Why so serious....?

Ok First of all, if you get where the title comes from... well then it just proves why I like you. Because you are a nerd/geek like me. Speaking of nerd/geek, I just wanted to give a shout out to one of the best written sitcom shows... The Big Bang Theory. Quirky writing, witty jokes, an overabundance of nerdy references and just a wee bit of awkwardness makes for a fun show that anyone who has seen all 3 real star wars movies (more than twice) will definitely enjoy.

Anyways I have been having an awesome time with my little bundle o' joy as of late. We love to cuddle up in bed and make silly faces at each other. His new fav is waking me up in the morning with a giant cheesy grin and a giggle that would melt anyones heart. He is growing with leaps and bounds! He is currently outgrowing his 0-3 clothing and will soon be happily filling out the next size up.... And he has learned that sleeping through the night makes for a happier mommy....LOL

He is definitely aware of whats going on, we can't sit in the dark when he is awake because he wants to SEE everything! He is really trying to work his muscles by pulling himself up by my fingers! I swear soon he will be sitting! He definitely recognizes mom and dad, when dad comes home from work and comes up to him, he shows off his big ol' toothless smile.... which in my opinion by the way he is acting won't be toothless much longer! He is drooling a ton and trying to chew on things so I think he may be starting to teethe! Well he is 3 months old now?!?

What? Wait? 3 months? Has it really been that long? Wow, when they say the first year really flies they mean it!

Alright, TTFN and love from MK (AKA Mini-Keith AKA Cameron)

SMILE!!!

Babies Galore!

I love how everyone I know has had or is having babies.... and the vast majority of them are having girls! My poor Cameron is just gonna be surrounded by the ladies!!

Congrats Nick and Jen on your beautiful little girl!

Can't wait until Wednesday when we will fly to NJ, will post pictures after we get back!

2 Months

Cameron had his 2 month appt on November 3rd, he was 11lbs 2oz and 22 inches! He got his first set of shots which he definitely didn't enjoy!

We will be traveling out to New Jersey for Thanksgiving so Cameron can meet his Grandpa, Baba, Deda, Aunt Jenna and Uncle David!! We are very excited and feel so lucky to have such a great family that loves us!

As for development, he is getting really good at holding his head up and is starting to smile more. One other strange thing that he does is he takes ahold of a handfull of his own hair and pulls on it until he cries, I don't think he realizes its his hair.....LOL

Happy Halloween!!

We had our first halloween with Cameron! We went to Midland to visit mom and my friends/sisters brought my nieces over and we took pictures with all the kids in their costumes and my 4 year old niece was holding Cam. When we said "smile" she was like "Cam's not smiling!" and took her fingers and pulled the corners of his mouth up into a smile!! It was so funny, we all burst out laughing and she couldnt figure out why!!

Here are some pics! The sad pumpkin is too much!!

New Pictures!!

We just went and had our pictures done with Cameron, they are so cute!! Here they are! If anyone wants copies of them printed we bought the rights to them and can print as many as we want!

ONE MONTH!!!

Holy Crap, my baby is a month old!! Time sure flies! He is getting so big. He has already outgrown all the newborn clothes and is into 0-3 months stuff now! He had his one month appointment with a new doctor on Friday. He is doing great. Doc says everything is progressing normally and he has grown from 7.3lbs to 9.3lbs. 2 Whole pounds!! Well he is eating well, that's for sure!

I will try to keep posting more pictures.

Here are some with his uncle!

New Pics

My little man sleeping
Oh my god what a cute pose!! ( He did this on his own!)
Uncle Ninja (AKA Mike) Playing with his new nephew
Daddy getting a good burp!!

Cameron is doing so great! He has his one month appointment on Friday believe it or not! I can't believe he has been here for almost a month! He is doing well with sleeping, some nights are better than others. We went up to Midland for the weekend because Michael and his girlfriend Carol came up to visit. We had a great time seeing everyone and Grandma was so happy to see her little man. I painted his nursery yesterday so hopefully this weekend we can put up the border and finish it off. I also had my hair chopped off. I hadn't had it that long since middle school! Well gotta run. I have to go to the secretary of state to make us official Michiganians again!

