Deakon is here! 6 pounds 7 ounces, 18 1/2 inches! Please keep kim in your thoughts, he is having some difficulty breathing and is in the NICU. =(

We are having a baby today!

36 weeks....

How your baby's growing:Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

Update: I'm still pregnant...yay! I had my three appointments this week, and didn't find out much. Just that my bp is still on the rise and staying high. Which is expected the further along I get. We should find out something tuesday on exactly when we should be delivering. The doctor did say he feels comfortable delivering me at this point. So, I'm very happy about that. We are a little more than a week away from meeting our little bundle, and I CANNOT wait. The anxiety has set in and I am having a hard time sleeping anticipating it. Hopefully, the next week will go by fairly quick. I have some new sono and 3d pics from our last appt I need to get uploaded. So, I will aim to do that Monday. =)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Watermelon fun....

Chris's parents grow there own watermelons and brought one over for us this weekend. Last night, Chris decided he was going to let Keagan have a taste, but decided that given the stickiness of watermelon, he should do this outside. So, this is what I walked out to! He stripped her clothes off and she pulled her hair down and went to town!

It was so cute, and she loves it!!

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Pre-watermelon......

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Post Watermelon....notice the blankie and clothes in the background!

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I love this one!!

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Doctor update....

Well I had my appt's today at my specialist and my regular doctor. And I am beginning to think I am going to be pregnant forever. =) Its as if my doctor has completely forgotten every converstation we have had over the last few weeks. We have discussed the same date over and over again, and today I ask..."When will we need to actually schedule the section? I wasn't sure how far in advance in needed to be done, and its less then two weeks away?" And he replies, "Well, it just depends on when I deliver you?" Huh???? I thought we already had this planned out. So, in one breath he tells me it may be next week depending on my bp, or it may be August 1st, even though its a saturday, since he is on call that day and I would be 37 weeks, but if my blood pressure doesn't go up we might try to make it to 38 weeks. Really???? One thing you should not do is tell a pregnant lady that she is going to have her baby only to tell her that she has to wait one more week. No false hope, not cool. Especially since hes been telling me the same thing for weeks now. But, I guess if I have to be pregnant for longer, then thats what we will do. Just trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel. He did check me and I am dilated to a 1, but as most of you know...it can be that way for some time. =)

Keagan's first full pigtails!!

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35 weeks...by my count. =)

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Update: Still hanging in there. I had measurements done at one of my sonograms this week and our little stinker is weighing in about 5 pounds 5 ounces. A little smaller than she was hoping for but still good. My specialist said that with my blood pressure staying high like it is it is constricting some blood flow, not allowing him to grow as much. So, they are going to do measurements again at one of my sono's next week, instead of just the biophysical sono. Hopefully, the sono tech was just off a little. They normally only measure every two weeks, to allow for growth. So, who knows. If we stay with the August 3rd date, we only have 16 days left! Woohoo! Luckily, I'm still feeling pretty good. I have been having some braxton hicks, but nothing painful. So, we have our normal doctor appt tuesday, specialist and sono tuesday, and the specialist and sono friday. Almost done with going to the doctor 3 times a week!!

My belly....

at 34 weeks!!

Still slacking and pregnant....

I do have some pictures to put i just haven't had a chance to download them yet. =) I had a small scare this past friday. I went to my appt at the specialist and my blood pressure was high 157/97...and the nurse was pretty concerned. The actual doctor is not in the office on friday, because she works from the hospital on those days. So, the nurse called and asked her what she wanted her to do. She advised me to check it in two hours and if it was still high call my regular doctor. So, two hours later, I was calling my doctor. They asked that I come in. Still high....dangit. Luckily though, he told me to rest over the weekend, and if it was still high today, he would admit me in the hospital. So on to today, I went to the specialist this morning and again high, 162/83. They had me lay on my side for an hour and a half while monitoring the baby. When the doctor heard I was going to see Dr. Hardie when my appt was done, she said she would write her report and send it with me to Dr. H. So, report in hand I head to Dr. H's office. Luckily laying on my side for that long helped a little. When I got there my blood pressure was 146/92. So, better=no hospital. =) He did read her suggestions in the report. She suggested he deliver me at 36 weeks or sooner if my blood pressure continues to rise. So, he decided he is going to aim for 37 weeks....which will be August 3rd. Based off a August 24th due date....his differs from mine by 2 days. So, only 2 weeks and 6 days at the MOST! And maybe sooner. We will see. Just glad to see there is an end in sight...I am tired of living at the doctors office. =)

I'm a slacker....

