Happy 4th!

It was a pretty good 4 days COMPLETELY off from work.  Thursday I had a doctor's appointment and ended up admitted to the hospital for tests that apparently could not wait until after the holiday.  But the tests came back okay and I was back home before dinner. That night we ate out at Bertucci's and Peter and Andy went to the fireworks (for Andy's first time).

The weather started out pretty crappy on Friday, but the rain stopped by 1 and we had a good time at the neighbors 4th of July BBQ.  Andy had a great time playing with the neighborhood kids and I sat around and caught up with the neighbors.  It was nice, since we have not had a neighborhood gathering in a while.

Saturday and Sunday were very productive.  Peter got the basement vaccuumed up (from my uncle having sanded the walls) so now it is ready to prime and paint down there.  I also went to Home Depot and put ceiling tiles on hold, so once the walls are painted, we'll have the tiles ready to go.  I always had this fear that if I finished the basement that the ceiling would have those cheap ceiling tiles that you find in an old elementary school.  So I tried to pick something that had a little design, but not too fancy.

Peter also got the crib put together and it looks great.  I can't wait to get the bedding washed so I can put it together.  This weekend one of my friends from work is throwing a shower for me and I'm really looking forward to it and excited to get baby stuff.  It's a little lunch party (I felt really self-conscious about having a shower for a second baby) but I have to admit that I LOVE parties, especially when they result in me getting presents   so the only people on the guest list are friends from work (most of whom were not around when I had Andrew) and two very close friends that have to be invited to all my significant life events...you both are reading and know who you are   Oh, and my mother. 

So I always feel like a bum showing up to parties unprepared, but this time I am proud of myself.  There are 2 or 3 little girls that will probably come to the shower, and I went to Target and got them pink tin buckets and filled them with candy and art supplies.  I also bought my friend's daughter (who is 7 months old) a gift bag of stuff, so she will not feel left out.  Of course my aunt then undermined my preparedness by proclaming "What about Andy?  Did you get something for him?"  She got him a t-shirt that says "I'm the Big Brother" and I've decided that's enough of a gift for him for that day.  After all, I'm going to let him help unwrap everything.  And I'm giving him a little brother- isn't that the greatest gift of all?? 

This is officially the pregnancy from hell.  After 20 weeks of nausea, exhaustion and barely eating, I have been diagnosed with a liver complication that barely anyone has heard of called interhepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP).  Basically this is a condition where your liver does not properly process your pregnancy hormones and starts working at a reduced level.  The result is that liver bile backs up into your bloodstream and can poison the baby, leading to stillbirth.

The treatment is that I will have to have weekly nonstress tests (which I think is fetal heartrate monitoring for a period of time), ultrasounds and blood work to monitor bile levels and make sure that the baby is not under any stress as a result of the condition.  If the bile levels go up too far or the baby shows signs of stress then delivery is recommended.  In any case, my doctor says that delivery is recommended before the 38th week (although on the internet it says 36 or 37), after which point the risk of stillbirth goes up dramatically. 

In addition to no one having heard of ICP, it's got wacky symptoms.  The only symptom is often allover itching, which is your skin's reaction to increased bile levels.  Last weekend Peter and I went out on a date to the Cheesecake Factory and later that night I woke up with itchy feet.  It felt like the kind of itch you get after you've played golf in the rain or something like that, but I looked and there was no rash or anything that looked like athlete's foot.  So then I assumed that I must have been allergic to something that I ate at CF.  The next morning I got up with Andy and made him pancakes (Peter had come down with a bad cold the night before and was in bed), and by the time I finished cooking I realized that I had been itching all over the entire time I was standing in front of the stove.  So I pulled out my What to Expect When You're Expecting book, and there is a tiny little blurb on the page 200-something that says "Report any itching of hands and feet during the third trimester."  Being part of the connected generation, I immediately went to the internet, and found a couple of write ups on itching and ICP. 

I felt foolish, but I called the doctor next day to report the itching and she recommended that I come in for blood work to rule out ICP.  For the next two days I felt like an idiot.  The itching had abated, and I fully expected a phone call saying "Your blood work is fine- you're just a hypochondriac."  Instead, I got a call that my liver function was off and it looks like I do indeed have ICP.  I'm waiting to hear back about how high my bile levels are and I'm starting weekly testing on Thursday.  In the meantime, I itch all over, and it is worse at night.  Although anti-histamines don't treat the condition, the doctor says they are safe to take and so those are helping me sleep at night.  In the meantime, we are preparing for Owen's early arrival...just in case.