What a week!

Cam is doing great! He had his one week check-up and the doc says he is just perfect! He was borderline jaundiced but has gotten better since. He eats like a champ. They say they want him back up above birthweight by 2 weeks old and he was one ounce above birthweight by 6 days! He sleeps more than I expected (knock on wood) so I get a couple hours of sleep a night, not in a row of course but its better than nothing. We got down to the house in Battle Creek on Thursday. Mom came down and helped us unpack which was a lifesaver. On Saturday night we had to go bunker down in the bathroom for a half hour because we had tornados touch down in Kzoo and headed right for us. Nothing happened though. Cam has his 1 month check-up on Oct 3rd (5 days before his due date!!) I am tired but pretty contented. I love this little bugger so much! And Keith is such an awesome daddy! I love walking into a room and seeing him hold him and talk to him without knowing I am there. Too precious. Anyway, the little man is hungry!

Cameron Gage Sylvester is here!!!

A surprise I know, but our baby has arrived! September 5th, 2008 at 5:14pm he was 7lbs 3oz and 19 1/2 inches. Cameron is our little miracle boy. If you want more detail, my birth story is as follows.

On Wednesday evening (9/3) Keith and my mom were leaving to drive overnight to our house in New York to meet the movers, leaving me in Midland. At approximately 3am that evening I was woken by a very sharp pain in my lower back (a contraction, even though I didn't realize it at the time) It stopped shortly and I went back to sleep. I woke again at about 9am (9/4) with the same pain and they continued to come for a while. I was starting to get worried so I called my mom in New York and she told me to go in and get checked. I wasn't convinced it was really anything, so I sort of put it off for a while. When a friend showed up to take me in I gave in and went assuming they would send me home and tell me it was nothing. Little did I know, when they checked me I was already dialated to a 3. So they admitted me and because I was still 5 weeks early, pushed some meds to hopefully stop the labor. We immediately called Keith and he jumped in the car and started the 9 hour drive home (probably speeding) A few hours later it seemed the meds weren't working as I had progressed to a 4. By now we were sure Keith would be too late and I was very upset but then the meds seemed to kick in and I stayed at a 4 for quite a while. Keith made it after midnight and they gave me ambien to sleep. In the morning (9/5) I was at 6 cm but not really contracting badly. Two hours later I was at 7.5 and the doctor broke my water. At this point the contractions really started coming. I was given nubane and then an epidural and within another 2 hours I was ready to start pushing. My contractions still weren't very strong so I had to push for about an hour and a half. As soon as they cut the episiotomy the doctor practically had to catch the little bugger he came out so fast! 5:14pm! They weighed him and he was so much bigger than anyone expected him to be at 35 weeks! He proved that his lungs were definitely well formed. Most of the docs believe my ob's were off on my due dates and they are considering him full-term.

We are at Mom's now and little Cameron is doing spectacular. He is eating great and sleeping like a trooper. I am probably biased but I think he is the most gorgeous baby in the whole world. Phew.... Gotta go now and hold my precious bundle of joy.

The Good, The Bad, and The Bizarre

I know this looks like a novel, but if you can make it through to the end there is an story worth reading......

THE GOOD-So we finally received the offer from the job in Kalamazoo and it sounds wonderful and Keith has accepted it. We will be moving back to our home state of Michigan.....YAY!!! Closer to family and friends, back into the house that never sold in Battle Creek. I am soooo excited to be home again. It is a huge relief to be closer to my mom and friends. I will be spending a week in Midland before I get to Battle Creek because of the situation so that I will be around people in case something happens with the pregnancy I wont be alone for that week out here in New York.

THE BAD- On the same note, we have to do this very quickly. He received the offer last Thursday and he has to start on August 29th. The reason for this is because the insurance starts the first of the month after he starts which means he has to start in August to get the insurance to start in September (which is necessary because.....I'm PREGNANT) So we have 2 weeks to figure everything out. Plus he will have to drive back out the next weekend to meet the movers in New York, (that is if we can get the movers scheduled for the days we need) On top of everything else, I am 81/2 months pregnant and there is that looming possibility that I will go into pre-mature labor especially with all the issues we have been having. But we have to do what we have to do.

