I had my 20 week appointment this morning - everything is going pretty well. I made up for not gaining any weight the month before and gained SIX pounds this past month. I think I'm up to a total weight gain of about 9 pounds. My doctor spared me a needle poke for hemoglobin this time but said she'll have to do it again next month. I'm already taking about 500% of the normal recommended amount, I really don't want to take any more. She also noticed in my ultrasound pictures that I have a low lying placenta. I've learned this is fairly common at this stage in pregnancy, although if it doesn't resolve itself it will be problematic down the road. It complicates labor for a variety of reasons, so a doctor will generally plan for a c-section instead. I really hope it resolves itself before I get that far. I'll probably get another ultrasound later so she can keep an eye on it. Heartbeat was strong at 150 bpm. We're over halfway there!
Ava and I had our first movie night tonight, something I'm going to plan each week. We had a McDonald's picnic in the backyard and then watched "The Aristocats". Ava really digs the OLD Disney movies and this was no exception. I hadn't ever seen it before either - it was cute!
I talked to Scot this afternoon - they finally made it to Bagram today. He was just getting settled in room and getting ready for bed (he's 9.5 hours ahead of CST). He has a morning full of briefings tomorrow and then can start flying in country as early as Sunday. He should be able to fire up his laptop in the next day or two. If you're interested in sending him any type of real mail, his address is:
774 EAS OPS
APO/AE 09354
Last night Ava and I had sort of a rough night - we were both pretty crabby...anwyay, things improved during bathtime and getting ready for bed. We ended the night on a good note, reading, snuggling and singing. Her latest fave is "Jingle Bells" - it's my fault. But who doesn't love a good Christmas song? It's ALMOST time for Christmas music, isn't it? Anyway, I tucked her in and all was right with the world. Afterwards, I checked the mail and found that her Daddy Doll had arrived! I had ordered it just about 2 weeks ago, so was surprised to find it at our home so soon (the website said 4-6 weeks). It's basically a picture of Scot on cloth pillow, shaped around his body. I couldn't wait until morning, so I opened the door to Ava's room and told her I had a surprise for her. You should have seen her eyes light up at the sight of Daddy on a doll! The first thing she said was, "I love his boots." And then, "I love his face." She hugged him tightly and was a very happy little girl. Kind of wish I had one too...
Friday, August 29, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Gone. Again.
Well, rather than rewrite the post from last year (3.26.07)...pretty much all the same stuff happened again yesterday.
http://heidiscotava.blogspot.com/2007/03/bye-bye-daddy.html
(I wish I was smart enough to know how to link it, but I'm not)
A picture from yesterday:
And a picture from the weekend at Teddy Bear Park in Stillwater:
Ava and I had a busy day yesterday after we left the Guard Base. We got home (yes, got home) at about 7 am. I was already exhausted, so we popped in Cinderella and layed on the couch together. I slept, but I'm pretty sure Ava stayed awake for the whole thing. Afterwards, we went to the Children's Museum and had a really nice time there. We left around noon (boy, this day is NEVER going to end, is it?) and she fell asleep in the car within seconds. I put her to bed as soon as we got home and she slept for FOUR hours. It was heaven for both of us. We took it easy the rest of the night...one day down. He gets home on October 16th.
http://heidiscotava.blogspot.com/2007/03/bye-bye-daddy.html
(I wish I was smart enough to know how to link it, but I'm not)
A picture from yesterday:
And a picture from the weekend at Teddy Bear Park in Stillwater:
Ava and I had a busy day yesterday after we left the Guard Base. We got home (yes, got home) at about 7 am. I was already exhausted, so we popped in Cinderella and layed on the couch together. I slept, but I'm pretty sure Ava stayed awake for the whole thing. Afterwards, we went to the Children's Museum and had a really nice time there. We left around noon (boy, this day is NEVER going to end, is it?) and she fell asleep in the car within seconds. I put her to bed as soon as we got home and she slept for FOUR hours. It was heaven for both of us. We took it easy the rest of the night...one day down. He gets home on October 16th.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
IT'S A...
