18 Month Pediatrician Well-Check

Gabe and Ari had their 18 month old well-check today with Dr. Sudha, and here are the stats:
Gabriel is 25.8 lbs (45th %tile for weight), 33 in. (65th %tile for height), and has a head circumference in the 100th %tile (he has lots of brains). Ariana is 23.5 lbs. (50th %tile for weight), 32 in. (55th %tile for height), and has a head circumference in the 75th%tile. They are growing well, and we feel fortunate for their present health.
Dr. Sudha was also able to diagnose Ariana's past sickness as Roseola. Roseola is a viral illness that typically occurs in young children between 6 months and 2 years old. It is marked by several days of high fever (over 103 degrees F) and followed by a distinctive rash that occurs on the trunk and spreads over the rest of the body just as the fever breaks. This is exactly what happened to Ari -- glad to know some doctors have the answers.
Auntie Marci came to hang out and help us with the doctor appointment. The kids had so much fun having her here -- they hardly fussed the whole time. Though I think Marci won't have any trouble sleeping tonight... and tomorrow...

32 Week Pregnancy Update

I can't believe that I'm past 32 weeks already. I keep remembering how at this point in my last pregnancy, I was on bedrest, dilating, with only 1 week left in my pregnancy. This time is, thankfully, so different. At my ultrasound appointment, yesterday, Isabella was measuring 3 lbs. 13 oz., which is slightly small for her gestational age (14th percentile), but nothing to worry over. Everything looks as perfect as it can be and she seems to be progressing right on track. Unfortunately, she was very camera shy and despite my prodding, she wouldn't move her right hand from in front of her face so I don't have any new pictures. I have one more shot at a good picture before she comes (36 week ultrasound), so hopefully she'll be in a posing mood that day.
As you can probably tell from the belly pictures, I have started my Lovonox (blood thinner) injections. Unfortunately, the twice a day injections do nothing to make my belly look pretty for pictures. Instead, I get a ton of ugly bruises and marks (and I'm showing you my good side). I guess I should just count my blessings that bruises, unlike stretch marks, will fade in time. The bruising is, frankly, the least of the side effects that comes with the Lovonox. Lovonox has put the fear of blood in me (my own blood that is). Everytime I shave my legs, I will bleed for apparently no reason at all. So, naturally, I'm worrying about what the heck is going to happen to me when I'm in labor? Granted, by the time I go into labor I will have hopefully been switched to Heparin, which has an antidote (whereas Lovonox has no antidote or reversal). But still... it makes me nervous. On a lighter note, I have turned into a mosquito magnet. This is not a documented side effect of Lovonox, but there is no denying it. I am swarmed by them the second I step outside -- I have 15 new bites since the weekend!
It seems that I have entered into the phase of pregnancy where exhaustion strikes. It's not the sleepy feeling I had in the first trimester, but a winded and hot sensation that's entirely new to me. I feel like an old woman in menapause (or so I'm told). Needless to say, Gabe has nearly mastered all the sign language on his Baby Einstein signing DVD and Ari immediately recognizes and claps to the Barney sing-along songs. Yeah, they watch their movies now... and not just when I'm making dinner.
I'm not proud to announce this, but my strange cravings are back. They happened late in my last pregnancy and they've returned once more. I crave towels -- yes, fluffy bath towels straight out of the dryer. And the smell that comes from my car air conditioner. And Home Depot. If I could sit in my cleaning closet all day, I would. I have not given in to these cravings with the exception of the towels (obviously, they don't get eaten, just chewed on). I've learned that I'm not alone in this... it's called Pica, and in my defense, it's fairly common in pregnancy and not a sign of mental illness :). One of the most common Pica cravings is laundry startch and soap. Pregnancy is so strange.