THE BIZARRE- Ok, the story we have all been waiting for. Last night came a knock on our front door. Keith answered and followed the knockers outside. After about 20 mins or so I finally looked outside and saw him and our neighbors from across the street staring at the side of the house and talking intently. I went out to the porch and sat down and they walked around to explain what was going on. The neighbor, Brian, had been parking his vehicle in our next door neighbors driveway and noticed an odd plant in our yard. This plant always seemed large but never seemed to be a cause of concern to us before. But as a worker for the fire department Brian had recognized the plant that, though very rare, had its picture posted like a wanted ad all around his office. It is called the Giant Hogweed and can be 10-15ft tall. Brian called the USDA because this plant is considered very toxic and dangerous. APPARENTLY if you get the sap on your skin and expose it to sunlight, it causes 3rd degree burns and boils. Just what we needed when we just put our house on the market on Thursday. Why don't we use that to advertise huh? "COME BUY THE HOUSE WITH THE NOXIOUS TOXIC PLANT" Now we have to wait for the government to come and inspect the plant and possibly excavate a large portion of our yard so it doesn't re-grow. Who would be expecting something like that???

32 weeks!

Let's see, what do we have to update on....? Well we had a doctor's appointment yesterday. My cervix was looking good, still about 2.3cm. Not great, but it has been worse. The doc called me "the woman with the ever changing cervix" lol. We had a growth ultrasound. It was the first time I had gotten to see my baby in almost 10 weeks. It was one of the most magical moments ever! He was facing us and opening and closing his mouth. He had this little button nose and big fat lips! He is the most precious thing in the entire world. What a miracle! The best anniversary present imaginable (as yesterday was Keith and my 2nd anniversary) Also when she was moving the wand around he kicked it, and you could see his entire little foot! So perfect, she measured it and it was 6.6cm! What a big foot! He measured in the 70th percentile and weighs approximately 4lbs13oz. If I can get Keith to scan the ultrasound pics at work I will post them, they are beyond amazing. Enough gushing huh?
My doc also said that he is letting me take 2 weeks off "for good behavior" LOL Basically I don't have to come back for 2 weeks because I have been doing so well. That will be a break since I have been going in weekly since I was 22wks. By then I will be 34wks and hopefully they will lift the restrictions on my bedrest!!! Keith and I have come to the conclusion that because we were all so worried about going so early that I will end up being a week overdue and they will have to induce. HA!

Keith is playing a bit of phone tag with the company that he interviewed with. Hopefully it all goes in our favor! We could use some good news right now! Keep your fingers crossed. I forgot to take a belly pic this week but if I feel up to getting dressed any time I will try to take one soon. Ta Ta for now!

More Fun Pictures

Ok so I finally got up the courage to take a bare belly shot so no snide comments about my abysmal stretch marks! I love the picture at the top. I was sitting there watching my boy kick around and Keith snuck a picture of it. These are about 30 wks 3 days. I am starting to feel a bit whalish. As I said in the previous post, sleep is getting harder and the pains are slightly increasing but not completely unmanagable yet, as I am sure they will be in the weeks to come! 34 weeks, here we come!!! I am really starting to get anxious about him being here. I want to meet him and see him, but I also feel like I still have so much yet to do! And I can't do any of it yet. Keith found these little wooden toys at Wal-mart: an airplane, a helicopter, a train, a birdhouse and a car, and I have been painting them for the nursery to give myself something to do. When I am done I will take a picture and post it. Well I guess thats it, life is pretty uneventful right now.

Sleep Deprivation.........

