Jonathan and I were blessed to have a Babymoon weekend.  After Jonathan got home from work on Friday, we took Miss Abi to my parents’ house.  They were kind enough to watch her all day/night from Friday until Sunday church.  That was the longest time I’ve been away from her.

Instead of traveling 4 hours to my parents’ condo in the mountains, which was covered with snow, we decided to stay at our house.  Here were our rules: no cell phones (except to say goodnight to Abigail), no computer usage (except to watch hulu shows together), and we said we’d be able to spend the amount we would’ve spent on gasoline ($100) on going out to eat and doing other fun things.

So, Friday night, we ate at Carino’s.  This has been an eventful place for us.  It’s where we had our first date, where I told Jonathan we were pregnant with Baby #2, and the place from where I ended up getting really sick the last two times I’ve eaten there (my Birthday in December and Babymoon weekend).  So, I will not be partaking in their food for the next several months– if ever again.  Ugh.  I’m 31 weeks; when will the vomiting end?!  Anyway, after that, we rented a movie, and I explained the rules to our Valentine’s project for the year (instructions and pictures here).

On Saturday, Jonathan made me breakfast in bed: Butterscotch and White Chocolate chip pancakes!  Yum.  Then, we relaxed around the house until noon when we went out to eat at Taco Bueno.  After that, we looked at the Dollar Store to get Abigail some Vday gifts, then I got a pedicure and manicure while Jonathan got his hair cut next door.  Later, we ate dinner at Garcia’s and had the best waiter ever!  We came home and watched shows on Hulu.

On Sunday, we saw our sweet girl at church.  Daddy got a homemade card from Abigail, I got a red rose and sweet card from Jonathan, and Abigail got some flash cards, two books, and Reeses’ Pieces.  Later that night, we made a fruit dip and ate strawberries (recipe to come later).  Apparently, Abigail adores strawberries now.

Anyway, in case you didn’t know, I have the best husband for me.  I’m so glad we were blessed to spend our 8th V-day together.

Sorry for being the worst blogger, again.  We were on Thanksgiving vacation from Wednesday-Saturday (pictures to come later).  And since we’ve been back home, I’ve had to catch up on laundry, do regular household things, and finish up my Christmas shopping.  I still have a few Christmas sewing/making jobs left, but at least I don’t have to shop!

About the pregnancy: I’m feeling Baby move a lot more for the past week or so.  In fact, Baby’s moving now.  Last week, I started feeling better with the nausea/vomiting.  Since I felt good for more than 3 days, I thought, ‘I’m better finally.’  And then, Monday happened.  UGH.  Definitely not over the all day sickness.  The past three days have not been fun.  Please, please God make me better!  Okay, sorry about the whining . . .

Picture of Baby #2 at 13 weeks

I am now 20 weeks along, and knowing how my previous pregnancy went, it probably means I’m more than half way done!  Yea!

So, next Tuesday is the big Sonogram.  The one where we could find out the gender.  We’re still debating about whether or not to find out.  What do you think- objectively?

My cousin Katie got me thinking that it’d be fun to wait until delivery day to find out.  If we already had babies of each gender, I would so wait until delivery day.  But, I’m not sure since we wouldn’t have boy stuff if Baby is a boy.  And then, I thought since this is probably going to be our last baby, it might be fun to be surprised.

Either way, I think surprises are fun, so we’re thinking we might not let anyone know regardless of whether or not we find out.  Is this rude?

How did you decide whether or not to find out Baby’s gender?  Specifically, to those of you who waited, are you glad you did?

Another question: We took Abigail to Baby #2’s first sonogram, but we’re not sure if we should take her to this one.  We want it to be special, and it was hard the first time, because we were constantly having to answer Abigail’s questions/comments.  Also, we were wanting Jonathan to video record Baby’s movement on the monitor.  So, did you take your older kid(s) to your new baby’s sonograms?

Abigail at 20 weeks

The other night, as I was leaning over the trash can by my bed, I heard Jonathan say softly, “Try to keep it down.”

I thought he was referring to the stuff that was coming up out of my mouth.  I thought, “Aww, how sweet; he’s concerned, and wants me not to vomit.”

Then, he said, “Shhh.”

WHAT!  “I’m throwing up.”

“Oh, well, try to be quiet, please.”

