looking for her car.
Teacher: What color is it?
Kaitlyn: PEARL!!!!!

LOL!!!! Only our "fashion" girl who is only 5 years old KNOW that my car is PEARL! HA!

Hot.....

Ryan: "Whew, I really needed that drink of water. I was HOT.....HOT TAMALES!"

Belly

Ryan says to me on Wednesday:

"Mommy your BELLY and your BABY are getting BIG!! AND, your 'NURSERS' (ha!) are REEAALL BIG."

Can always count on a child to tell you "how it is".....;)

HA!

Tsunami

On our way to the beach:

Kaitlyn: Mommy, if there is a tsunami, I think it would be best if we left our beach blanket in the car so it does not get wet.

Mommy: Good idea Kaitlyn!

HA!

** Conversation was last week on our way to the beach......forgot to post it earlier!

Camp out.....

I forgot to blog this earlier in the week.....

On Monday, our A/C upstairs broke. (We have an upstairs unit and a downstairs unit). It has been HOT in our area.....in the 90's. The upstairs was 84 degrees at one point.

When it was time for bed, Anderson's room is small enough, that we were able to open the windows and turn on the fan....and he was fine. (Thank goodness!!)

But, Kaitlyn and Ryan were having their allergy/asthma symptoms. So, I did not want them sleeping with the windows open....and our room in the back of the house was HOOOOTTTT (more than the 82 degrees that the thermostat read at 9 PM).

So...guess what......we pulled out the bed in 1 of our couches, and got 2 sleeping bags for Kaitlyn and Ryan....camp out in the family room. It was SO much fun, since we only had 2 more days of summer. Of course, at one point in time (in the middle of the night)....there were 4 of us in that pull out bed (YIKES!!) Charlie and I did not get much sleep.

Lets just say I made a call to the A/C repair man at 7:00AM the next morning to come and fix the A/C!! ;) The camp out was great for 1 night, but I am not sure we could do 2 nights! HA!!

Happy 4th Birthday Ryan!

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY RYAN!!!

Yesterday was an emotional day for this prego girl!

1st day of Kinder, and RYAN TURNED 4!! He had one amazing...superhero....bday!!!

I took Anderson and Ryan to Disneyland after we dropped Kaitlyn off at school. They had a BLAST! It was NOT crowded, so we were able to ride 5 rides in 1.5 hours (we had to run back and get Kaitlyn...as the 1st day was only a 1/2 day.)

We rode Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, Haunted Mansion (Ryan's request!), Pirates of the Caribbean, and Jungle Cruise. They gave Ryan a button b/c it was his bday...and it said his name and his age and Happy Bday. All of the ride attendants were commenting and telling him Happy Bday. Then, on jungle cruise, the driver of the boat sang him Happy Bday and so did the whole boat. Ryan LOVED IT!!! IT was Great. He was ALL smiles!!! And you would not believe how many rides had a "bday cake in them". Alice, Winnie and the Haunted Mansion all had bday celebrations going on in them (I am sure not by coincidence!)

Success!!!

1st day!!

With Daddy.....

With Mommy...(okay, I might have been teary when I saw her dressed!)

The 1st day of Kindergarten was SUCCESS!!! Kaitlyn had NO tears and was so happy to see all of her friends after the summer.

I, on the other hand, cried for 12 hours the night b/4 and the morning of....but, when it came to drop her off...Charlie tole me "I held it together nicely ;)". I guess all my tears were out!

She was all smiles again today!!

Last Day of Summer

Today was our last day of summer.

We started by making blueberry muffins for breakfast.

Then, we took Anderson to therapy for 2 hours. I taught the kids how to play solitaire. They loved it....and we actually won....twice! They must be lucky charms!

By request, we went to McDonald's (yuck!) for lunch. They LOVED IT!

Home for quick naps.

I promised Kaitlyn we would drive to her school, look at her teacher and class list (they posted it today after 3:30) and then go get ice cream.

Would you know it....Anderson slept until 4:30 today. HA!

So, off to school. Kaitlyn is in a GREAT class....lots of friends and a wonderful teacher. She is very excited (I, on the other hand is still a wreck!)

As promised (and YES, it is now 5:15!) we went for ice cream. The kids thought it was GREAT we were getting ice cream b/4 dinner!!!

I asked Kaitlyn tonight what was her favorite part about the summer? She said...McDonald's today and ice cream before dinner! :)

Tmr is a BIG day for us. Promise pictures of Kaitlyn in her uniform tmr!

