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Thursday, July 10, 2008

33 weeks and Counting!!

Today I'm 33 weeks and counting, seem to be doing well, haven't had ANY bleeding (not even dark spotting) for about 5 days now!!

On the 5th of July we went to the County Fair, it was So wonderful to get out of the house and to spend some time with Kaitlyn, Brian, my brother Gary and his girlfriend. I was all smiles all day!
We are now battling about 100+ temperatures, really tough when you are pregnant, house-bound and don't have air conditioning...but all-in-all I'm really feeling great and so happy to be 33 weeks. For some reason 33 weeks seems so much better to me. At the longest I'll have 4 more weeks to go, but I think it's likely they want me to deliver at 36 weeks. That's only 3 weeks away! wowee, I don't feel ready for the little guy to come yet!
Doctor (high-risk) doc visit tomorow, so maybe we'll have a plan at that point. and will get to find out how much the little guy weighs. I'm looking forward to it, and am going to drive for the first time since hospitalized....really looking forward to that too!
My sister-in-law (back east) is due to go into labor any day now, with her 2nd little girl! Wish for everything to go well for her!
I just realized that my blog is nearing 1/4 of a million visits since it's inception! woweee! That's crazy.

Kaitlyn enjoying the car ride at the Fair

Mom, Brother Gary and his girlfriend Jayme. Not sure how much fun they had pushing me and a toddler around!

The McCarthys in front of the cows

Kaitlyn was a bit small to go on the swings with dad, you can hardly see her behind him she's so tiny. When she stood in front of the height line, she stood on her tippy-toes (without dad even asking her) it was very cute.

Dad and Kaitlyn on the Merry-go-round (no rides for mom)
Kaitlyn petting a baby cow

Gary, Jayme in front of the ferris-wheel, waiting for fireworks to start (note the wheel-chair behind them!) I was sitting/laying on the blanket
Some of Kaitlyn's "weird" behavior, for about 45 minutes she stuffed hay and whatever else she could collect into the windows of her car. 45 minutes. At least she did answer to her name when I spoke to her, but this is some of the "strange" behavior I mentioned in my last post.
Kaitlyn was VERY afraid during the fireworks, as sad as I was for her, I think this was literally the very first time she clung on to me for anything. She gripped my shirt and had her head in my chest. She did watch withe fireworks with one eye, and the other burrowed in me. She did quite well all things considered, we were very close to the show and it was loud. Now she talks about it, "pretty, scary fireworks; stars with lots of colors"

14 comments:

Kate's Mom said...

Hi~ I found your blog a few weeks ago and have read the WHOLE thing! I just had to let you know that my daughter (10 months) also loves strings and hair. She pulls our Lab's hair to eat it all the time (kinda gross). I just wanted to let you know your kid isn't the only oneto do that! Take Care.

Sarah said...

I'm sooo glad you had a good time!

Cristi said...

WOW 33 Weeks! Congratulations! I bet he is about over 4 pounds by now. Praying for you from Louisiana. Cristi

Shannon said...

Hi Liz,
Congrats on the 33 weeks. That's very good. I know you are so happy. The pics of Kaitlyn are sweet. Glad ya'll had a good time.
-Shannon in HOT Austin (101 today)

L I S A said...

Liz - congrats on 33 weeks! My goal was 32 weeks with the twins and I considered anything after - icing. Your wheelchair brought back memories. Have you tried shopping at Target in their motorized wheel chair? If not, you should take advantage of that. Thinking of you.

lisa

Anonymous said...

Hi Liz.
I would like to reassure you about your daughter's behavior, at least regarding this post. I don't see anything strange in her stuffing hay in her car. My daughter likes to collect stones (I find them everywhere at home) and pine needles, sometimes dirt too. Toddlers don't know the monetary value of things, or what's a 'toy' or not. Everything is a toy and is interesting, and if something has peculiar physical properties it's even more valuable to them! Also, my daughter is usually scared of sudden or loud noises. But she is outgrowing it slowly. For example, she now let's me dry her hair with a dryer on the MIN setting, even though it still scares her a bit. She can tolerate the noise of a blender (she doesn't cry any more) but she appreciates it if i warn her before I use it, so that she can leave the room. I notice different but similar quirks, more or less, in all of Julia's friends...children are supposed to be like that, just wait for the imaginary friends to 'show up'! Good luck with your pregnancy, it looks like you are doing great. Anna

Kristina said...

