He's Here!

I'm a little late with this post, and most of you already know about our new addition, but just to make it official:

Andrew James Engle arrived on October 13, 2009 at 3:21 am. He weighed 6 lbs. 15 oz. and was 19 inches long. Here is a picture right after he was born and then one when he was 3 days old. What a difference!!

AJ is a really good eater and most nights, not a bad sleeper. When we left the hospital, he had dropped in weight to 6 lbs. 3 oz. By the following Monday (6 days old), he was back up to 7 lbs. 1 oz. We went back to the pediatrician on Tuesday (2 weeks old) and he was already up to 8 lbs.!! I tried nursing and he seemed to be doing great while we were at the hospital, but once we got home it was like he completely forgot what he was doing. So I'm pumping now like I did with Nolan so he at least gets the breast milk. It's a little more difficult since Nolan doesn't completely understand what's going on, and that he always chooses the time when I'm pumping to do something he's not supposed to. But I feel good that AJ is getting breast milk instead of formula for now, at least while I'm not working.

AJ does NOT like to be swaddled. This is so different from Nolan because he absolutely loved it and would go right to sleep once he was wrapped up good and tight. AJ just wants to be toasty warm with a couple of blankets and he's good to go. He goes back to sleep relatively easy, so that's nice for me when I'm up with him in the middle of the night :)

He also hasn't seemed quite as attached to the binky like Nolan was already at this point. Maybe that's a good thing???

AJ's hospital pictures look pretty close to Nolan's, but I think he's got a little more Booe boy in him than Nolan does. Maybe I won't have two little mini-Brad's running around after all!!

Here is the link to AJ's newborn pictures from the hospital:

http://www.our365.com/newbornportraits/babydetail.aspx?BirthId=31e4ca9b-b154-4251-aaec-48f1e074c5af

We are just thrilled with our new little man and can't wait to see more of his personality. So far he is definitely very mellow, which Mommy appreciates every day ;)

Quick Pics

We're still hanging in there and anxiously waiting on Bobby to make his arrival. :) I'm still feeling pretty good, considering I'm super uncomfortable. I got spoiled when Nolan was 2 weeks early....now I know what people mean when they say the last 2 weeks are no fun!



This is me at almost 37 weeks. This was taken the day before the ECV.

This is me at almost 39 weeks (taken yesterday). Most of my shirts don't fit my big belly now, so I'm sure all of my co-workers are sick of seeing me wear the same stuff week after week!

Of course I can't post without a couple of pictures of our big boy!!

Nolan and Brinkley....Nuke would NEVER let Nolan do this!

Crashed out on his couch after watching Elmo. For what seems like (to Mommy & Daddy, at least) the 8 millionth time!

Success!

The ECV was successful! No more Breech Bobby!

Saturday was kind of a long and exhausting day, but it was totally worth it. We got to the hospital around 8am, and we both mentioned that it felt like we were going there to have a baby. That must be what it feels like when you have a scheduled C section - kind of nerve wracking!!

We got all settled into our room and the nurse came in and asked all the same questions they asked me when I went to the hospital to have Nolan. Then we waited for awhile, but not to fear, we were able to catch some college football in the meantime. :) One of the residents that would be helping Dr. McCrann with the procedure came in and did an ultrasound to make sure Bobby was still breech, and exactly what position he was in. That little sucker had moved his back from one side of my belly to the other in just a day!! Maybe he'll be a gymnast??? During this waiting period, they were monitoring Bobby's heartbeat and my contractions.

Then came the IV fiasco. I do admit to having very small veins, but come on! It took two nurses and finally an anesthesiologist FIVE tries to get my IV in. FIVE!! I am still bruised all over my hands from that. But at least it was a little distraction. Once we were set with the IV, they gave me a drug that would relax my uterus so I wouldn't have contractions while they were trying to turn the baby. Dr. McCrann said it would make me feel like I had six cups of coffee. It started working right away, and it was definitely weird! You know how sometimes you get so cold that you start shivering and your teeth chatter? That's exactly how it made me feel, except I wasn't cold at all. Very weird.