6 month POST OP follow up

Well, it is VERY hard to believe we have come to this point. Charlie and I took Anderson to his 6 month post op follow up appt. We went to the local neurosurgeon since Anderson is doing so well and seems to be not in any pain any longer. Dr. Frim, the neurosurgeon in Chicago, thought it would be fine to stay local for this visit. It is so surreal to walk into Children's Hospital and ask for a badge for the neurosurgery. Hard to describe in words.......but, hopefully, after our trip yesterday....we will not have to experience it again!

The appt went great! Anderson's wound has healed "perfectly". You can hardly tell where the incision is on his head.....due to his curly (not sure where he got that!) hair......it really hides the incision. But, most importantly, it is fully healed and looks great (no fluid, no bumps, etc). We only have to follow up on a "as needed basis"!!!! We are so thankful!!

I left the appt in tears....THANKFUL that we choose Dr. Frim as our neurosurgeon. The local one we saw yesterday for the appt just sees Chiari "differently" than the way Charlie and I, and Dr. Frim see it. I think it is from lack of experience with the patients to know. Again, Dr. Frim does the decompression surgery that Anderson had 10-12 times a MONTH, where our local one does 10-12 per Year. BIG difference! It was great to leave yesterday KNOWING we choose the right surgeon for Anderson and knowing that we did the best we could for Anderson.

We still have a long road ahead of us. Anderson still is delayed in all areas....gross motor, fine motor and speech. Gross and fine motor are developing VERY well as he is walking and getting stronger. The speech is slower, but his therapists remind us that basically on March 3, 2008....Anderson was "reborn" and we need to give him 12-18 months to develop the muscles in his mouth that are necessary to talk. Anderson continues to make new "sounds" and he will point with "intent to speak"...it is just in "Anderson language". ;) Anderson is still at Children's Hospital 6 hours a week for speech, OT and PT. The therapists have been incredible, patient and amazing. We adore all of them!

The improvements in Anderson over the past 6 months are remarkable! Here is a list of JUST SOME Of the things that are better:

1) His eating skills went from a 6 month old to age appropriate 2 months post op (ie he no longer gags/chokes on his food when he eats!)

2) He walked 3 weeks post op (until he broke his leg....but he started right back again after the cast came off)

3) He now will lift his arms above his shoulders and up in the air

4) He has the strength in his hands to push buttons on toys, books, a light switch, etc

5) He is starting to feed himself with a spoon.

6) He had 2 constant sounds prior to surgery, now he has so many.....at least 12!!!!

7) He is using a bit of sign language now to communicate.

8) Pre op Anderson was "very fisted"...he never relaxed his hands...now he is pointing and playing with his pointer finger, putting his palms "down" on things, etc.


MOST IMPORTANTLY....he no longer bangs his head with his hands or fist in pain!!! YAHOO!

In terms of the other things where he needs to catch up....."ONE DAY AT A TIME...." this has become my motto! Time, patience, time, patience and prayer!!!

Thank you Dr. Frim!!!

1 day....

until Ryan turns 4 and Kaitlyn's 1st day of Kinder!!!! OH MY!!!! NOT READY!!!!!

3 days until Kinder

OH MY!!!! I am not READY!!! Home school anyone???

Perinatolgist

It has been a few days since our 1st appt....just getting around to write about it.

We went to see the perinatologist (peri for short) last Thursday. (A peri is a high risk OB doctor) My OB wanted me to see one b/c of Anderson. There is no test for Chiari, just a visual image of the brain...so, she wanted us to be under the care of a peri for this pregnancy.

I was VERY nervous going to see the Dr. He is highly regarded...my OB was VERY clear on the ONLY peri she wanted us to see b/c of the rarity of Chiari.

I did NOT sleep 1 wink the night b/4 the appt. I was just nervous to sit in his office. Lets face it...if you are going to a peri, it is PROBABLY for NOT a good reason. Did I mention they are HIGH risk OB doctors....so you are there only if there is a problem with the baby or the Mom. It is not a "fun atmosphere". It is not your typical OB office where the majority of women are there for good reason. At this office....you are there for NOT so good reasons.....

Anyway, they took us back, and the u/s tech did the ultrasound at 1st. She was very nice and the screen clarity was amazing. Charlie was with me and we could not get over how clear the picture of the baby was......The tech did all of the measurements and then got the doctor. The doctor also does a scan for awhile. He said the baby looks as "perfect" as it can be at this point. 15 weeks is little....and they can't see much, but so far so good. I will TAKE THAT at this point!!!!