healthy baby! We had our big ultrasound on Tuesday, August 19th - I was 19 weeks, so it was a little early, but we wanted to fit it in before Scot left. It was great to see the baby moving around so much and know for now that it has all the right parts and looks healthy. I will have my follow up appointment on Friday, Aug. 29th, so my doctor will be able to give me some more information then. The baby weighed in at about 11 oz (so about the size of a pop can) and it's heartrate was 149 bpm. We didn't find out the sex again...though our friends Jerry and Lauren found out two days after our ultrasound that they're having their second boy. That gave me some pangs of regret...but I think I'm over it already. I can wait. I think. Scot said that I could ask the doctor if I really wanted to, but I don't think I will.
Here's a look at the little guy or girl. It's a profile shot, so the head is on the right and the leg is on the left.
Here's a look at the little guy or girl. It's a profile shot, so the head is on the right and the leg is on the left.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Family Day at the Guard Base
Scot had Guard this weekend, but Ava and I were able to pay him a visit Saturday for Family Day. They really put on a nice event with lots of things for kids to do.
Daddy welcomes us to the base.
We got there at 11 and there was a brief awards ceremony for their unit. Then it was a free for all. Ava quickly discovered this GIANT inflatable obstacle course thing and she must have done it about 7 or 8 times.
She was easily the youngest kid attempting it, but she really did a good job considering there really wasn't a way for us to help her. There was a giant slide on the other side to go down. They also had a regular bounce house and another inflatable train, but they didn't hold nearly as much appeal as this thing. For the bigger kids, they also had a rock climbing wall. A local restaurant - Fat Lorenzo's - provided a spaghetti lunch for everyone, which was really nice.
She got a little kitty painted on her cheek.
And got to try out the cockpit of Daddy's plane!
A pony ride too..
It was a really fun time - we all took a nap when we got home :-) Too bad we have to be out there again on the 25th to see him off for 2 months. Blah.
Daddy welcomes us to the base.
We got there at 11 and there was a brief awards ceremony for their unit. Then it was a free for all. Ava quickly discovered this GIANT inflatable obstacle course thing and she must have done it about 7 or 8 times.
She was easily the youngest kid attempting it, but she really did a good job considering there really wasn't a way for us to help her. There was a giant slide on the other side to go down. They also had a regular bounce house and another inflatable train, but they didn't hold nearly as much appeal as this thing. For the bigger kids, they also had a rock climbing wall. A local restaurant - Fat Lorenzo's - provided a spaghetti lunch for everyone, which was really nice.
She got a little kitty painted on her cheek.
And got to try out the cockpit of Daddy's plane!
A pony ride too..
It was a really fun time - we all took a nap when we got home :-) Too bad we have to be out there again on the 25th to see him off for 2 months. Blah.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Days 6, 7, 8
OK, I think it's about time to wrap this up...
Scot just took Ava to a Guard friend's house (they have a daugher who is a few weeks older than Ava). I'm thankful for the break. We went to Wausau for the weekend and it was a lot of fun, but exhausting.
Day 6 - July 24
We grabbed coffee and donuts from the hotel and headed out to Diamondhead mountain a little after 7am. We wanted to get an early start because it is a fairly grueling climb so it's advised to go then when it's less busy and not as hot. This is a picture of the sunrise from our hotel balcony. It was the only day where there wasn't haze over the mountains - you can see the mountain line clearly here.
Most of the path was semi-paved and then there were over 100 steps at the end to get to the very top. I had to take quite a few breaks so my heart rate didn't get too high (I probably would have had to stop often even if I wasn't pregnant, but it was nice to use that as an excuse).
It was all worthwhile once we got to the top, though - the views were incredible.