Around 9:30, Dr. McCrann came in with the resident and a medical student (St. Joe's is a teaching hospital, so a lot of times there are students there to observe - which I'm totally fine with) to get started. Then it hit me. I just felt really overwhelmed and scared and emotional, so of course I started crying. They couldn't start until I calmed down because when I was crying, I was all tensed up. Brad was helping me calm down and the doctors were talking about which way to 'spin' the baby. They were on either side of me, both turning him at the same time. Dr. McCrann had to get her hands up and under his bum to push him up out of the birth canal. I'm not going to lie - it was really painful. But the whole time they were turning, Dr. McCrann talked me through it, and would say how many more seconds until we'd take a break. Brad was really good at helping me take deep breaths, so I was trying to focus on that.

The first try lasted maybe a minute - of course it seemed longer than that to me - and Bobby didn't budge. We took a quick break, checked the baby's heartbeat, and then started again. Dr. McCrann had told me they would only try twice, so I was really hoping it worked this time. After another 45 seconds to a minute, both the resident and Dr. McCrann were excited and told me it worked!! They did a quick ultrasound to make sure, and sure enough - head down!!! We were so excited.....and relieved!

The medicine was still going full force, so I felt like I had no control over anything and I was shaking pretty bad. They kept me there for about an hour so the medicine would wear off, and so they could monitor the baby. Before I was allowed to leave, I had to feel him move at least 3 times within a 20 minute time period. It took a good 20-30 minutes after the procedure for him to start moving again, but after that he was fine and has been since then.

As painful as the procedure was, I would totally do it again and recommend it to anyone else with a breech baby. I think if this would have been my first pregnancy, I might have just gone with the C section, but I just didn't want to have to deal with that with a 2-year old that wouldn't understand if I could avoid it. Now hopefully Bobby will stay put with his head down!

Brad's mom offered to keep Nolan all weekend so I could rest. That was super helpful, and I'm so glad that both of us were able to relax afterwards! I was a little sore the rest of the day and the next day, but I actually didn't have any bruising.

I freaked out a little bit Monday afternoon thinking that he had turned back around, but it ended up that I had just been sitting for awhile and his bum was sticking out at the top of my belly. I go back tomorrow morning for my weekly check-up, so we'll definitely double check that he's still head down. I really feel like he is because I feel a lot heavier at the bottom of my belly than I did before. And lots of pressure on my bladder now too!!

Thanks to everyone for thinking about us and praying for everything to go well....we really appreciate it! Hopefully we'll have some baby news soon!! :)

Turning Point

Here's a quick update on Breech Bobby:

Last week at the doctor, our little guy was still breech. We talked over the options and decided that one more week needed to pass before we scheduled anything - ECV (turning) or a C section. We were able to get an ultrasound and make sure that Bobby is fact not a Roberta, and we were able to ask a gazillion questions about everything. We were both feeling much more at ease with the whole situation when we left.

This morning was my 37 week appointment. I knew that the little guy was still breech, and Dr. McCrann confirmed it. We have opted to try the ECV tomorrow morning because I'm a good candidate for it. She said that she rarely sees a baby turn back to breech after a successful ECV. When she has seen it, it's on a woman who has 4 or 5 kids and the uterus is a little "stretchier". She also said that he's in a good position for turning, so I feel really confident that things will go well tomorrow. The procedure will only last a few minutes, successful or not. They will try twice to turn him and if it doesn't work, that's when we'll talk about scheduling a C section. But that wouldn't be until 39 weeks....which would fall on or around MY BIRTHDAY! So we'll see.....

We'll keep you posted after the procedure is done. I just keep telling myself that even if it doesn't work, everything will be fine. At least Bobby is healthy, regardless of exactly how he gets here :) Keep us in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow!

More updates....

Here are some pictures from the past month or so.....with Nolan and Bobby updates at the end!!

We had Brad's family over for his mom's birthday the middle of August. I got this cake decorating recipe from a co-worker (Family Fun website) and just had to try it out. I knew I couldn't get away with this for either of the boys, so I took advantage of Cindy's birthday! The 'ribbon' is Fruit by the Foot (which, ironically, is not a foot long...haha) and I used Dots for the other decorations. It was pretty fun!

Brad's friend Ben (that he grew up with and went to high school with) and his wife Nancy are the proud parents of twin boys! Jackson and Jacob were born August 28 and weighed a healthy 6 lb. 1 oz. and 5 lb. 1 oz. - good size for twins, I think! I think Jackson is on the left and Jacob is on the right in the picture below, but I'm guessing :)

I thought this was so cute :) Being at the hospital and holding the new babies made me even more ready for Bobby to get here!

