Pregnancy Update: Banana Baby

Pregnancy Update: Size of a Banana

• How far? 19 weeks, 1 days
• Bump? Can’t miss it
• Weight Gain? Still -6 pounds… mostly due to gastritis, BUT this is number SUPER confusing to me since I am nowhere near being able to wear regular clothes
• Belly Button? In
• Blood Pressure? 118/82
• Maternity Clothes? You bet!
• Baby’s Heart Rate? 152 bpm
• Movement? Yep! He’s a kicker (luckily for me, he’s still little enough that it’s painless)
• Cravings? Pineapple, milk, juice
• Aversions? Red Beans & Rice, Sausage, Bacon
• Symptoms? Some heartburn, acne, EXHAUSTION, hips getting a little achy, forgetfulness, bleeding gums
• Sleep? Not sleeping too well… Hard time falling asleep, I keep waking up, never really feel rested
• Gender? Most definitely a boy!
• Name? Declen Miles Thomas
• Best Moment? Seeing Declen on the ultrasound today
• Doctor Report? Baby Declen is looking great! He’s measuring right on target and all parts are present and accounted for. His neural tube is closed and his spine looks great! He is head down and facing forward. My blood pressure it doing great! I was “diagnosed” (I have no idea if that’s the right word) with having a grade III Partial Placenta Praevia 
• Pictures?
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  Profile (He's looking UP with head middle right and body on the left)

    
  
  
• Video? Okay, so it's pretty obvious that this video was taken toward the end of ultrasound.... poor buddy had been punched/prodded/etc so now he's all over the place.... BUT it's fun to see him move around :)

His Birthday

27 years

27 years ago, God already had a plan for him

27 years ago, I was a toddler and God had a plan for me

27 years ago, two families’ lives were changed forever, though only one family knew it
27 years ago, my family lived in Alabama while his family lived in London

27 years ago, there was love, there was pain, there was prayer, and there was a plan

27 years ago, a beautiful, healthy baby boy was born into this world, a child of the one true God

27 years ago, God already knew his name, his future, and every hair on his head

27 years ago, was July 24, 1986

27 years ago, Keith was born

27 years later, that baby boy is now a daddy, a husband, a brother, a son, a child of God

27 years later, I could not be more grateful to God for the incredible man he created and planned for me to share life with!

Keith,

Thank you for being such a wonderful, Godly husband! I am so grateful for everyday I get to share with you! You are an awesome spiritual leader to me and our kids. You are so patient, loving, generous, and committed. You set an incredible example for our family, and bless each one of us in ways you may not even realize. I love you so much!

really old picture but I love this 

17 months

Brayden is 17 months old today. 

He weighs approximately 18 pounds, wears size 12 month clothes, and I completely forgot how tall he is… Mom of the year right here!

Brayden is becoming SUPER talkative and babbles almost constantly… though he actually says only a handful of recognizable words… BUT over the past couple of days, he has really begun repeating words he hears us say. He is such a happy and content child!

His favorites: being independent, his stuffed lion (given to him by his Papa), dogs (and barking like them), Cali (our cat), giving kisses, Landen (and anything Landen does), water play (outside, inside, sink, shower, tub, toilet… whatever), emptying drawers/cabinets, climbing on everything, singing, books, dancing, cheerios, crackers, the litter box, his bottle (we almost got rid of it altogether, but then he got sick), most anything he can make noise with, trashcans, sleeping ON mommy’s face, and bananas

His LEAST favorites: closed doors/gates, mommy or daddy leaving the room, nebulizers, vacuum cleaner, being told “no”, being restrained/confined, and being fed by someone other than himself

I cannot imagine my life without this precious child. He is so adventurous, fearless, independent, funny, intelligent, sweet, and sensitive.

~~ In other news ~~

• Brayden’s bronchiolitis is MUCH better!! He’s gone 2 full days without needing a breathing treatment! We are keeping him out of daycare for a while to help him rebuild his immune system
• Keith had to get stitches Saturday for inadvertently attempting to amputate his big toe… complements of a hammer, an old dilapidated lawn chair, and his flip-flop… he’s fine now (stitches can come out in a week)
• Landen had a fever on Sunday that was 105.8*F and went to the ER, after already having been to Children’s After Hours Clinic… apparently he has a virus
• We have decided to name Baby # 3: Declen Miles Thomas. Declen (a variation of Declan means Prayerful man)

7 Eleven

So many things have changed, grown, blossomed, and occurred over the course of the last 4 years.