(So happy to finally be at the top)
After our hike (which took about 1 1/2 hours roundtrip), we tried to stop at Hanauma Bay to snorkle, but it was already full at around 9am, so we continued on to another beach to look around, and then we headed back to the hotel.
Showered, had lunch, and then lazed around on the beach and at the hotel pool for the afternoon. Scot did some snorkeling right off our beach and saw a sea turtle! After he got over the initial shock, he ended up swimming with him for awhile - pretty cool.
In the evening, we had tickets to go to the luau at our hotel (another military perk - it was a lot cheaper than anywhere else on the island). It started at 5:30 with drinks and music.
We thought these little girls were so cute.
Then we had dinner at 6:30, and the show started at 7:30. It was a lot of fun. We ended up sitting next to a really nice couple from Virginia - as it turned out, they have family in Minnesota and actually own their own cabin on Leech Lake. The woman and I had a lot in common with our jobs - she works for the National Institute of Health in the clinical studies area. When I told her I worked for Medtronic, she got so excited because her mother has a Medtronic pacemaker and her quality of life had improved drastically over the past couple of years. It's great to hear stories like that! The man was in the Army Special Forces (now retired) and jumped out of the C-130 (Scot's plane) many times. Lots of interesting coincidences!
Anyway, the show itself was hosted by Glenn Medeiros, who had a couple of hits in the 80s and is Hawaiian. You may remember this hit (well, I do!) and he actually sang it at the show too! :-) Ahh...1987.
He was a bit of a cheeseball, but he did do a lot to honor the military throughout the show, so that was really cool.
Day 7 - July 25
This was our last full day. This time we got up early to get to Hanauma Bay to snorkle - we got there a little after 7 and stayed until about 10:30. I did a little snorkeling, Scot did a lot. I realized during this trip that I'm not a huge fan of snorkeling - I get a little panicky with the breathing, it also didn't help that we think my mask was a little defective - I kept getting water in it, just after I would finally get comfortable - so that was pretty frustrating. Anyway, this beach/bay area was amazing.
We grabbed lunch at Subway and then headed back to hotel and sat by the pool the rest of the afternoon. It was relaxing and this is when I felt the baby kick for the first time! (I was about 16 weeks along) It was so distinct and lasted quite awhile - in fact, I haven't felt it that strongly since we've gotten back. I think I was just aware of it more in that setting with no other distractions :-)
We had dinner at the hotel and then watched the sunset and fireworks at the Hilton Hotel beach, which was right next to ours. It was a great way to celebrate our last night on Oahu.
Day 8 - July 26
Our last day in Hawaii (sniff, sniff). We walked to another hotel on Waikiki beach for breakfast and then lingered on the beach on the way back to our room - we cleaned up all of our stuff by noon. We still had a few hours to kill, so we went over to the Waikiki Aquarium, which was pretty cool. Then we headed in the direction of airport and had lunch at P.F. Chang's. Boarded our flight on time at around 5pm, lost 5 hours of precious time, and arrived at MSP at about 6am the following day (July 27). Truly enjoyed seeing my baby again - it had been way too long!
Scot just took Ava to a Guard friend's house (they have a daugher who is a few weeks older than Ava). I'm thankful for the break. We went to Wausau for the weekend and it was a lot of fun, but exhausting.
Day 6 - July 24
We grabbed coffee and donuts from the hotel and headed out to Diamondhead mountain a little after 7am. We wanted to get an early start because it is a fairly grueling climb so it's advised to go then when it's less busy and not as hot. This is a picture of the sunrise from our hotel balcony. It was the only day where there wasn't haze over the mountains - you can see the mountain line clearly here.
Most of the path was semi-paved and then there were over 100 steps at the end to get to the very top. I had to take quite a few breaks so my heart rate didn't get too high (I probably would have had to stop often even if I wasn't pregnant, but it was nice to use that as an excuse).
It was all worthwhile once we got to the top, though - the views were incredible.