So I was exhausted last night, I ended up going to sleep about 7:30pm. The only problem is I couldn't stay asleep. I woke up about every half hour and then it took me another 20 mins to fall back asleep (not including having to go to the bathroom) Finally about 4am I said screw it and just got up. If this is my body preparing me for when the baby comes, it's being very cruel about it.
I went to the doc's yesterday. Everything is still on track. 30 weeks down, 10 to go... 4 more weeks until I can start slowly moving again. I can smell the freedom! I took some pics but haven't had a chance to download them yet. Maybe tomorrow or the next day. We'll see what happens.
Our dog, Molly, seems to be having some issues lately so we have to take her to the vets on Monday. I think female labs are prone to ear infections or something because she gets at least one a year and her mother gets them all the time too. Strange.

Got to share a funny story. If you don't know, along with our dog we have 3 cats. Binx, Medea, and Freud. Well, Freud seems to be of the opinion that he is more dog than cat. He eats dog food, sleeps in the dog kennel, plays roughly with the dog, chases the other cats....etc. Most times he plays with Molly he just lets her eat him and wags his tail. The other day I was watching them and Molly laid on the floor and Freud got on her head and started attacking her neck and ears like a real dog would. I mean he isn't a small cat by any means but come on!! Molly is a full grown LAB. And she just submits to his torment!! Oh I will never understand the world of animals, but they are just so entertaining, right??

29 Weeks and going strong!!

So this picture is from Wednesday July 23rd. 29 Weeks!! This was right before the weekly dr. appt. which went well. Things are good still, if not a little better! I am very optomistic that I can make it. If not all the way then at least to 35 weeks. Thats only 6 weeks away now and I have already been on bedrest for over 7 weeks. That seems like a piece of cake now!! I asked the dr. if there came a point in the pregnancy that I will be able to start to get up and around again, maybe 36 or 37 weeks if I make it there and he was like "I would say more like 34 weeks!" So that is my goal now. Not that I will be able to move much but it would be nice to get out of the house a little.

Keith and I finally decided to break down and buy a shower chair for me, because having been in bed for 7 weeks, I have no muscle left and showers are extremely draining on me. I hate that we had to because it makes me feel even more like an invalid, but I know that the reality is that it only gets harder as I go along. Oh what a wonderful life, eh?

Keith had his interview in Kalamazoo and we are still waiting to hear an answer on that. I am not getting my hopes up but at the same time, if he does get the offer then I have so much more to worry about..... I just want to go home.....

Baby boy is great. Still looking good and kicking hard. I just can't wait to hold him in my arms. I have waited so long for him and wanted him so much that it is unbelievable. As much crap as I am going through for him, I would do it again and again just to have him healthy in my arms. Ok enough sentimental gush. Ta ta for now!

Nursery and update!

So I am soo excited to have the crib put together and most of the nursery done!! I swear I may be biased but I think my nursery is the cutest I have ever seen! The pic on the left is the stroller and carseat combo that Keith put together.

We had an appointment yesterday and little boy seems to be growing right on schedule if not a little ahead. Yay! As for my cervix, I am still stable and seem to be right on track to keep him in there for a while yet. I am 28 weeks today!! I am so excited to make it this far! My little baby has such a higher chance of survival if something terrible happens now.

I have been having a lot of trouble sleeping lately, between all the things that are running through my head and the pains I feel every time I move (which is a lot, tossing and turning and getting up to pee) I can't seem to get a good nights sleep. So even though I do absolutely nothing all day every day I still feel exhausted all the time. Only 12 weeks left at most right?

Weekly Appointment

The pic is my 26 week shot taken last Wednesday on my way to my endo appointment. My face is all flushed and I look a little out of it but what can you expect.

So I am a little disappointed at this appointment. Apparently when they gave me my measurements last week they gave me the wrong number. The 2.35 they gave me is the FULL length of my cervix including what is already opening. So my length hasn't really changed at all. It is still about 1.4cm which is good because it is stable but still... Next week they will do a growth measurement ultrasound to make sure baby boy is still growing properly.

They did re-confirm that he is a boy again, because I mentioned that I was having dreams about going into labor and poof out comes a girl! Not that I would be upset, but it would still be quite shocking. In my dream I was even trying to come up with a little poem to put on the announcements to say it's a girl not a boy. But thanks to the ultrasound lady today I am 100% sure that we are having a boy. Phew! Makes me feel better to know for sure. I am not feeling so good today so I think I am going to go lay down. Toodles!