With my ever growing belly and lack of breathing room, my medicines, and chores that I try to get done in my 5 minutes or so I get up....I have really been slacking on pictures for my blog. Oh well, I'm sure when Deakon gets here, we will get back to normal. Seems like the only thing I am posting about is the baby and my appts, but thats what is on our front burner right now. I am having a problem getting my blood pressure medicine refilled. I started out with a 10mg dose, but after the hospital went to a 60mg xl version (the xl means it lasts for 24 hours). They gave me a 30 day fill, and now are saying that insurance only approved me for 60...which is fine. That would mean I get another 30...that would get me to the end of my pregnancy. But, they are counting the 10mg dose as well....so I'm not getting the long lasting xl version that actually helps me. So, my blood pressure is all over the place. My doctors office is going to try to get it straightened out, but so far has had no luck. We are almost to our 34 week mark, and Dr. Hardie wants to push it as close to 37 as possible. But said he will deliver me if my we cannot get my blood pressure under control. So, we have less that 4 weeks at the most. I actually feel pretty good though, aside from the headaches. Just get worn out fairly easily. I'm still on bedrest...just doing a modified version of laying in bed all day. =)

Anyway, I go back to the doctor this friday, and then two appts on tuesday. So, hopefully we will have my bp medicine straightened out by then. Hope everyone is having a great week!

33 weeks....

How your baby's growing:This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Update: My doctors appointments went pretty good this week. My bp was a little up on tuesday, 150/100, so they upped my dosage to the final dose, and it was good when I went in on thursday, 130/88. We are almost at the 34 week mark, and my regular doctor wants to try to push it as close to the 37 as possible. But, he said if I come in next week and my bp is high, he will deliver me then. So, anytime between now and 4 weeks. Not much longer at all. I can't believe we are already on the countdown. I am feeling pretty good since they gave me medicine for the headaches. Oh Oh....and my one of my sono's this week showed that he is about 4 pounds 11 ounces!! What a whopper!! And in both sono's this week he was practicing his breathing like crazy! So, we know the steriod shots have helped!!

Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of july!

18 months and another ear infection...

Keagan Jade Stuart

18 months

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I took Keagan in on Monday for her 18 month check up. She weighed in at 22 pounds, and was 30 1/2 inches tall. She 25% in both categories, her doctor said she is perfectly proportional. How cute! =) However, I had her double check her ears because since I have quit breastfeeding, she has had 3 ear infections. And low and behold she looked in the first one and said, "Ohhhhh, that one doesn't look good." What, are you serious? She has been the best baby in the world. With her other three ear infections, she ran fever and was irritable. Didn't want me to put her down or to bed....definitley out of the norm. She has been an angel baby. She looked in her second ear and said, "Ohhhh, this one looks even worse!" OH MY GOD!! My poor baby has a double ear infection. Poor thing. =( At least she isn't showing any signs of it bothering her. They are giving her a new type of Z-pack. She gets one large dose on the first day and it remains in her system for 15 days. We go back on the 23rd to see if it works. However, her doctor said if it keeps up, she will eventually need tubes. Damn...I was hoping she wouldn't inherit this trait from me. I had them, and Farren had them as well. The doctor did say if I wouldn't have breastfed for so long, it would have been worse. So, they made me happy. =) I did some good.

On a side note, she is doing awesome. I can't believe she is already 18 months. Time is going by so fast, it makes me so sad. Its crazy to think of her as not being a baby anymore. She is literally sprinting everywhere. She loves to play peek a boo. She has 16 teeth....woah! She loves to blink her eyes slowly. She will cover her head with her blankie to play. Sometimes, its mommy's head, or daddy's head, or sissy's head, or mommy's belly, anything she can "hide" and then "find." She loves to run in her room and hide and then run back into the living room to scare us. She is a very polite child, and is figuring out when exactly to use thank you and welcome. It is so cute, I have been trying to video this. She knows there is something in my belly and loves to play with it. She rubs it, kisses it, covers it up, and points to it when asked where the baby is. She is figuring out about people's belly buttons and loves to point and poke at them. Her new favorite saying is "I see you". She says alot of other words: sissy, momma, dada, night night, thank you, welcome, here, ball, duck, blankie, drink, bite, uh oh, hello, bye bye, ma, me, mine, whats that, who is that, and dog. I'm sure there are more, but thats all I can think of at the moment. She is sleeping about 11 hours a night. And goes to bed around 9....she loves night night time, and loves being put in her bed to go to sleep. She is so easy....and chooses every night if she wants mommy or daddy to lay her down. She loves to eat with a real fork and spoon....no more of the plastic stuff. It doesn't stab the food like the real stuff. =) Her hair is almost long enough for a ponytail! I can't wait for this one! And she loves to have her toenails painted. We try to do them at least once a week. She is really good about showing or telling you what she wants. She will point to what she wants or take to what she wants or needs. She absolutley loves grapes, this is by far her favorite snack. She goes through a whole bag on her lonesome almost every week or two. They are in her own bowl on the bottom shelf of the fridge so that she can reach them. She loves to shut the doors, and if you leave it open, she will shut it for it. She also likes to help unload\load the dishwasher, and loves to shut that door. She loves repetitive toys and toys where you can stick blocks through the holes, or pop up toys. She could do them over and over.

Anyway, I still can't believe she is already a year and a half old! Her birthday will be here in no time. She went to her cousins party recently and they made the same cake I made for Keagan at her party, and she threw a huge fit thinking it was for her! She kept saying "MINE, MINE, MINE!" and Chris had to take her into the other room to distract her! So, I'm sure she will be thrille to get her own birthday cake again. =)

Happy 18 months little stinker!!!