(So happy to finally be at the top)
After our hike (which took about 1 1/2 hours roundtrip), we tried to stop at Hanauma Bay to snorkle, but it was already full at around 9am, so we continued on to another beach to look around, and then we headed back to the hotel.
Showered, had lunch, and then lazed around on the beach and at the hotel pool for the afternoon. Scot did some snorkeling right off our beach and saw a sea turtle! After he got over the initial shock, he ended up swimming with him for awhile - pretty cool.
In the evening, we had tickets to go to the luau at our hotel (another military perk - it was a lot cheaper than anywhere else on the island). It started at 5:30 with drinks and music.
We thought these little girls were so cute.
Then we had dinner at 6:30, and the show started at 7:30. It was a lot of fun. We ended up sitting next to a really nice couple from Virginia - as it turned out, they have family in Minnesota and actually own their own cabin on Leech Lake. The woman and I had a lot in common with our jobs - she works for the National Institute of Health in the clinical studies area. When I told her I worked for Medtronic, she got so excited because her mother has a Medtronic pacemaker and her quality of life had improved drastically over the past couple of years. It's great to hear stories like that! The man was in the Army Special Forces (now retired) and jumped out of the C-130 (Scot's plane) many times. Lots of interesting coincidences!
Anyway, the show itself was hosted by Glenn Medeiros, who had a couple of hits in the 80s and is Hawaiian. You may remember this hit (well, I do!) and he actually sang it at the show too! :-) Ahh...1987.
He was a bit of a cheeseball, but he did do a lot to honor the military throughout the show, so that was really cool.
Day 7 - July 25
This was our last full day. This time we got up early to get to Hanauma Bay to snorkle - we got there a little after 7 and stayed until about 10:30. I did a little snorkeling, Scot did a lot. I realized during this trip that I'm not a huge fan of snorkeling - I get a little panicky with the breathing, it also didn't help that we think my mask was a little defective - I kept getting water in it, just after I would finally get comfortable - so that was pretty frustrating. Anyway, this beach/bay area was amazing.
We grabbed lunch at Subway and then headed back to hotel and sat by the pool the rest of the afternoon. It was relaxing and this is when I felt the baby kick for the first time! (I was about 16 weeks along) It was so distinct and lasted quite awhile - in fact, I haven't felt it that strongly since we've gotten back. I think I was just aware of it more in that setting with no other distractions :-)
We had dinner at the hotel and then watched the sunset and fireworks at the Hilton Hotel beach, which was right next to ours. It was a great way to celebrate our last night on Oahu.
Day 8 - July 26
Our last day in Hawaii (sniff, sniff). We walked to another hotel on Waikiki beach for breakfast and then lingered on the beach on the way back to our room - we cleaned up all of our stuff by noon. We still had a few hours to kill, so we went over to the Waikiki Aquarium, which was pretty cool. Then we headed in the direction of airport and had lunch at P.F. Chang's. Boarded our flight on time at around 5pm, lost 5 hours of precious time, and arrived at MSP at about 6am the following day (July 27). Truly enjoyed seeing my baby again - it had been way too long!
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Monday, August 04, 2008
4 cute kids
I'm going to interrupt the Hawaii posts with a cute picture from the weekend...
We had friends over on Saturday. Friends with kids. Because that's the type of people we are now...and now 3 of the 4 of us gals are preggo again. Lauren and I are due a week apart in January and the newest club member, Laura, is due in March. She just had her baby boy Henry this March, so this was an aggressive move for her. LOL. Now we just need to work on Jess.
Alexander (2), Henry (4 mo), Ava (2 1/2), Keira (20 mo)
Next year we'll have 3 more babies in this picture - crazy!
We had friends over on Saturday. Friends with kids. Because that's the type of people we are now...and now 3 of the 4 of us gals are preggo again. Lauren and I are due a week apart in January and the newest club member, Laura, is due in March. She just had her baby boy Henry this March, so this was an aggressive move for her. LOL. Now we just need to work on Jess.