I knew he was talking in his sleep because normally, he’ll turn on his lamp if he hears me throwing up after we’ve gotten into bed.  And when I told him about this conversation in the morning, he didn’t remember it.

So, yes, I’m still vomiting and feeling nauseated 90% of the time.  [Sidenote: For those of you who haven't had kids though, don't let this keep you from it.  I'm one of the rare ones.]  I’m still around 8 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight, and yet I’m growing a bigger belly more quickly than I did with Abigail.

I’m 16 weeks now.  Yesterday, Baby’s heartbeat was 152 beats per minute.  I think I felt some movement last night, but I’m ready for it to be the point where I feel Baby consistently.  Abi moved alllll day/night long, which might be why she’s so active now?

After talking with my OB yesterday, I got on the list to get the H1N1 shot, so they’ll call if when/if they have enough.

I had planned on doing a post last Tuesday (which didn’t happen) and then today on how to make baby burp cloths, but seeing as how I’m STILL pregnancy sick, I cannot gather the energy to do that.

Instead, I will solicit your help . . .

I’m trying to be informed about the flu and swine flu vaccines, so I can make a good decision for me, my unborn child, and Abigail.  I hear conflicting “evidence” as to the safety/harm of it all.

My OB said I should get the flu shot, but she didn’t mention the H1N1 shot, specifically.  I got the seasonal flu shot last year to try to protect Abigail and ended up getting flu symptoms four days later only for a day.  I predict that would happen again this time if I get the shot, but I wonder if that’s safe for baby if I show symptoms for a day?

And Abi hasn’t had her flu shot yet because they’re always out.

We live in Texas where 5151 people have been infected and 27 have died, as reported on July 24.  And it’s only gotten worse since then.  Two of Jonathan’s co-workers kids got swine flu and my hair dresser’s (who cuts hair in her home) daughter had it WHEN I WENT OVER THERE TO GET MY HAIR CUT . . . WITH ABIGAIL!  Ahh, thank goodness we didn’t get sick.  So, it’s not like it is not gonna get close to me.

Anyway, what’s your opinion on getting either shots?  Especially if you have  toddlers or are a pregnant, too, let me know.

So I’m a little slow these days getting posts up; sorry.  You might be slow, too, if you spent 100% of the day being nauseated and throwing up about 3x a day.  So, in case you didn’t get Abigail’s hint on Friday, I’m pregnant.  But I’ll talk about that later in many other posts, I’m sure.  It’s Abby time . . .

Here are some changes we’ve seen in Abigail over the past month:

• She loves to spin around.  She twirls in circles probably 10 different times during the day.  It’s fun to watch her get dizzy; she laughs at herself.
• She also likes to jump, and she’s getting better with throwing balls.  Sabra is finally playing fetch with her.  She’s already really precise with kicking a soccer ball (YEA!).
• She’s got at least 14 teeth.
• She’s becoming more of a Daddy’s Girl (yea!).  Because I’m not able to do much these days, Jonathan does 100% of her diaper changes, baths, etc when he’s home.  So, Abi’s going to him more when she wants a book read or wants a song played.
• She says pretty much every word we say.  She puts together 4-5 word sentences.
• She doesn’t want to get her picture taken much anymore because she wants to “watch” the digital screen on the camera instead.  You’ll see this in two of the video clips I put in her 18th Month Movie.
• She’s getting into stickers.  She’ll point to the one she wants and say, “Want this a one please”, and I’ll get it off for her.
• When she wants us to chase her, she’ll say, “I got you . . . bah, bah, bah, . . .”
• She’s wanting to be more independent: like in her eating (not wanting us to spoon/fork the food and give it to her).  And yet, she also wants to still be the baby: like in the last few weeks, she wants to be held more instead of her walking by herself.
• She sees friends–not just family– and calls them by name, without us having to say their name.

Well, here’s her 18th Month Movie below:

I don’t know what else to say except please visit this blog and start praying for Brad (sweet, brave husband), Sara (might be brain dead, new mom with cancer), and Chloe (precious newborn).

I made a 17 month movie of Abigail with Jonathan’s stupid Mac (only because it’s faster than my PC).  But for the bazillionth time, it’s having trouble uploading.  It strips out the video from the video clips, and it doesn’t include the music at all!  Ugh.  It never had problems uploading the movies I made on my PC.  I hate Macs!!!!