Here is Nolan eating a chocolate chip cookie. He likes to eat the top of the cookie (that's right, the TOP of the cookie) first - that's why it's everywhere!!!

Nolan trying out Mommy's shoes....

Nolan has really taken to his stuffed animals and blankies lately - I think it's completely adorable. The day this was taken, he constantly wanted his Cabbage Patch Kid wrapped up in this blanket. Every time it would come undone, he wanted him wrapped up again - right now!!!

I think Nolan will end up being well-rounded like his Daddy.....here he is with a golf club and a baby doll. Precious :)

Again with the well-roundedness: playing in the dirt.....with his blankie!

Our laid back little man has decided that he LOVES the word 'no'. What kid doesn't, right? It cracks us up most of the time, because he just keeps saying it. Unless it's something that he might want to do, and then he repeats (or tries to repeat) what you just said. Here's a cute little video, complete with airplane noise and all.....





Two hats are apparently better than one.....

This is one of our 'we're really good parents' moments! We had a few errands to run after work one day, so we stopped and grabbed Subway on the way home for dinner. Nolan just had to have Cheetos, and we decided to let him dig in on the way home. He was an orange, cheesy mess and loved every second of it!

And now for the Bobby update!

This is me last week at 33 weeks, 4 days (as of today, I'm 34 weeks, 5 days). The torpedo belly!

At my appointment last week, we figured out that Little Mr. Bobby is breech. Dr. McCrann said that we'll do an ultrasound at my 36 week appointment just to double check that he's still breech, and then go from there. She talked about wanting to turn him manually at 37 weeks if he is still breech at that point, but after doing a lot of reading and research, I'm not sure that's something we want to try. At least not that early. The procedure is called external cephalic version (google ECV), and from what I've read, sounds entirely painful and uncomfortable. There's no guarantee that if we are successful at getting him to turn that he would stay head down until I go into labor. And since most doctors don't really let you deliver a breech baby vaginally anymore (I was born breech, but that was how many years ago???), I would have to have a C section. Not exactly my optimal situation, but if that's what is best for the baby and for me, that's what we'll do.

The past week has been nothing short of me freaking out about all of this, but I've gotten some really good support from everyone which has helped tremendously. A few of my friends have had C sections, so I picked their brains about what to expect. Everything went so smoothly with Nolan, and pretty much exactly the way I expected it to go that I'm having a hard time accepting the fact that Bobby is probably going to be much different. I just wanted everything to be like I planned! I know that everything happens for a reason, so I'm trying hard to prepare myself for anything and everything. Maybe his umbilical cord is too short and he can't be head down, or maybe he's just really, really comfortable sitting up in there!! I'm trying to calm down about everything and just let things happen the way they're going to happen and realize that sometimes I actually don't have all the control over a situation. But if you know me, you know that is easier said than done....

Brad has been really helpful about calming me down and listening to me go on and on about this option or that option, so a big thank you to him. :) Even though sometimes it's easy for me to forget that I'm not the only one affected by the outcome of things, we are definitely going through this together. I can't wait until our appointment next week since he's going with me - he is the question asker of the universe, so Dr. McCrann better be prepared!

I've been trying to do different things to make Bobby turn on his own. I get on my knees and elbows and 'hang' my belly for 10 minutes at least once a day. This kind of allows him a little more freedom to move around - if he ever feels like it. I've also been massaging my belly in a circular motion, sometimes while I'm hanging at an incline. This sort of worked the other day - but then he moved right back to head up! The other night we put a flashlight on my belly to try and get Bobby curious about it so he'd move. Nothing. Oh well, we'll keep trying!

Other than the whole breech/C section/ECV drama (or what I'm making out to be more dramatic than it probably should be!), I've been feeling okay. My heartburn is flaring up more than normal now and I'm a little more tired than usual. But I'm trying to get enough exercise and trying to eat better. The key word there is 'trying' in both cases! The dogs make it easy though because they expect to be walked at least a few times a week, so that gives me a good excuse. I usually take the dogs around the park a couple of times while Brad plays with Nolan on the playground. I've had some trouble sleeping lately, but that's expected at this point I think.