Alexander (2), Henry (4 mo), Ava (2 1/2), Keira (20 mo)
Next year we'll have 3 more babies in this picture - crazy!
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Days 4 and 5
Day 4 - July 22
Took it easy this morning...as our first appointment of the day wasn't until 10:15 am - massages on the beach! We had breakfast at the hotel again (this time Scot got banana waffles but he reports they weren't quite as good). Our massages were heavenly...
We cleaned up, had a light lunch at a fast food stand on the hotel grounds, and then prepared for our submarine ride. We boarded a boat that was docked at the pier next door to our hotel and that took us to the submarine, which was about 15 minutes off shore. The submarine ride itself was about 45 minutes - we went down to about 120 feet. It was pretty cool - we got to see lots of fish, turtles, sharks, and scuba divers ;-) I'm not sure it would have been worth full price, but we got our tickets at 50% off with the military rate.
The boat we took out to the sub
Waikiki Beach from the water
The inside of the sub
Some geckos we saw when we got back
After we got back, we did a little snorkeling at our beach and then went out to an Italian resaurant (Arancino - also listed in one of our guidebooks) and had an authentic Italian pizza - ultra thin crust with cheese, tomato, & asparagus - it was delicious!
Day 5 - July 23
Ordered room service this morning from the same place. Scot went with the coconut waffles. We left around 8:30 this morning to do some exploring. Our first stop was the Pali Lookout. It was an amazing view of the NE side of the island...but wow, was it windy! These photos were NOT exaggerated! It was pretty cold up there and a little on the drizzly side, since we were right up in the mountains.
From there we drove on the Eastern shore en route to the North Shore. Stopped for gas along the way and was kind of surprised it wasn't more expensive than this.
We grabbed lunch and pie at Ted's Pies.
Stopped at Sunset Beach for some pictures and drove through the North Shore but it was raining, so we didn't make any more stops. We stopped briefly at the Dole Plantation on the way back to the hotel.
And one last photo of us at dinner that night. Afterwards we walked around the Waikiki shopping area and beach.
.jpg)
Took it easy this morning...as our first appointment of the day wasn't until 10:15 am - massages on the beach! We had breakfast at the hotel again (this time Scot got banana waffles but he reports they weren't quite as good). Our massages were heavenly...
We cleaned up, had a light lunch at a fast food stand on the hotel grounds, and then prepared for our submarine ride. We boarded a boat that was docked at the pier next door to our hotel and that took us to the submarine, which was about 15 minutes off shore. The submarine ride itself was about 45 minutes - we went down to about 120 feet. It was pretty cool - we got to see lots of fish, turtles, sharks, and scuba divers ;-) I'm not sure it would have been worth full price, but we got our tickets at 50% off with the military rate.
The boat we took out to the sub
Waikiki Beach from the water
The inside of the sub
Some geckos we saw when we got back
After we got back, we did a little snorkeling at our beach and then went out to an Italian resaurant (Arancino - also listed in one of our guidebooks) and had an authentic Italian pizza - ultra thin crust with cheese, tomato, & asparagus - it was delicious!
Day 5 - July 23
Ordered room service this morning from the same place. Scot went with the coconut waffles. We left around 8:30 this morning to do some exploring. Our first stop was the Pali Lookout. It was an amazing view of the NE side of the island...but wow, was it windy! These photos were NOT exaggerated! It was pretty cold up there and a little on the drizzly side, since we were right up in the mountains.
From there we drove on the Eastern shore en route to the North Shore. Stopped for gas along the way and was kind of surprised it wasn't more expensive than this.
We grabbed lunch and pie at Ted's Pies.
Stopped at Sunset Beach for some pictures and drove through the North Shore but it was raining, so we didn't make any more stops. We stopped briefly at the Dole Plantation on the way back to the hotel.
And one last photo of us at dinner that night. Afterwards we walked around the Waikiki shopping area and beach.
.jpg)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)