Happy 20 Months Liam!

Liam has changed a ton in the last month.  I would say the first half of the month, he was pretty cranky,  perhaps he was teething.  He has also started getting really serious about tantrums when he is not getting what he wants.  Also, during the last month I had some restrictions because of my pregnancy.  I wasn't supposed to lift him, and he started being stubborn about going up or down the stairs and going where I needed him to. It was a rough couple of weeks. He has also figured out how to open the lever door handles.  He has escaped a couple times, so we had to put a lock on the playroom door. 

Then the last half of the month, he's been a pretty happy kid.  His language skills have taken a leap.  He is saying a lot of new words, and also starting to say words back when we say them to him.  We got him a few new toys that he likes.  He now has a little car to ride around in.  He likes to get in through the window, Dukes of Hazard style!  He also has a new slide, and pool to play in.  He LOVES the water and especially likes to slide down his slide into the pool.  He will say 'weeeee' when going down the slide or when we swing him.  He also loves to be outside, and will ask to go 'outside' or 'side'.  Some of his other new words are: 'cookie','kick','strawberry', he said 'dinosaur' once, and will say 'go' when we say 'ready set'.  He also is starting to put two words together.  The other day I took his shoes off, and he wanted his socks off too, so he said 'No Sock'.  He is also learning his different body parts and will point and say the word when we ask where they are.  I've mentioned in previous posts that he LOVES Elmo, but it seems that his love has turned into an obsession.  He has to watch him all the time, and he also has started to use his Elmo doll as a comfort toy.  He will snuggle Elmo under his arm, and likes to sleep with him too.

We got him a baby book that has pictures of a family bringing a baby home. He really likes the book, and will say 'baby' and point to it when he wants to look at it.  He knows what a baby is, and anytime he sees one on TV or in a book, he will say 'baby'.  

So the last milestone that I want to mention is that he got his first haircut!  My aunt Gina is a beautician and we took him to her to get a haircut.  We really like his hair on the longish side, so he just got a trim.  He did amazingly well and sat on dad's lap while Gina trimmed him up.  Anyway, this month has had it's ups and downs, but thankfully it ended on the up note.  It is just crazy for us to believe that he is only 4 months away from turning 2?!  Even though he's growing up so quickly, we still like to think of him as our little man...I'm sure one day he will protest, but for now that is what he is!

comment by Gaylene on 08/10/2009
oh, I'm excited for you guys. Liam is sounding more grown up...what a doll with his Elmo.

Large Mango (23 weeks)

I know it's only been a week since my last pregnancy update, but I have some good news!! I had a follow-up Ultra Sound today since the recording machine was not working the last time. The technician checked the placenta and it has moved, or rather grew enough that it is not laying low! This means the restrictions I was on have been lifted! We are all very happy about that. We got a great video of her moving about, and playing peek-a-boo, and toward the end we can see her opening and closing her mouth....she is sooo cute! Also, her position was breech, which I kinda guessed because I have started to feel more of her movements, but mostly it feels like she is dancing on my bladder. I am guessing that being breech at this point is not a big deal because they are still moving around a lot.

We had been a little concerned about the lack of movement, since Liam was so active by this stage...but last night Mike was able to feel her move!

Baby #2 Update (22 Weeks)

22 weeks marks the start of the 6th month, and Rowan is about 11 inches (about the length of a spaghetti squash), and is nearly a pound. Today, I had my first Dr's visit since my Ultra Sound when they told me I had a low lying placenta. Naturally, I had a list of questions regarding this issue. Basically, this is a fairly common thing, and he just wants me to 'not overdo it'. It's OK for me to lift Liam, and do a little yoga, but still no work-outs, and continue pelvic rest. And if anything causes me to bleed, then I need to stop! They were booked for the ultra sound machine today, so I have an appointment in a week to get the video, and they can check the placenta again then. He says that the heart beat sounds normal, and I'm measuring good. And the fact that I don't feel her move as much as the first pregnancy can be normal, but there would be a concern if that doesn't change in a month. As far as my due date, they have given me so many different days...thinking I will just stick with early December when people ask. I'm feeling pretty good overall. So far there doesn't seem to be as much growing pains as the first time round, and I'm guessing that is because it's already been stretched out. I am still a little bummed that I still can't work out because I am starting to gain more weight than I would like, but I know I don't want to risk hurting our little one, so I will just have to work on losing the weight after she is born.

Baby # 2 (20 weeks)

Well, this week marked half way...Rowan is about 10.5 oz. and about 10 inches head to heal, about the length of a banana.  I'm not sure if it is because of the low placenta, but I have not felt much of her movements.  I remember Liam doing acrobats at this point, and even Mike felt him move at 19 weeks!  We do know that she is indeed moving from the Ultra Sound we had, and I do have a heart monitor that I can hear her heart, so that is reassuring, but it is a little weird that I can't feel her much yet.  Anyway, I do have an appointment with the Dr. next Thursday, so I will have a HUGE list of questions regarding this placenta issue, etc. We also should be getting a video recorded since it wasn't working the last time.  Looking forward to that appointment for sure!

