I hired a new "helper"

He may be small, but he's a mean little sweeper!!

!

3 months old

Logan in his Jumper

2 months

Bionic Baby!?

Logan has proved to be a strong, determined, yet extremely happy little guy! He has been rolling over (both directions) for awhile. When I told his doctor how mobile he is she was surprised but said it is a startle reflex some babies have when they get really frustrated or mad. Here's the thing, he's not mad when he does it! And he rolls over ALL THE TIME--not just once in awhile! And not only does he roll, but he also scoots--yes, I said my 5 week old scoots!! He can turn himself all the way around, and scoot for several feet in a matter of minutes. I am afraid to even leave him in the middle of our bed...he's THAT mobile!!
WHAT IN THE WORLD!?
So today, I laid Logan down on a blanket on the floor. I put him on his tummy...becuz he LOVES his tummy, and I went into the kitchen to put the dinner in the oven. I was gone for less than 2 minutes when I heard screaming. I ran back in, and you'll never believe where I found him---over 3 feet away from where I put him, laying on his back and kicking like mad!!! WHAT?! How in the world did my 5 week old do that??? I know what you're thinking....one of the other kids moved him. Nope....they were all gone to church! Parker keeps telling me that Logan is starting to crawl! And now I'm beginning to wonder! :o)

I think we've got a "Bionic Baby" on our hands!!!

1 month already?!

Our newest arrival in Manila

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He's Here

Time - 3:59 PM (Manila time)

Date - 3/20/08
Wt - 5 lbs 6 oz
Length - 47 cm (18.5")
Brown hair

Psych!

No baby today! The doc called at 11pm last night saying that she was chickening out. She was worried that I'm not technically 37 weeks yet (so he's not considered full-term). After about 15 minutes of deliberation, we decided to meet at the hospital at 7am this morning where she would do an ultrasound and monitor him for awhile...then she'd make her decision about whether to induce or not.

Anyone who's gone to the hospital thinking they are in labor, only to be sent home knows the disappointment. But this was a little different because we went w/o knowing what to expect....are we having a baby today, or not??? After the late night phone call, I didn't get much sleep either. So I was extremely tired and wasn't sure if I really even wanted to have the baby under those circumstances. So she monitored me, and I WAS having steady contractions (but what's new, I've been having them the entire pregnancy! And they aren't just braxton-hicks either! They are strong/labor-type contractions). The ultrasound looked good too...he looks completely ready to come out. The thing my doc was worried about is his breathing. She said most babies at 36 weeks are fine, but some of them have to stay in the nursery and be on oxygen for a few days. She said if it's between having the baby a little early and him being on oxygen, or waiting a few days and not having him need it....she wants to wait. And I agree! I would much rather have a healthy baby! She said she's 85% certain he would be completely fine coming today, but wants to wait until Thursday (the day I hit 37 weeks, and the baby is considered full-term) to induce.

So there you have it....Logan is keeping us in suspense a little longer! :o)

Baby update...is he coming or not?!?

Here's a little update for those of you who have been asking how the baby and I are doing:

He's doing great, apparently so great that he wants to come out NOW!! I've been having horrible contractions for the last week due to a VERY bad infection (the doc used 4 explanation marks in her text...so I think that says something!). Let's just say that it has been about THE most painful week of my life! The doc nearly sent me to the delivery room last week (she even texted me saying, "Are you sure the baby isn't coming out?" Uh, no--I wasn't sure of anything!). But I told her I didn't want to go to the hospital. I didn't have my bag packed (here you really HAVE to be prepared!!), and we didn't have our helpers here to watch the kids. So we really couldn't have gone anyway! I think they would have let me have him if I would have gone. Bummer!! But remember the scripture, "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear"? Well....I wasn't prepared, and I was definitely fearing!! But now I AM prepared, and I am simply READY! I don't care what the hospital is like (even if there IS brown water and cockroaches), I am just READY to have this baby!!! :o)

The issue is Holy Week. It is a HUGE holiday here, and everyone leaves Manila...including doctors. So I have to either have the baby before the 19th, or wait until after the 24th if I want a doctor around. I'm really hoping she agrees to induce me on Monday the 17th!


