Pregnancy Highlights

17 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 17 Weeks

Size of baby: According to the babycenter.com the baby is 5 inches long and is about the size of a a turnip

Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 5 to 6   lbs depending on the day...and humidity!!

Maternity Clothes: None yet but I think we are getting pretty close

Gender: I am now confused, not sure if BabyE is a boy or a girl!

Movement: YES! BabyE moves ALL the time now, the movements are getting stronger and if the timing was ever right I am pretty sure Brandon would be able to feel those little kicks.

What I miss: Running more, I run 1-2x a week but never more then a mile or two, otherwise my lower back and hips get too unstable feeling, guess its due to the progesterone levels or something

Sleep: I sleep pretty awesome

Symptoms: Just tired (last night I went to bed at 7!!)

Cravings: Baked potatoes, nachos..speaking of I think I will go make some nachos now..yum!

Best Moment this week: Starting to show more, I love being pregnant but sometimes I want to wear a shirt that says I am not chubby, just pregnant

What I am looking forward to: Getting to wear all of my maternity clothes in the upcoming weeks and of course that all important ultrasound...still not going to find out the gender:)

Elias Update

From the time Elias was 18 months or so we have noticed he walks on his toes. Apparently this is really common amongst kids with Sensory Integration Dysfunction and no one really knows why. It could be harmless but with the amount Elias did it, if left untreated it could cause leg development problems and possibly prevent him from walking normally in the future. We took him to see a pediatric orthopedic doctor here in town. He recommended botox for Elias' calf's to weaken the muscle, hard walking casts for a month to prevent his calf's from really working then 6 or more months of braces...uffda! He referred us to a pediatric orthopedic doctor in Fargo and off Elias and I went on Tuesday morning! The Dr. we saw has sensory issues in her family and doesn't necessarily think the botox route is always the best for sensory kids since the underlying issue of why they walk is sensory related and not habit. After consulting with a orthopedist they decided Elias needed braces and because we drove from Grand Forks they squeezed us in over the lunch hour. Elias and I killed some time in Fargo then returned to the Dr. so Elias could get his legs casted. In just three short weeks Elias will be sporting some braces on his legs, so if you see them in all our pictures that is what they are! On a side note Elias is really into puzzles and is up to 60 piece puzzles. Uncle Jordan and I raced to put the one we have together, I did it in 6 min, Jordan in 8 and Elias is about 10 so he is quite the puzzle maker. Here are some pictures of his masterpiece!

Fun Without Daddy

Last weekend Brandon and four of his friends packed up and headed to Ryan and Emily's Wedding in Indiana. The kids and I decided to pass since it was 16 hours in a car, 2 busy days, then 16 more hours in a car to get home. Some other changes in our family to note before I talk about my 4 days as a single mom

1.I recently decided that 1 hour of TV a day is too much, that the kids really don't need to be watching any at all so unless there is a special reason, no more TV for the kids in the Eberhardt household. I should note they still get to watch TV with Grandma because Grandma's house is just fun!

2. After watching Super Size Me about a month ago( 2004 documentary directed by Morgan Spurlock about the dangers and consequences of eating lots of fast food) I have decided no more fast food for the Ebehardts either. If you know us at all you will know how big of a change this is! No driving through for a quick fountain soda, no french fry snack break, no chicken nuggets meals..nothing. Our kids didn't necessarily eat a ton of fast food but I did eat it all the time around them and just having them watch me eat it alot can't be good, plus then they want it. Example: my parents NEVER drank alcohol, it was never in our house, never a part of our live. I don't drink, coincidence I think not.

3. Elias was still recovering from surgery so no hard playing which meant no playgrounds. Plus all 4 days Brandon was gone we were under Heat index warnings where the heat index was reaching 100-115 by afternoon! So 4 days, no crazy play, no outside..uffda!

4. Kellie, Grandma Mim, Uncle Jordan and Daddy were all out of town at the same time so I was really going to be a stay at home single mom for 4 days and nights: 7am to 7:45 pm, breakfast, lunch , dinner and all play and nap times with no breaks or help....wish me good luck here we go!

Much to my great suprise the 4 days were really easy and went by really fast. The kids watched a total of 38 minuets of TV in 4 days. 13 min the first day because I got dinner started so late that they were nipping at my heels in the kitchen and I was worried someone would get hurt. 25 min right before bed on the last night since they had been SO good! They slept better, were less cranky during the day and found new and fun things to play with. Who knew just cutting out the little TV that they were watching would do all that! Jody and Isaiah came over on day 2 and hung out through dinner which was awesome. NEVER underestimate the power of adult conversation. Kellie got back to town on Day 3 and I took a nice hot super long shower. NEVER underestimate the power of being clean. It was a great four days with my babies and I was very happy that I didn't feel overwhelmed or stressed at all during his trip. Here are some pictures of the indoor fun we had!

 Annie working on her counting and ABC skills, she can count to 5 on occasiona and knows her ABC's and recognizes most upper and lower case letters even when out of order!( On a side note she is obsessed with flashcards animals, letters, numbers , anything. I have a really funny video of her doing them. She gets to fox and the way she says it is SO funny!!)

 Elias working on his ABC matching skills. He normally doesn't sit this close I just caught him switching positions.

 Elias working on his colors. We are pretty convinced he is color blind, it runs in the family and he demonstrates some pretty classic signs, but he is 3 so its too soon to tell.

 Annie playing with her piggy bank

Annie and Elias eating some Yummy rice crispi treats we made!