Awesome, awesome, awesome! I'm so glad you're feeling positive and everything seems to be going well!

P.S. I agree that Kaitlyn's behavior is pretty normal.

edbteach said...

Congrats on making it to 33 weeks! The pictures are really cute too.

As for the loud noises, my 5 1/2 year old still doesn't like loud noises. He also collects rocks. I find them in his pockets everyday he plays on the playground. On the other hand, if you still feel something isn't right about Kaitlyn's behavior (mother's intuition and all that!) please check into now. As I am sure you are well aware, early therapy is the best for these issues. (you may have posted about this already and I just can't remember and I know you have tons of experience with the feeding therapy) I am a teacher and I have seen therapy work WONDERS for kids with all kinds of disorders - the earlier the better usually.

liz.mccarthy said...

I'm not worried about the fireworks, I think her response was completely normal, it's the spending 45 minutes focused entirely on stuffing hay into her car and other just sort of basic behavior. I've recently been around a few 2 1/2 year olds and they are very, very different than Miss Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn already sees an OT weekly for her SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder) but to be honest, it's really more like playing, she goes to an Easter Seals Play group, has an Easter Seals teacher come to the house, and has a speech/oral/motor therapist (4 days a week of therapy).

Her OT defintiely sees signs of SPD, I just wish there was more I could do to help her....

Kellars Mommy said...

Love all the pics, wow 33 wks already, not to much longer!!! I too wish I didn't worry about Kellar not being like other 2 year olds, it's hard at times when the differences are slapping you in the face. We didn't even attempt a firework show this year, we did last year but he was much smaller and we only watched maybe 3 go off, but his disliking of cheering t-ball moms this year made me think that maybe popping of fireworks would not be on his list of favorites..haha..

edbteach said...

Liz, Thank you for your response. I work with a special education teacher. I'll see if there is anything she recommends for suspected SPD.

((((Liz))) Thinking of you!

B, E and C's Mommy said...

Hi Liz,
I found your blog on a friends site and I have been hooked! I also delivered premature twins and our son passed away after 6 months of fighting in the NICU. You are an inspiration to me as we hope to get pregnant again soon and I pray for a "semi fullterm" pregnancy. You are in my prayers.

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to let you know that I don't think the putting straw in her car is all that weird. My kids do that with little rocks or weeds and grass. I think it might she that her fine motor skills are doing very well :) Not sure if she has an issue with them or anything, but I think it's pretty normal for them to do that :) Also, I knew a woman that told me when she was little would eat dirt and chalk and other such odd items, so the hair thing just be one of those "things", too.

Anonymous said...

Liz, I've been reading your blog for quite some time now - my oldest and dearest friend also is the parent of a micro-preemie with a few (resolving, thank God) feeding and vocal cord issues. I am sure that your life with Kaitlyn is challenging at times (I can't imagine how frustrating and frightening her feeding issues must be). However, I think you shouldn't look for trouble everywhere. Kids are weird - they do strange things, like stuffing hay into cars, and they seem to learn from their "weird" activities. I think it is how they learn about the world around them - what happens if I do this... My son was terrified of blenders, coffee grinders, hair clippers, elevators, etc. until he was nearly 4. He was afraid to poop in the toilet until nearly 4 (he pooped in a pull-up after telling us he needed to have a BM). At 18 months he spent tons of time running into our family room wall and falling down, or sitting and softly banging his head against the wall - apparently all perfectly "normal" activities for his age at the time, but at the time we thought - "gosh, is something wrong - what a weird kid." Then we relaxed and spent our evenings laughing at his oddities rather than worrying. Now he's a super smart, funny and outgoing 7 year old (albeit with a somewhat flat head in back). My daughter still has TONS of issues with clothes - are they tight enough, does her sock seam line up in the perfect spot, are her socks tight enough on her ankle or calf, etc. Maddening and weird - yes, but troublesome - no. Kaitlyn clearly has some challenges, but she has professionals watching her closely and they will surely let you know if there is a problem. Until that day arrives (if ever) just laugh at her goofiness and enjoy these young years because they go fast. My kids are 6 & 7 and I can't believe they're already too big to carry in my arms while I shop or walk around the block!