Update: Just got back from my doctor....she IS inducing me on Monday!! Ya-hoo!!! That is if I don't go into labor before then?! We're both a little worried about that. It was a bit of a hard sell....until I told her about my previous doctor--the one that missed catching Addie and would have missed Lily too had the nurses not crossed my legs and held her in until he got back from his coffee break just down the hall! Boy did he come running!! Poor guy didn't even get to drink his coffee. He wrote on the front page of my medical records when we moved...and I quote: "BE AWARE!! Patient truly has rapid deliveries!" Uh, yeah...I tried to tell him that before but he didn't believe me until he nearly missed baby #2! :o) Hopefully this delivery isn't quite that crazy....but I do have a feeling it will be memorable none-the-less!!

Logan in 4D

He must be shy because we haven't had an ultrasound yet w/o his hands covering his face (and we've had A LOT of ultrasounds)! I guess he wants his cute little face to be a surprise!!

Any guesses?!

And it's a.......?!?

If you're gonna guess--you better do it QUICK before you scroll down....





















Keep going.......






















Hurry and guess!!




















It's another..........

































BOY!!!






Just look at that face!
He may look a little "alien-esc" right now, but I'm sure he'll be a cutie when he comes out!! :o)

My doctor had to keep looking cuz he was a little shy. But she DID see something....and usually if there's something--there's SOMETHING!!! So it's not 100%...but I have NO doubts! There WAS something there! :o)

okay, okay.....

I realize that I haven't posted for a month...haven't even put Parker's bday pics up yet. What kind of mom am I?! Sheesh! Thanks Jocelyn, for the kick in the pants!! :o) I have a GOOD excuse though....really!

The Truth:
I've been feeling a little-- (more like A LOT) like I got hit by a bus (or a jeepney for those of you in the Philippines)!! At my last appointment my doc gave me permission to get out a little....by going to the swimming pool and to 1 hour of church on Sunday. HOORAY! I can't tell you how excited I was to finally get out of the house!!

The Problem:
I haven't been able to do any of those things because I just feel so darn yucky. I am convinced this is NOT the normal pregnancy yuck..but everyone keeps telling me otherwise. Even though I've had permission to be up and doing things...I've pretty much just been in bed feeling miserable. Whenever I tell Lily my stomach feels yucky, she says "It's okay, I'm here Mom!" She takes care of me! And when I REALLY feel yucky she tickles me or makes funny faces and says, "I make you happy, Mom?!? Your tummy not hurt now?" That is why Heavenly Father gave me her.....to make me happy!!! I can't help but smile when Lily's here taking care of me!!! :o)

A minor setback:
So the last few days I have felt EXTRA yucky. And I've been having some BAD contractions (yes, I am only 3 months...scary!) with some bleeding. So my doc wanted to see me right away and make sure the baby wasn't detaching more. We met her at the hospital and did another ultrasound. The good news: The baby is completely fine...quite rambunctious for this early actually. My doc says, "Either this baby wants to control your life, or it just likes to see me a lot!" :o) Have I mentioned that I LOVE my doctor!?! She canceled ALL her appointments yesterday (except for seeing me) because she had a high risk woman in labor and wanted to stay with her! That would NEVER happen in the U.S. I'm in really good hands if something does go wrong!! Anyway, back to the bad news: I am stuck in bed AGAIN for at least the rest of this week. Can I just scream?! Agghhh!!! Not that I probably won't be there anyway because of feeling just plain yucky all the time...but there is something about being FORCED into it that is NOT so appealing. And did I mention there's a bazaar on Monday??? Hello...its a "ber" month too!!

Note for those of you NOT in the Philippines: They start celebrating Christmas here as soon as we hit the "ber" months....SeptemBER, OctoBER, etc. Christmas music is already playing everywhere and Christmas trees are for sale...and it's not even close to Halloween yet! Crazy, I know! But they LOVE Christmas here....one month just isn't enough for them!!