Baby # 2 Update (19 Weeks)

So after the Ultra Sound tech told us our baby was a girl, the rest of the appointment was a blur. She had told us that I had a low placenta. I did ask her what that meant, and she had said that in most cases it fixes itself, but if it does not than I would need a C-section. The following day I went about my business as usual, and did a 20 min. workout on the elliptical. Afterward, I got to wondering if there was anything I should be doing or not doing with this issue. I got on the Internet, and others with this issue had said their Dr. had told them not to exercise or do heavy housework, etc. So, I called the Dr.'s office to see what the deal was. The Dr. was not in the office, but I was able to talk to a nurse. She told me to 'take it easy' over the weekend and she would talk to the Dr. and call me back on Monday...and she did. She said that I should not be working out, this includes yoga, housework, pelvic rest, lifting anything over 20 lbs. (which Liam is), etc. I am pretty bummed about this because I had been doing so well, and feeling great with my workouts. The yoga was really helping a lot with my aches and pains! Although, I know my Dr. is pretty laid back, and if he says to do or not do something, I better listen! So, until we can check to see if the placenta has moved, I will be 'taking it easy' as best that I possibly can.

comment by Tiffany on 07/14/2009
You are doing so good at taking pictures. My first one was at 31 weeks. You look great!

Liam Is Going to Have a Sister....

So we had our mid-way ultrasound today, and found out that it's a GIRL! I was really surprised! I really thought it was a boy, and before she announced it she had said 'Oh, he's touching his toes there.' So I figured she knew, and accidentally said 'he' before telling us. My reaction was, what?! really?!?! So far everything is looking good. She looks healthy and well. The only concern that they have, and want to watch is that the placenta is laying low. She said that in 85-90% of cases it will move to the correct position, but if it does not, than I will have to have a C-section. I'm really hoping it moves because I really prefer not to do that. Unlike Liam's ultrasound, the baby gave us a really great profile shot, and lots of others too. Liam was being stubborn during his Ultrasound, and would not give us a profile shot, and the tech ended up only giving us a gender shot of him. Unfortunately, their recording equipment was not working, so we did not get a video today. But, she said that she can make one for us at my next appointment.

Also, I have another due date. At the first U.S. they were saying December 8th, and the Dr. was saying December 4th, if you go by my cycle....but today they said December 3rd, so we figure we will go by that one since it's the most recent measurement.

We also are pretty sure we have a name picked out too. Although I really hesitate to share because of people's reactions....But I will share anyway.....For the first several weeks we kept thinking of names...and one day we were watching a movie and heard the name...we were originally thinking of it for a boy, but later I asked Mike what he thought of the name for a girl. He actually liked it, and we haven't thought of another girl name since. In fact we started calling the baby this name, and it seems to have stuck. Pretty similar to how we named Liam too! We are really liking the name Rowan...it is a unique name, but its familiar enough that it makes the top 1000 SSA list. In fact it was ranked 469 in 2008. Anyway, we reserve the right to change the name right up until we write it on the birth certificate, but for now that is what we will be calling her.

comment by Kellie on 09/16/2009
Hi, I am new to your blog. I stummbled upon it searching the web. I found it so interesting because I too have a little one named Liam and I am currently pregnant (with a little boy) that we have named Rowan!! What are the odds I thought!! 
Well, Congrats on your pregnancy!! Have a good day.

Liam is 19 Months

Liam is 19 Months now.  He still has new words here and there, although it seems he's taking a little break from language and developing new skills.  One of which is climbing out of his playpen!!  We have to be super careful now when we put him in there because he can escape that thing pretty quickly now.  He's not quite at the age that we can take our eyes off of him for a second, so this makes getting things done around the house pretty difficult now.  He can also climb up on the couch with out stepping on anything or getting any help, and he's also working on opening doors, the one with the lever handle! 

 

His attention span is getting longer too.   He can watch a whole episode of Elmo now.  He has a little portable DVD player that he likes to watch while sitting in his chair.  He does like to touch the buttons sometimes, so we tell him not to, and to sit back in his chair.  Most of the time, he will listen.  We are working on this one.  He gets 3 warnings, then it's taken away for a while.  Now that he's starting to understand us a little, we are learning how to discipline him, which is a little weird as first time parents.

 

He has never liked wearing hats since he was a newborn, but he's starting to wear a hat now which is good since it protects him from the sun.  Now we just need to work on the sunglasses!

 

As far as his words go, our favorite new word that he is saying now is 'Bing'.  Dad will take a hair band and fling it in the air toward him and say 'Bing', and Liam just LOVES this, and he will pick the band up and fling it back and say 'Bing'...it is super cute!!

 

I've been teaching him the word 'brother'...we know he will be a great big brother!!