15 weeks

Apparently if you are pregnant and have a blog this is what you do..so here I go!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 15 Weeks

Size of baby: According to the  babycenter.com the baby is 4 inches long and is about the size of a apple

Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 3  lbs

Maternity Clothes: None yet.I love maternity clothes so I can't wait to get to wear them! I can still button and zip  my pants which is weird becuase in my previous two pregnancies I was in maternity clothes by now. I guess that is what wicked morning sickness, two colds and a lot of exercise will do for you( thank you summer!)

Gender: I am totally convined that it is a boy so much that I have bought a few boy clothes and haven't even considered any girls names. I am going to be excited either way, I don't necessarliy want a boy or a girl specifically ,just mothers instinct that this baby is all boy.

Movement: YES! I have felt the baby move two separate times, the first was when I was in the middle of a HUGE McDonalds binge( we will not talk about the 1630 calories I ate that meal :-/ ) The second time was two days later when I was laying down at night.

What I miss: Nothing at all, not sure if you gathered this yet but I.LOVE.BEING.PREGNANT

Sleep: I sleep pretty awesome, with the exception of having to wake up 2-3 times a night to use the bathroom.

Symptoms: Not to many these days, just the occasional headache

Cravings: Not to much, latley baked potates have been on my top list of dinner wants

Best Moment this week:  Starting the second trimester, FEELING BABY MOVE and
 getting some of that energy I lost back!

What I am looking forward to: Feeling the baby move more and the big ultrasound appointment next month. I don't think I want to find out the gender for this baby, something to be said about a suprise!

Downtown

We are always looking for new things to do with the kids on Brandon's days off. This has been a challenge since Elias had his surgery a week ago since he isn't really allowed to do anything to active. We decided to head downtown to take a walk by the river. On the way there I realised I needed to go to Amazing grains so Brandon and the kids walked around the empty town square which they actually enjoyed(oh to be young and easily amused). After amazing grains I stopped in Dakota Harvest and picked up some rolls for dinner and a treat for the kids and the most delicious croissants EVER! We sat and ate our snack then headed down to the river for a nice peaceful walk. The hour and a half we spent down there was so peaceful! It really is the simple things in life!

Having a little snack downtown

These croissants were so good the kids wanted to eat those instead of their cookie

Momma and her girl

Annie decided she had enough of her croissant and wanted that cookie back!

I wish this picture did justice how cute we were! Elias and Annie wanted to be holding hands and they both wanted to hold our hands.

Daddy and his babies

Elias' Surgery

Well the big surgery day finally came on Friday. We knew from the time Elias was an infant that when he turned three he was going to have to have a hydrocelectomy (look it up, it involves male parts so I'm not going to explain it on here).Brandon and I were so nervous!! Elias had tubes in when he was 10 months old but he couldn't walk,talk, he wasn't very active yet and most important he didn't have a incision that he was able to touch. We had to be at same day surgery by 7am and the poor guy wasn't allowed to eat breakfast but he didn't seem to mind. We played in the play area then went back to get all checked in. I was worried how he would handle being in that enviorment with his sensory issues but he did AWESOME!( Guess OT is working!!) After a quick check in and some more play time it was time for the scary stuff to begin. We walked back to the area with the hospital beds and he had to put on a little gown which he wasn't too happy about. We had to wait back there for around 45 min or so but it went by quick. The Drs and nurses all game back to chat with him. He played angry birds on my phone and even played with a Thomas and Friends App I downloaded for him. When it was time for us to separate he didn't make a peep he was such a big boy! The surgery took about 90 min and I got to see him pretty quickly after he woke up. He still had a IV in and was still really groggy from the anesthesia. He was such a sad little looking boy, he would whimper then pass out for a little bit then wake up and cry and pass out. He wanted me to lay with him or be hugging him at all times, poor guy just wanted his mommy. After awhile we were able to take his IV out and force some Tylenol with codeine down so he felt better. After almost 5 hours we were able to come home. Once we got home Elias and I took a "special nap" a nap with Mommy in Mommy's bed. After he woke up he laid on the couch and watched a movie. It was really important for us to keep him as inactive as possible for the first few days which is REALLY had to do with worlds most active 3 year old. He is feeling better 2 days post surgery but he overdoes it on a regular basis. He will be playing with his sister then a few hours later come crying to us holding his"owie" I really really don't like letting the kids watch more then a hour of TV a day but it literally is the only way to keep him down. Brandon jokes that we can detox him of TV after he is healed. This is going to be a long 3weeks!! Here are some cute and sad pictures of my little patient.

Getting ready to head to the hospital

Checking out all the Thomas and Friend Engines before going into surgery

Talking to Daddy before going into surgery

Playing a little angry birds.

Poor sad boy after surgery. He had already had his IV out at this point and had some drugs so he was able to fall asleep for about 30 min. When he woke up he was still in pain but was much more normal then before.

Back at home eating "special toast" aka cinnamon and sugar toast while watching a little TV. It was the first thing he had eaten all day and he ate all three peices!

Happy 4th of July

The 4th this year was hot and humid! I was lucky enough to get to play with the babies outside in the water but poor Brandon was working downtown at the 4th of July festivities in 96 degree, almost 80% humidity weather. The babies and I played out side in the sprinkler and of course the pool for about a hour, we had ice cream then came inside to watch a movie. After a long hot day Annie was too tired to stay awake for the fire works so I stayed home and put her to bed while Brandon, Elias and Uncle Jordan headed downtown to check out the fireworks. Elias LOVED them! Uncle Jordan bought him a glow stick and Brandon had Elias convinced he was shooting the fireworks out of it. They enjoyed some yummy kettle popcorn and just had a great time!

 Elias splashing through the hopscotch

 I love this picture of Annie! I have no idea what she is doing but she sure looks silly

 phew, its HOT!

Splashing in the water on this hot sticky 4th of July

 Look! My glow stick!

Watching the fireworks with Daddy