Fourth Of July!!

Alrighty, So this morning Keith and I put together the stroller/carseat combo my grandparents got us (thanks guys!!) It was so cute watching him try to figure it out and realize what all the little contraptions were for. We can't wait to have a baby to put in it and take for walks. My mom got us a crib and mattress for our shower and Keith is going to pick it up from Wal-Mart this weekend. I hope he can put it together because the nursery is so close to being done, I just want to see it all together and take pictures. I am refusing to take any now because it is only half-done. When Mom was here she put up the border and stickers and put together the dresser. It is just too darn cute. If anyone didn't know, we are doing Baby Looney Tunes as a theme (because of Sylvester, yeah I know extremely corny and original but I like it!!)

The other night we were laying in bed and the baby was kicking up a storm. I put Keith's hand on my belly and he felt every little motion, including when he stretched out and kept his foot there. Keith said he could feel the shape of his little foot!! I think I saw a little tear glisten in his eye....

We have another appointment on Monday morning so I will update after that, hopefully everything is still going good. I am really disappointed that I am going to miss out on all the fun summer activities this year, like renaissance fairs, carnivals, swimming, amusement parks, and just being outside in general. I swear when I go in to deliver the nurses better not complain about being blinded by my whiteness..... but it's worth it for this little guy!

Happy Fourth of July All!!!!

Once you start, you just can't stop!

Two posts in one day! I guess thats what you get from a bored pregnant lady stuck in bed. I did want to mention a few things before I forgot though, Keith had a phone interview with an Aerospace company in Kalamazoo yesterday. Nothing to get excited about, but he said they did sound interested. Hopefully we will hear back in a week or so.

Little Boy has been kicking and punching around in there for a few weeks now. I started to really tell the difference between the flutters and the kicks at about 20 wks. When I was in the hospital Keith was lucky enough to feel him send out a roundhouse kick(We still think he is training for ninja school!) My mom also felt him once when she was here helping us out.

As for names.... I keep getting asked what we are naming him, and this is the explaination you will get every time! We have a few names in consideration, but have decided that if or when we pick one, we are not announcing it until he is born. Why, you ask? Because I have this fear that we will announce a name and then when he gets here we will change our minds and either have to go through the trouble of explaining it or stick with the name we no longer like. So there.

The First Entry!

So Here I am, just shy of 26 weeks along, and just now starting one of these journal thingies. I am the worst at procrastinating but Oh well. My original plan was to do a video journal with my camera but I really don't have the motivation to get myself all dolled up everytime I want to make an entry.

The picture is 25wks5days. I am to self conscious to take a picture with my shirt up. So I am sticking with this until I feel comfortable...if I ever do. I have a full body shot but Keith took it and I look like an Amazon woman. So no posting that! I will try to take another when I get ready for my next appt. (I will take it myself in the mirror!!)

So now for the update on the pregnancy, sorry to everyone that has heard all this a million times! On Thursday June 5th, 2008 I went in for a routine ultrasound and the technician happened to check and noticed that my cervix was extremely short for 22wks(it was at 1.5cm, normal length is above 3cm). I was immediately sent to Crouse Hospital in Syracuse, NY where I was monitored for the weekend. On Monday, it had not improved...it had actually gotten worse (1.1cm) They decided to keep me there and monitor it for another week. Wednesday it had stayed the same, then Friday it had stayed the same as well. They believed that I was stable and because I was not having any risk factors for pre-term labor(contractions, water breaking, bleeding) they decided it was safe to send me home, to continue complete bedrest.

Since then I have been home and have had weekly check-ups and seem to be doing better. The first check-up showed improvement (1.1 to 1.4) and the check up we had yesterday was fantastic (1.4 to 2.35!!!) I am still on bedrest and probably will be for a while.

Poor Keith, I feel so bad that I can't do ANYTHING! He works all day, has to come home for lunch and make me food. Then he has to do all the housework and yardwork. He says it doesn't matter, but I know he is exhausted. :(