So the bazaar will have TONS of Christmas stuff! And there is some stuff I REALLY want to get. I had to miss the last one...I CAN'T miss this one too! Its the highlight of my month. Maybe I really will have to just rent a wheelchair!!!

Oh, and one other thing that I don't think I've mentioned yet: I am not immune to Rubella. I just had a shot after Lily....had the same problem with her. I had to stay home from church for 2 months because there was a chicken pox outbreak in our ward--and that was in Texas! So I've got that to worry about too...which is another reason I haven't been to church yet. They just put 4 wards in our little tiny building and there are people everywhere...many of whom are squatters (no homes). So I'm extremely worried about this whole Rubella thing...it is a third world country after all!! My doc said to stay away from crowds. Ha! That's laughable here!!

Welcome to my CRAZY life!!!

Update on the babe...

The one plus to having problems early on in pregnancy is that you get LOTS of ultrasound pictures of the baby!! :o)

Our visit to the doctor went well today. Again, there is good news and bad news to report. The good news is that the baby's heart rate is VERY good!! The baby also grew exactly like it should have, which means it is getting properly nourished. The bad news is that there is still an area where the baby is not attached to the uterus. If you look at the picture above, the baby is in the middle and the black area on the upper left is where the baby is not attached. Babies should be fully attached by the third month. So there is still a chance that the baby will completely attach in the coming month--which is what we're hoping for!

My doctor's main concern now is that she doesn't know if my hemorrhage last week is what caused the baby to dettach....or if the baby was already dettached before the bleeding started. Basically, she doesn't know what caused the bleeding or if it could happen again. So I am still on bed rest until I go back to the doctor in 2 more weeks. She IS letting me get up and move around the house a little though....which I am SO looking forward to!! She did say I have to stay in one place at a time for awhile. So no going from room to room or following the kids around...and as little walking as possible. But at least its better than being stuck in bed ALL DAY!!! Brett even figured out that I can use our computer chair with wheels on it as a wheelchair to get around the house w/o walking....yahoo!!! :o)

My doctor was also VERY pleasantly surprised that the baby is doing so well....she said she really didn't expect for things to look so good. The baby looks perfectly healthy! So the prayers in our behalf have definitely been working!! A big thanks to all of you for your prayers and concern!!! Its nice to know that even though we live clear across the world, our family and friends are still supporting us!

Salamat Po!!!
("thank you" in Tagalog)

Its a doozie....

Are you ready for our latest Philippine adventure?!? Boy is it a doozie this time!!!!

I ended up in the ER Tuesday for quite a few hours. And it was NOT a fun experience, let me tell ya!! Let's just say that it was the ONE time that I actually wished I was in a U.S. hospital! They wouldn't let Brett come in with me, so I was left to go it all alone. It was a little scary to say the least…nightmarish may be a more correct term.

The good news in all of it is that I'm pregnant (7weeks)....the bad news is that there are some complications. I had a pretty good-sized hemorrhage Tuesday afternoon. They did an ultrasound and found out the baby is not completely attached. They did find a VERY strong heartbeat though, so that's good. And the baby looks to be healthy in every way. They gave me a bunch of shots to help stop the bleeding and help the baby attach. Now we just have to wait and see if it works. I have a GREAT doctor who I trust completely! I'm on COMPLETE bed rest for at least the next couple of weeks...maybe a month...until they find out if the shots worked.

Long story short: It looks like I'll be missing my Tuesday class, church, and everything in between for at least the next few weeks. So much for taking another trip in the near future...but at least it's a good excuse for them not to give me a new church calling! :o) I ought to be home free on that one! Truthfully, I think I'd rather have the calling though. We may even have to hire a yaya (nanny) to take care of the kids, which I am SO dreading and swore I would never do. But like my doctor said, this IS baby #4...he (or she) knows he has some competition and has decided he wants me to himself for a little while! :o)

So.....

Apparently "experiencing an emergency room in a third world country" and "having a baby in a third world country" are 2 things that I get to cross off my "To Do" list!!