There is a funny website out there on ICP called www.itchymoms.com.  It looks like it is run out of the UK.

Currently Reading Main Street (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (B&N Classics) By Sinclair Lewis see related

Preschool "Graduation"

Andy had two "graduations" this week.  One from public preschool, and one from his daycare.  The preschool one was rough- it was in the 90s in an unairconditioned old elementary school.  He also attends both the AM and PM session of preschool, which are identical.  This isn't because we like to torture him but because of the Sped services he gets.  So Peter went to the AM session and I went to the PM session.  By the time I got there he was snarky, and just wanted to leave.

<-----smartass

<--- every kid recited their favorite thing about preschool.  Andy's was "playing together."

Then last night we had his daycare graduation (even though he's staying for the summer a lot of the kids are not).  This was much more pleasant.  It was at a social club in Uxbridge, which looked like it was a 1930's bingo hall, but at least it was air conditioned.  I thought they did a great job putting together a graduation ceremony (much better than the preschool), but that's what you get for tuition, I guess.  They even had a program.

<--- the processional.  Yes, they actually did play Pomp & Circumstance, which ridiculously made me feel like I was going to cry. Hey, what can I say, it's the hormones talking.

<--- Andy performing a rousing rendition of Where is Thumbkin?  He sang very loudly and did all the dance moves.  He was definitely the "life of the party" kid in the crowd- who would expect that given the personality of his parents???

<-- this is the part that shocked me.  He had to get up by himself and give a "Goodbye Speech" which he actually did, in a loud, clear voice.  It was at this moment that I decided that yes, I would pay $15.50 for a DVD of the show.

After the show we went out for ice cream, and Andy played with another little boy that had also been at the ceremony.  It must have been too much stress and staying out too late for him because he had bad nightmares last night and kept us up most of the night.  I think we need to enforce the 7:30 bedtime tonight.

Currently Reading Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster By Jon Krakauer see related

I don't ever remember having a heat wave so early in June before.  I have pretty much stayed in the house since Saturday night because I was so wiped out from Saturday.  Saturday was a busy day of outdoor activities in the 95 degree heat.

First we went to a 4 year old's birthday party....thankfully the parents had the right idea about acceptable outdoor activities.  By the way, I am totally jealous of this gorgeous backyard (about half an acre of just flat, fenced in land) and the fence. 

After some initial trepidation, Andy decided this was just about the coolest thing he had ever seen.  In fact, he doesn't know it yet, but my grandmother bought him one to celebrate his preschool graduation.  I am thinking this will keep his attention for a good couple of weekends over the summer. (Thank you maxlough13 for saving her $200 on bjs.com!)

So we had to hurry through cake and presents because Saturday was also the last day of soccer.  This was Andy's 3rd (and last) season of Mighty Mites, which is a league for 3-5 year olds where they play made up games to learn soccer skills.  He is definitely ready to move up to the next level where they actually play games....I could sense the boredom this season after the 2nd practice.  But despite the heat, the kids played for about 20 minutes and then waited to get their trophies and have a party.

---never assume boys will be motivated to play with a pink ball.

  --  go Andy!

--- trophy time

This is how we all felt/ looked by the end of the practice.  We went home to change, and then headed for Friday's for a quick, junky Saturday night dinner, followed by ice cream at the local creamery.  We ended up running into one of Andy's friends there and talked to his parents for a while.  By the time we got home a little after 8, we were all tuckered. 

Cribs

So about a month ago we picked out a crib from Babies R Us and we were supposed to pick it up last Saturday...

I really liked the style, but I was a little suspicious of the price because it was a lot less than I remembered paying for Andy's crib.  So Friday night before we are supposed to pick it up, we get a call from Babies R Us that the manufacturer has decided to do more safety testing on the crib.  So in the meantime they don't feel comfortable selling it to any customers.  So feeling validated by my original gut feeling, we got our deposit back and shopped on.

On Monday we went to Jordan's, which apparently now carries a full line of cribs (they didn't 5 years ago when we were picking out Andy's crib).  Anyway, we found a crib that we like just as much that is by a manufacturer that has a good reputation....and although it wasn't super expensive, the price was...shall we say....a little less suspicious.

We have to wait for the conversion kit to come in (we ordered bed rails which will allow the crib to be turned into a full size bed), but we should be able to pick it up in 6 weeks or so.