Giving Thanks for Good News!

I know that it has been a while since I've typed a blog post...but the saying "no news is good news" holds true for us! We have been very thankful for the good news and progress! Here is an update on both Wade and the baby girl/pregnancy.

Thankful for good news during Thanksgiving!

Wade's Update:
Since the last post in September....

• Wade has been improving in speech therapy and OT. He is making more sounds and words at his own pace. He has also strengthened his core muscles and is making great progress! 
• In October, Wade was finally weaned off the bottle for milk. Before, he would drink milk from only a bottle and now he is independently drinking from a sippy cup! 
• Wade has been gaining weight! We now only weigh him on a monthly basis. In September, Wade was 18 lbs, 0.5 oz. In October, he was 18 lbs, 13 oz, and now for November, he is 19 lbs, 5 oz!
• He was supposed to have his annual bone marrow biopsy in November, but we pushed it to February 2013 for insurance/financial reasons. 
• We also started a family cancer insurance plan with Aflac so in case one of us develops cancer the plan pays cash for various things, such as initial diagnosis, bone marrow transplants, travel, etc.
• Wade scared mommy on Monday this week with a trip to the doctor. He woke up very warm (101.3 F), with a cough, and wasn't himself. We got into the doctor's office right away and they did a CBC, blood culture, strep test, and a chest x-ray. The CBC results indicated that it must be something viral. The blood culture, strep test, and x-ray revealed nothing. We were sent home with antibiotics (just in case) and later that day, Wade was feeling much better. It must have been a one-day thing because he is back to his normal self!

He is drinking from a sippy cup now!

Big boy (23 months) enjoying his meal at McDonald's!

Baby Girl/Pregnancy:

Since the last post at 20 weeks...

• I have had ultrasounds every 4 weeks to check the growth and development of baby girl. Each ultrasound revealed normal growth and no sign of IUGR! 
• The last ultrasound at 33 weeks, she was estimated at weighing 4 lbs, 12 oz and was in the 56th percentile! That was W's birth weight at 40 weeks....so now I get to experience pregnancy with carrying an average size baby! I guess in a way I was spoiled by only having to push out a 4 lb baby, but now I can hope that the average size baby will be healthy!!
• I submitted the paperwork to the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank to reserve the baby girl's cord blood in case W may need it someday. Usually, you donate a baby's cord blood to the public bank, but since her sibling has a blood disorder, we can bank her cord blood privately for Wade if he needs it.
• The nursery is complete! Thanks to my mom, we put up the vinyl tree decoration and thanks to my husband, he hung up the wall hangings! The color scheme is light pink, dark pink, and green. The bedding is flowers/garden. See picture below!
• We have a name picked out....but it's a secret! 

Baby girl's room! Tree vinyl design is from Simply Said.

First Steps Review

Tonight, despite the tornado warnings and storms, we were able to hold Wade's IFSP review meeting (even if most of it was in the basement). We reviewed his goals made in February and discussed his progress since the last meeting. A few things were also updated as he is growing up and some of his routines have changed. 

A few things to be proud of:

• Wade has completely closed the gap with physical therapy and he's right on target for physical development for a 20 month old. Therefore, he has been discharged from PT (we will definitely miss his therapists, but luckily we're all neighbors!). Although he should continue to work on jumping and throwing/catching/kicking ball skills, there is no need for PT anymore.
• Of the 12 goals that were set in February, Wade accomplished 9 of them within 7 months! That’s 75% accomplished and let me tell you--his mommy and daddy are so proud!!

What to keep working on:

• He will continue to receive speech therapy and occupational therapy once a week. We will also keep our nutritionist consultations for advice/weight checks.
• His speech goal is to say more sounds/words and continuing to sign for communication.
• His feeding goal is to be completely weaned off the bottle by the time the baby comes (January). He eats solid foods and drinks juice from a sippy cup just fine, but still wants the bottle while being held for comfort. I haven’t been very firm in weaning him because I know how important it is for him to consume those calories. However, it’s time for him to be off the bottle!
• His OT goal is to strengthen core muscles, shoulder girdle, and fine motor skills, including the pincer grasp. OT will also help encourage the PT skills that he should continue working on (jumping and ball skills).

20 Weeks and Counting!

So, the half way point in my pregnancy has finally arrived! The second trimester is treating me pretty well and feeling the baby kick and move around is truly awesome! So far, the pregnancy has been great--including less morning sickness than with W! However, I'm gaining weight and showing different than before--my love handles have expanded even more and I hate it!

Yesterday, we had our 20 week ultrasound and met the Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor for high-risk pregnancies. The ultrasound was very exciting and we found out the gender--GIRL!!!! Now my mind is racing with nursery decor, bedding, names, etc! Although we'll re-still use a lot of Wade's equipment and things, I'm still excited about seeing some pink in our house! 

Since we're not doing an amniocentesis test to check for the SDS gene, the only thing the high-risk doctor can do is keep an eye out for IUGR (inter-uterine growth restriction) with this baby. We aren't sure if Wade was IUGR because of SDS, for a reason created by me, or if something went wrong with the pregnancy or development of the placenta. The measurements taken of Baby Girl in the ultrasound showed measurements right on track for 20 weeks. That was a big sigh of relief to hear that the development is normal so far. However, we'll repeat another ultrasound in 6 weeks to check development and growth again. I'm so glad that with this pregnancy, we'll be more cautious and actually do more than one ultrasound! Still praying for a healthy baby! She sure does look cute already!