But the countdown is definitely on - just ask my co-workers! The whiteboard on my desk says '37 days' today......although I'm hoping it's a little sooner than that :)

I'll keep everyone posted after my appointment next week!

Happy Birthday!

Today is Brad's 29th birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! We love you and hope you have a great day :)

Updates!

Well, here I am at almost 30 weeks (sorry, it's a little blurry).... the torpedo belly is back! And a little earlier this time around. The picture on the right (in the black and pink shirt) is me at 31 weeks with Nolan - it was the closest I could get to a comparison shot. So I'm definitely justified when I say I feel bigger at this point with Bobby than I was at this point with Nolan. Sigh. I guess it's to be expected though - at least that's what everyone tells me!

I'm feeling really good, and everything is measuring on track. I have only gained 15 pounds as of my appointment last Friday. Only 1 pound more than last time - woo hoo!! My glucose was good, but my iron was a little low so I've started taking a supplement in addition to my prenatal vitamins. Bobby's heartbeat was about 150 beats per minute, good and strong. He's VERY active, it seems like a lot more than Nolan ever was. It's usually when I'm laying down in bed or relaxing on the couch when he really gets going.

I've been craving Raspberry Iced Tea lately. The funny thing is that I've never liked it until now. We've been to the Sonic by our house A LOT lately, that's for sure! Other than that, no weird cravings.

I feel like this pregnancy is taking longer than last time, but I know our little guy will be here before we know it! We sort of have a name picked out, but we keep changing our minds. Or I guess I should say, I've changed my mind and gone back and forth a few different times. Brad is pretty good about just going with the flow, figuring that we'll have a name by the time he gets here, but I need to nail it down now for some reason! We have 2 or 3 definite contenders, so maybe we'll be at the hospital deciding what he looks like to us when he does finally arrive. :)

Now an update on our almost-2-year-old!!

Nolan's vocabulary is getting bigger and bigger every day. We are always amazed at what new word or phrase he's picked up. The other day Brad sneezed, and Nolan said "Bless you!" We both just laughed - it was so cute. It really came out more like "Ble you", since he never says his s's, but we knew what he meant. Last night Nolan sneezed, then said "Bless you!" to himself...hahaha He is starting to repeat things that we say, but mostly just when we ask him to. Which is not such a bad thing I guess....especially when some not-so-good words slip out once in awhile!

We still use the binky, but really try to give it to Nolan only at nap time and bedtime. At daycare, he only gets it for his nap. At home, if he really thinks he needs it, he goes over to the drawer in the kitchen and asks for it. We tell him he has to sit on his couch while he has it. He's really good about sitting there with it, then when he wants to get up and play, he brings it to us. I guess sometimes he just 'needs' it to calm him down for a few minutes.

He's kind of started growing attached to his blankets in the past month or so. The funny thing is that it doesn't really matter which one, he likes them all! Even the big throw blankets that we keep in the living room - he'll drag those all over the house like it's nothing. I think we might have to get some new blankets that are just for the baby at this point - I'm not sure how it will go if we don't!

Nolan has always been such a good eater, but lately he's started to get a little picky. And he hates wearing a bib these days....much to my dismay. But what can you do? I guess in the long run it's not that big of a deal. He had his first corn dog the other night - surprising, because we eat easy stuff like that all the time. I made the mistake of trying to cut it up for him because he wasn't eating it. It was like I'd ruined his whole life the way he was screaming and crying!! When I figured out he wasn't going to stop, I made him a brand new one and he was fine. He played with it like it was a sword or bat for the better part of 15 minutes before he figured out he could eat it. He pulled the breading part back, his eyes got big, and he said "hot dog!" It was hilarious! Then he took everything off the stick, ate the little part of breading at the bottom of the stick and said "all gone!" I think he ended up eating half of it that was spread out everywhere in the end. It was a long night at the dinner table for Mommy.....but worth it because it was so funny!

Here's Nolan with his newest discovery - toilet paper!! He's done this a few times over the past week or so....I guess at least he didn't shove it all in the toilet. He must have worn himself out :)

Here are a couple of videos - Nolan giving his brother kisses and hugs, and then laughing with Daddy. Priceless!!