The peri wants to see us every month for an ultrasound. So, I will go to my OB for regular check ups, and then the peri for ultrasounds. This Mescher baby is getting ROYAL treatment!!

Charlie and I have not found out with any of the 3 children the gender prior to birth. We would like to do the same for baby #4. However, with a scan every month, I am not sure how possible that is going to be....the u/s tech was GREAT and asked us and told us to turn our head when she needed us to turn our head. However, the peri was VERY "free willy" with that wand....he was ALL over the place. I was SO nervous I was going to catch a penis on the screen. But, as Char said when we left....Anderson has given us SO many surprises that it would not be the end of the world if we accidentally found out ;)

Our wishes still stand to be surprised (at least about the gender....lets hope not about the health of the baby this time!!!)

Gymanstics - 1st day

Kaitlyn came out of her new gymnastics glass today.....ALL SMILES, almost in tears of joy and excitement...and she will tell you..."I had SWEAT coming down my head I was working so hard!"

And that she did....I have never seen Kaitlyn work so hard at something, she performed the BESt I have EVER seen her perform today. I sat there a VERY proud parent....b/c I KNEW that she was having fun and it was BOOSTING her self esteem. You could tell watching her! IT was amazing. This is going to be GREAT for her self confidence.

What a HUGE improvement she has made in the last year and last 2 years. Two years ago, we could NOT do a class in the afternoon at Kips b/c there were TOO many kids there...TOO many classes, Kaitlyn would sit and SCREAM b/c she was so overwhelmed. I was a little nervous today what would happen since it was a) an afternoon class, b) none of her friends are in this Elite Class, and c) it was a new coach! The supervisor Lisa was FULLY aware of this too (she has know Kaitlyn since she started almost 3 years ago)....and Lisa SO KINDLY came and got Kaitlyn, walked her out to the warm up area, introduced her to her classmates and her coach and Kaitlyn went with the BIGGEST smile, no tears, no hesitation...NOTHING! It was incredible to watch. I think I was holding my breath from the moment we walked into the door until I saw her sit next to her new classmates and start stretching. I finally took a deep breath of relief!

When she came out of class, I gave her the biggest hug and told her how very proud of her I was and that she did an amazing job. Then, we went next door and got a smoothie at the little cafe. There I told her I have never seen her work so hard and do so well at the skills. She BEAMED and said....."I know Mommy, I want to be like those girls on the Olympics, that is why I am trying so hard!!!" Then she said...."Do you see me, I am SWEATING!" (note to others: it may be the 1st time my daughter has ever sweat! No kidding!)

I was so very proud of her today! (Have I said this yet? HA!!!)

Ear Update

Today we saw Dr. Cami. He took the cotton out of Ryan's ear......Ryan had been complaining all weekend his ear hurt. We were HOPING it was the cotton in there that Dr. Cami places to help absorb the ear drops and make the ear drops more effective b/c they do not fall out of the ear. Anyway, Dr. Cami took out the cotton (it is WAY down in his ear, you can't see it or pull it out with your bare hands....Cami uses a special TINY tweezer that is bent at a 90 degree angel to get in the ear.

Ryan had a HUGE smile across his face when he pulled it out!! IT felt so good to him!

Kaitlyn laughed when it came out b/c it looked like a french fry!! (the ear drops were a yellowish color)! HA! This made Ryan and Dr. Cami laugh that a french fry came out of Ryan's ear.

The funnier part...Kaitlyn TRULY thought it was a french fry for hours until I realized she was SERIOUS....I had to explain to her that her crazy brother did not put a french fry in his ear, it was just yellow tinted cotton! How hilarious!

Gymnastics

Charlie came to see the awards

Ryan getting his trophy

Ryan getting his award

Kaitlyn getting her award

Yesterday we had a BIG day at gymnastics. It was "awards" day today.....Kaitlyn and Ryan got to stand up on the red mat and have their coaches talk about them.

Kaitlyn stood up there (without crying, which was a FIRST!!!) and the teacher said what a GREAT job she does, especially at bars and how she is blossoming so much. Six months ago, Kaitlyn would not even put her belly to the bars, and now she can do a pull over by herself! WOW! Kaitlyn was also asked to "move up" to the Elite program, which will start next week. YAHOO!