Anyway, so I’ll do a “Happy 18 Months” post for her whenever I get the video straightened out.  Until then, I’ll give you an update on her appointments today.

Abigail had a renal ultrasound done on her kidneys and bladder.  She absolutely hated it.  It wasn’t painful (maybe a little cold), but ever since her VCUG, she’s just so scared of doctors/nurses.  I even was able to hold her the whole time, but she still cried the whole time!  About 20 minutes or more.

Because of all her squirming, they couldn’t get a very good read, but they don’t think there is any scarring on her kidneys.  They did say that her left kidney is larger than her right one.  But her bladder looks okay.

So far, she’s doing okay on her prophylatic antibiotic, and we’ll continue that until her next VCUG in about 9 months.

Cutest smile ever, right?!

Abby had an appointment with a Pediatric Urologist last week, and we feel a lot better having talked things out with the doctor.

Here are some things we learned:

• She told us potty training might be different because Aibgail will have a tendency to hold her urine or only let little bits out at a time, not fully emptying her bladder.
• Deflux is a good option for Abigail, but the success rate is only 80% (whereas Ureteral Reimplant Surgery has a 99% success rate).  She said she wouldn’t be opposed to doing either of these, but she said if it were her daughter, she would wait it out a little bit to see if the Reflux gets better.
• She said there won’t be any problems with Abigail’s fertility because of this.
• We have to get a Renal Ultrasound done on Abigail next month, and then, we’ll have a follow up appointment with the Urologist to see if there is any scarring on Abby’s kidneys or if her kidneys are dilated.
• On the advice of our Urologist, here are the reasons we might choose Deflux or the Surgery soon (which is a relative term): 1.  If it shows that she does have scarring or dilation of the kidneys.  2.  If she gets any breakthrough infections while on the Antibiotics.  3.  If at her next VCUG, her Reflux Grade has stayed the same or gotten worse

I asked how long we would “wait and see” if the reflux didn’t completely went away.  Would it be 5 or 9 years minimum before we started looking into corrective options?  The Urologist said that she wouldn’t want to wait even 5 years; she thinks she’d want it corrected within 3 years.  I think she’s confident that it should get better without corrective measures (not counting antibiotics).  I sure hope so.

**Enter the Giveaway here.**

Jonathan and I took Abigail to get her VCUG test today (I talked about this here).  It was absolutely heart wrenching.

They put her in a plastic cradle and tied her arms down with cloth and her stomach with an ace bandage.

Immediately, she started crying.  So, we gave her a little rubber ducky that she likes and started reading books to her.  We’d get her to calm down every so often (and by that, I mean sobbing) when I’d ask her “What does a fish say?” or “Can you say, “PapaBon,” etc, but she cried for at least 20 minutes straight.  When they put the catheter in, I had to step away, so she wouldn’t see the tears starting to form in my eyes.  It was rough.

The technician said that he couldn’t put a grade (1-5) on it, but she was refluxing.  Then, I got a call from my Pedi’s office a few hours later, and the Pedi (our normal Pedi is out for the summer) said that the full report isn’t ready yet (we’ll hear from a Urologist), but that Abby has between a Grade 2 or Grade 3 Kidney Reflux, probably a mild 3.  He said his daughter had a Grade 4, and she had surgery for it.  Scary.

He called in an Antibiotic, and we’re supposed to give it to her every day for about 9 months.  And then, she’ll have another VCUG.  Not what I want to hear.

**UPDATE: Jonathan and I were talking about this test when he got home from work.  He said the part that killed him was when Abigail was signing, “All done” over and over again.**

**Another Edit: Abigail was also sobbing “out,” “down,” “up,” and “please” every few minutes during the procedure.  Poor girl.  I hated that I couldn’t get her out.  For those of you who have wondered what kidney reflux is, here’s a short version (as best as I can understand it): Normally urine flows from the kidneys through tubes called ureters to the bladder, then into the diaper.  Vesicoureteral Reflux (kidney reflux) happens when the bladder contracts and some of the urine goes back up into the ureters and in Abigail’s case (grade 2-5 reflux) goes back into the kidneys.  This puts pressure on the kidneys, scars the kidneys, and provides an opening for bacteria to go up farther into the body (hence her urinary tract infections).

Does anyone have kids with Kidney Reflux?  I’m trying to find out all the information I can on it.