We: (In no particular order)

• got married
• learned how to pray with and for each other
• have been pregnant 3 times
• graduated from undergrad (neither of us were on the 4 year plan)
• moved 3 times
• owned 5 different cars
• started (and almost completed) Physical Therapy School (Keith)
• changed churches (though we ADORE both)
• survived some SERIOUSLY trying times
• have grown tremendously in our Faith and Hope in the Lord
• have seen our love has change, mature, and deepen like we could never have imagined
• made some TONS of mistakes
• learned to work through disagreements and stubbornness
• faced death: Keith’s Grandma Shirley, my Aunt Sara, and my cat (Gus)
• learned about priorities
• survived a couple kitchen/grease fires
• learned to budget and balance finances (as a couple/family)
• became parents
• are blessed in every aspect of our lives and have honestly witnessed that God ALWAYS provides
• have lived a total of 3 years without television (3 years and counting)
• learned through several attempts, that NEITHER of us can build (or sustain) a fire (in the fire place)
• destroyed clothes, phones, sheets, haircuts, shoes, dishes, a dvd/vcr, glasses, some plants, a hair straightener, hair dryers, dinners, lamps, toys, a fan, a car, chairs, umbrellas, and so much more, BUT learned to repair chairs, glasses, clothes, shoes, toilets, door knobs, toys, lamps, an attic door, carpet stains, seat belts, etc.
• learned how to cut hair on adults and children 
• laughed with and at each other
• cried with each other
• overcame kidney stones, cysts, swine flu, regular flu, pre-eclampsia, colds, bronchitis, bronchiolitis, stomach bugs, snot, strep, poop, migraines, immunizations & reactions, pink eye, mastoiditis, eczema, slap cheek (5^th Disease), diaper rashes, thrush, reflux, colic, RSV, allergies, surgeries, and hospitalizations
• Made new friendships and rekindled some old ones

I knew that I loved Keith when I married him. I knew that God brought us together. What I DIDN'T know was what an incredible blessing he is in my life and how much more I would/could love him now! I couldn't have asked for a better husband, daddy, friend, or partner! 

Kid conversations

More love: 

Me (to Landen): "You know what?"
Landen: "Yes"
Me: "You do? What?"
Landen: "I love you"
Me: "Aww, buddy I love you, too!"
Landen: "I love you more"
Me: "I love you more"
Landen: "NO! I love YOU more... and daddy, and Cali (our cat)..."
Me: "and Brother?"
Landen: "Yep! I love Brayden"

Gold digger:

Me (to Landen): "Landen, don't pick your nose"
Landen: "I has boogers"
Me: "Yeah, that's gross"
Landen: "Brother has boogers, now"
Me: "What?"
Landen: "Brother has my boogers!"
Me: "Did you give your boogers to brother?"
Landen: "Yes"
Me: "Landen! That's yucky! Boogers have germs!"
Landen: (gasps with shock) "Oh! I sorry, mommy!"

Jesus in my tummy:

Keith: (singing)
Landen: "What your singing?"
Keith: "I'm singing to Jesus"
Landen: (looking around) "He's not here"
Keith: "He's in my heart, just like baby brother is in mommy's tummy; you can't see him but he's there. WIth Jesus in our hearts, we can ask him to help us and he will!"
Landen: "Oh." (long pause) "My heart is in my tummy and Jesus is in my heart!"

Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy!

We learned this past week that baby #3 is a BOY!

I was certain this one was going to be a girl… partially because Landen was certain it was a girl and because I am easily persuaded by my 3 year old, apparently.

Landen: 3 years

No longer seems to care about snuggling with Curious George at bedtime… he is OBSESSED with a stuffed 3.5 inch tall stuffed reindeer with a gimp antler (thrown to us during a Christmas parade). He LOVES it! It doesn’t have any special name; Landen just calls it his reindeer. Keith and I seriously hate that stupid reindeer because it is SO SMALL. It gets lost multiple times each day and the Where’s Waldo skills of a 3 year old are pretty useless, so we are regularly on the floor searching for this toy – his nose has fallen off, it's shirt unraveled, and his right felt antler is rapidly being stretched & twisted leading me to believe that in the VERY near future we are going to have a shirtless brown unicorn without a since of smell. It’s not that we have a shortage of stuffed animals… we have plenty to choose from… so why the trashy reindeer became the favorite is completely beyond me.