Ryan stood up on the mat, the coach said he was the best listener and the "go to" guy when she needs an example. She said that Ryan always knows how to demonstrate for his peers and does a great job at it.

Since Ryan had been there for 1 year, Ryan got a TROPHY!!! He was so excited! (we've been there longer, but we were thru the gym for 10 months, then had to switch to the "city" class and pay thru the city b/c of times, then we went back to the gym....we have officially been back at the gym for a year, although it has been 30 months since we started!)

Charlie was able to get away from work for 1/2 hour to see all the excitement. It was a fun day at gymanstics!

Ryan's Ears

Happy Monday! Today was a little busy.

Ryan and I met his teacher today at school for a meet and greet. It was fun. Ryan was SUPER excited and did not want to leave the classroom when our "visit" was over. He wanted to stay and go to school. (WOW, what a contrast from someone else in our family! HA!)

After our visit to preschool, I had to take Ryan to Dr. Cami (ENT). We were at the beach ALL day last weekend, both Saturday and Sunday. Ryan and Charlie were body surfing and boogie boarding. A wave over took Ryan and Charlie....the wave knocked out Ryan's ear plugs. For those of you who do not know, Ryan has ear tubes. You are not suppose to get "non-sterile" water into his ears. Well, lets say the Pacific Ocean is not sterile! HA! Over this past weekend, Saturday at 3 AM....Ryan is in our bed SCREAMING his ear hurts!!! Mind you, Kaitlyn and Ryan had BOTH been battling some weird, asymptomatic fever (102 degrees with NO other signs) for the previous 48 hours and not sleeping.

Since Ryan had woken up at 1AM with a 102 degree fever, I gave him Tylenol. So, at 3 AM when he is screaming his ear hurts...what do you do? Plus, when you have ear tubes, and infection......puss comes out of the ear (sorry to be so graphic!) But, yes, that is what happened....puss, pouring out of his ear. GROSS!

We wait until 4 AM (b/c I CAN NEVER remember the time you are suppose to allow if you alternate b/w motrin and Tylenol, we thought it was 2 hours, but wanted to be safe, and waited 3 hours)....we gave him some motrin. Then, we turned on the Disney Channel for some distraction in our room at 4 AM, and by 5...Ryan was asleep.

I hosted a baby shower on Saturday, so Char took Ryan into the ped's office to check his ears. Yep, infection. He gives Char ear drops for his ear that have an antibotic in them. Well, Ryan SCREAMS for about 20 minutes after you give it to him. We give it to him (well, Char does....) 3 times in total. Sunday night, when it was my turn...I did not have the heart to do it. Monday morning, again, I did not have the heart to do it....instead, I called Dr. Cami (our ENT) and told him what had happened over the weekend. Dr. Cami wanted to see us.

I took Ryan in to see him and Ryan's ear was so badly infected and the doctor said he had "Debris and puss" in his tube that he would have to vacuum it out. Sadly, this was not the 1st time poor Ryan had this procedure done on his ear. So, Dr. Cami vacuums out his ear (gross).....he is on my lap and I have to hold his arms down in a bear hug, while a nurse holds his head, and Ryan still proceeds to kick me and Dr. Cami! But, it was finished, then Dr. C puts drops in his ears and place a thin cotton strip WAY down in Ryan's ear so you can't see it (again, not the 1st time this has happened). Dr. Cami sent me home with actually "eye" drops with antibotic b/c he said they are gentler on the ear if the other drops were bothering him. Although, Dr. C. thinks the other drops bothered Ryan b/c of the amount of debris and puss in his ear more than anything. Ryan had the original drops in the past and they never bothered him.

Tonight, I have placed the "eye" drops in Ryan's ears and they have worked like a charm. I actually got a "These do not hurt at all Mommy" tonight at bed time! YAHOO!

Once again....thank God for Dr. Cami! We LOVE YOU!

PS - I told Dr. Cami that another baby is on the way. He said, lets hope it is a girl for your sake. HA! Then, I said, I know my boys are SO SICK! (FYI - this is why he made that comment...he knows how much I am at the dr. b/w Ryan and Anders!) He laughed. Then, I said..."Dr. Cami, if I have another boy, I am bringing him to you at 2 weeks old and I would like ear tubes placed in his ears". Again, Dr. Cami laughed and smiled! I said, well....could mean more business for you! Ha, ha, ha!

Memo To Mommy

Here is something I read in Parent*s magazine by Mary Moh*ler.....