Summer Fun

Well, even though the temps outside are still high, I can't say this summer has dragged on for us, because it has flown by. Ariana has fully recovered from her mysterious fever, and has since began eating like a champ and smiling and laughing non-stop once again. I was really getting down for a few days there when she offered not one smile even though her fever was gone. Well, my little peachy peach is back, and she even has a shiny new molar to boot. With Ariana's impossibly high fever, we were given a little blessing... no seizures. And what does this mean (other than a miracle)? Ariana is off her Phenobarb for good (we hope). Now Ariana is completely medication free! On a tangent to that, Ariana's standard constipation issues that have plagued us since she stopped breastfeeding seemed to resolved themselves as well.Gabriel is changing so much every day that I feel like I can't even keep up with all that he does. He has at least 10 new words since the beginning of the month, which include "shoes," "cup," "bowl," "Ari," and "movie." He has been practicing his sign language, and my favorite new sign word of his is 'please.' Of course, he will sign please when he wants something to anyone other than me. Still, I'll take what I can get.
Jake and I took Gabe and Ari to the splash pad on Sunday evening. It was their second visit, and they had so much fun. Gabe was still a little apprehensive about water in the face, but he loved running around and yelling "bop-um" (his word for water, a.k.a. 'bottle') with hands waving. Ariana was a trooper and went under the water fountains with only smiles the whole time.

Yesterday, Jake had a networking meeting for work at the IMAX theater, so we got to take the kids to see an IMAX movie for free. They had so much fun stuffing their little mouths with popcorn and taking in the big screen animation. They lasted for a whole 45 minutes without a peep.

Happy Birthday to Me (July 29th)

Just wanted to say -- look what Jake got me for my birthday! It's an ASUS eee laptop computer. It weighs 2.5 lbs. in all and is 9" x 11". It has all of my programs and pictures already on it, and it has a built-in wireless nic card so I get internet anywhere there's a signal. And it fits oh so nicely in my diaper bag, so I carry it with me wherever I go and use it as my planner. It has been written up in magazines and has A+ reviews -- I love it already. And because it is the most affordable computer out there (look it up!), we could afford to upgrade the RAM and get the extended battery. I feel so chic and mobile. (The cell phone is in the photo for scale.)

Ari is on the mend

Ari is finally recovering from her strange sickness. Wednesday and Thursday were cranky days for Ari. If anyone has ever met Ari, this should come as a surprise in and of itself -- Ari is never unhappy. For a minute there, I was beginning to think that this was the beginning of her tantrum toddler stage, and I nearly lost my mind over it. On Friday evening, we noticed that she seemed to have a fever, so we gave her some Tylenol and sent her to bed. Saturday morning, it was apparent that she had definitely come down with something. Jake took her to get checked out at the urgent care right next to our house, and they diagnosed her with an ear infection and possible intestinal bacterial infection. They put her on an antibiotic called Bactrim that makes you heave just smelling it. Well, it goes without saying that things usually get worse before they get better, and they sure did. Ariana peaked at a 106.7 degree fever that night, and Jake took her to the emergency room. They gave her 700 mg. (plus the 200 mg. I already gave her) of Ibprofin, ran all kinds of bloodwork on my poor baby, gave her a catheder, and ran an IV because the fever had severely dehydrated her (all not without sticking her a dozen times before finding a vein). The bloodwork & urine came back normal (white blood cell counts normal, etc.). They were left with no diagnosis. Somehow, we manage to stump doctors a lot -- very frustrating. They suggested we admit her due to her dehydration, but seeing as though it was already 2:30 AM and she needed sleep desperately, we elected to bring her home. The next morning, her fever had gone down, but not substantially -- she was at 105.5 degrees. We kept her on her increased doses of Ibprofin (because the Tylenol doesn't really work for us) and tried to keep giving her fluids as instructed. Well, we needed to get her to eat, because the Bactrim is to be given on a full stomach, but she refused. We are still on the Bactrim (1.5 tsp. 2 x per day), and it is pure torture for everyone. She refuses to swallow it, and when she does, she often throws it right back up. One documented side effect of the medicine is a decrease in appetite. Ariana will barely eat a thing. She'll scream if I put her favorite foods in her mouth (blueberries, cheerios, yogurt, whatever). It is a chore to get her to eat cake! All this, of course, exasserbates the problem of her keeping the medicine down. I called the urgent care today for a change in antibiotic, and they told me that I could either keep her on the Bactrim until Saturday or switch to Amoxicillin (which is only 6 ml. versus 7.5) but keep her on it until next Thursday. I am torn. I think I'll get the new med and let Ari decide which she prefers. I think that I remember Amoxicillin tasting pretty good actually. Anyway, today is the second day that Ariana has not woken up with a fever, convincing me that she is finally on the road to recovery. She is still pretty darn tired, so I've been giving the kids two naps a day instead of one (Gabe loves his naps still!). Hopefully, we'll see the light at the end of the tunnel soon.