Landen LOVES Brayden. Landen will hold his hand and walk him around to help Brayden find his cup. He’ll “read” to Brayden, sing to him, tell him “It’s okay brudder,” share his food with him, give him hugs & kisses, and even share his toys without being told (on occasion). They really are precious together!

Landen still doesn’t like the vacuum cleaner, but when he knows it’s about to turn on, Landen will get out HIS vacuum cleaner (the FisherPriceLawnmower) and help! Landen loves wrestling with Daddy and Brother (modified). He talks to “Silly,” the baby in mommy’s tummy and LOVES for me to read him stories. Landen’s imagination has really grown lately and we will overhear him talking on the “phone,” racing his cars and declaring the winner, pretending there’s a big green giant, and other really silly things.

When Keith and I were discussing baby names, we named a few and Landen chimed in, giving us his total disapproval of the names we were discussing, saying “NO! Those aren’t names!” At which point we asked him what HE thought was a good name for baby and he said “Silly!” Fortunately for baby, we are NOT going to name him that.

We have moved on from having to give Landen a Whopper with each trip to the potty. Occasionally he’ll still ask for one, but he goes to the potty on his own accord now! Landen also wanted to help change Brayden’s diaper the other day… that was interesting.

Brayden: 16 months

Brayden is starting to speak with words, REAL words! He can say doggy, woof woof, outside, duck, sunny, no, mommy (the catch all term for “I need something”), cup, ball, tiger, roar, daddy, Landen (though we can only recognize that’s what he’s saying when he is repeating it after us), kitty, etc. He also says sfumny, a lot (a catch all word that is used in any and all situations, therefore we have no clue of its meaning). He also LOVES giving hugs and kisses (to people, animals, toys, books, the door, you name it). He is completely obsessed with books! Though he might only spend 30 seconds per book, if you leave him alone at the book shelf he’ll “read” for 1 – 1.5 hours at a time (and bring you every other book he handles, to let you see a picture or read approximately 5 words of it to him)!

Brayden is into EVERYTHING! He has this ridiculous obsession with the trash can; he really enjoys throwing things away… and digging things back out. Unfortunately, the things he throws away are usually NOT trash and the things he digs out are usually disgusting. When we tell him no, he’ll usually take one more step toward what he wants before giving in to the spoilers of all fun (parents). Periodically, he’ll just flat pretend not to hear anything and proceed as planned, especially if it involves the litter box, trash can, or toilet. As a result of his "into everything-ness" I get a call from daycare at least twice a week, because Brayden has bumped his head on something. Brayden will eat ANYTHING off someone else’s plate, but when he’s full food WILL be thrown… we’re working on that! He is fearless (aside from the vacuum cleaner)! An animal 4 times his size is fair game for him, and should probably beware! I think he may be teething again because he is biting things (and me occasionally) all the time.

Brayden ADORES Landen. He is finally able to really play with his big brother, now. They play cars, chase each other, spray each other with the sprinkler hose, share (to some degree) with each other… it is awesome! They “read” books, cuddle, watch movies, share food, dance, bathe, and sing together!

Baby Bump: 16 weeks

• Bump? Yeah… I haven’t been able to wear regular clothes in a while now, despite losing weight… I make myself feel better by telling myself it’s because this is my 3^rd baby…
• Weight Gain? Lost 6 pounds… gastritis. It’s great for weight loss, I guess…
• Belly Button? In
• Maternity Clothes? Yes
• Movement? Yep! Little flutters and a couple kicks 
• Cravings? Pineapple! I am no longer craving green grapes, but I could eat my weight in pineapples!
• Symptoms? EXTREME fatigue, fibro flare-ups, oily skin & hair, already getting some sciatic pain, stomach pains/lack of appetite (gastritis)
• Blood pressure? 120/74… WOOHOO! So far so good!
• Sleep? I pretty much want to sleep all the time, though I never really feel rested…
• Gender? BOY
• Heartrate? 140s
• Best Moment? Seeing this sweet boy on the ultrasound!

He's being shy... hand up at his head looking away

Feet crossed, legs stretched out... confirming gender.