1) Stop freaking out about the mess! There is always time to clean - but how often do we get to make mud pies?

2) Love me, even when I'm naughty. I'll only be this age once.

3) Be patient. I do everything for a reason, but I don't know enough words yet to give you an explanation.

4) Let me do it. I know you can do it faster and better, but sometimes experience is the best teacher.

5) Don't expect too much of me. I want to do what you ask and make you happy, but I'm still little.

6) Don't try to reason with me when I'm having a tantrum. Trust me - I can't hear you over my own screaming.

7) Keep your promises. It's all about trust. When I'm a teenager, you'll understand why it's so important.

8) Don't keep asking me if I've been good. I'm not even sure what that means, but if I was bad I'd never admit it!

9) Don't let me think that you're perfect. I feel a lot better knowing I'm not the only one who makes mistakes sometimes.

10) Set limits. I can't actually eat a while box of cookies- I just want to see if I'd get away with it!

Hope you enjoyed these as much as I did!

14 weeks

It is so hard to believe that we are 14 weeks into this 40 week journey with baby #4. Charlie and I shake our heads in disbelief all the time.

Many people ask me how I have been feeling.....GREAT!! We are into our 2nd trimester now. The 1st trimester was a "breeze" compared to the other ones. Kaitlyn was a "little sick", Ryan and Anderson I dry heaved ALL day long...and I physically got sick with all 3 of these babes several times thru the first 12 weeks. I have yet (knock on wood) gotten sick with this one. My "morning" sickness would typically start around 6 or 7 PM when Charlie would be home from work...PERFECT! He is SUCH an amazing help. He would come home from work, get dinner going, cleaned up and the kiddos to bed. Thank God for Charlie, he is and incredible Dad and husband.

Now, that "sickness" seems to have passed. I was SO SO SO tired the first few weeks. There were days Charlie would come home from work with my head on the kitchen counter, the family room a MESS, as I stirred a pot of spaghetti sauce! ;) But, we would have dinner on the table, I would just be asleep about 1/2 hour later.

Around 8-9 weeks, I started to get insomnia. I DO NOT remember this with the other kids!! YIKES! It sucked....especially those that know me...I LOVE my sleep, LOVE IT! So, that was hard for me. Luckily, this too passed.

Now, I feel great. Unfortunately, I am starting to have contractions. This is a long story, that I will save for another day.....I want to watch the Ol*ympics b/4 I fall asleep (sorry, selfish of me). But, I am trying to take it easy and rest....per Doctor's orders!

We had an ultrasound at 5 weeks and 6 days with this baby...to date the pregnancy. Charlie came and we saw the "little piece of rice" with the heartbeat. It was AMAZING! It was after this ultrasound we started to tell our family. Which....I will put in another post one day....remind me! It was cute.

Then, another ultrasound at 9 weeks. The doctor wanted to see me at 9 weeks and it was too early to use the hand held Doppler to detect the heartbeat....so, they sent me for another ultrasound. It was INCREDIBLE to see......now the baby had arms, legs, hands, etc....in only 3 weeks times it changed so quickly. I was in tears with joy. Charlie too.

Finally, we had the most recent ultrasound at 12 weeks for the 1st trimester screening.....the perinatologist (sp? and too tired to look it up) we are seeing wanted us to do it....and it is something we did with Anderson anyway. (this test is "so new" that they did not offer it with Kaitlyn or Ryan....mind you they were only 4 and 2 when I had Anderson's done....and when we did Anderson's.....only 1000 facilities across the country were even authorized to do the test. It is a NONINVASIVE way of testing for various problems with the fetus.

We had our 1st trimester screening on Monday of the week we left for Portland. It was GREAT! Charlie and I, again, were shaking our heads in amazement watching this baby move and groove in my belly....when it was only 6 weeks ago a piece of rice. Words can't describe what a miracle it had been watching it grow over the past 6 weeks so closely. The ultrasound tech said...based on where we were TODAY, from everything SHE CAN TEST...the baby looks to be 100%! We cried, simply cried. It has been a LONG LONG time since we have heard such words in a doctor's office. Obviously, we ARE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS yet....we CONTINUOUSLY pray for a healthy baby...but, relieved that everything to this point could not be any better.

GULP, SIGH, BREATHE, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!

Next ultrasound with the peri on Thursday....PRAY, PRAY, PRAY. Makes my stomach turn thinking about it. It will be a high level ultrasound checking "more in depth".....GULP, SIGH, PRAY!