36 Weeks...Baby...Maybe sooner than we expect?

Yesterday marked the beginning of my 36th week! We are in the home stretch. I had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon and I ended up being there longer than I expected. My blood pressure was very high so they made me stay for a non-stress test. They hooked me up to a machine and I had to press a button every time I felt Mason move. They also monitored his heart rate and his movements too. Luckily, ‘we’ passed the test, but going forward, I will need to do the non-stress test at my remaining appointments. I had to do the strep B test. I measured in at 37 weeks (one week ahead of schedule).

My doctor also has concerns about preeclampsia so I have to do a 24 hour urine test (which is definitely no fun). I had to do this with Leah when I was pregnant with her, but it came back negative. Originally, my doctor asked if I wanted to be admitted to the hospital to complete this 24 hour test, but I declined. I have a 2 year old at home! If my test results come back bad (I should know on Wednesday), they may deliver me this week. Yikes! If it is okay, I will still be monitored and I more than likely will have my c-section before my scheduled date (7/30). We’ll just have to wait and see.

I am going to try and hold on as long as I can. I am hoping to make it until at least 7/20. I know Mason needs to ‘cook’ as long as he can! I have so many loose ends to tie up at work! We are pretty much ready at home. His room is all done, my hospital bag is packed, his clothes are all washed and we have just about everything we need. However, there are a few things I am hoping to squeeze in before his arrival. I am supposed to get my hair done (cut and highlighted) this week, because who knows when the next time I’ll be able to get it done! I’d also like to try and get one more mani-pedi before he gets here! We’ll just have to wait and see!

4th of July Festivities

This year the year the 4th of July fell on a Wednesday, right in the middle of the week. Rob and I had taken all of last week off so we weren’t able to take any additional time off at work this week. Luckily, our town was doing their fireworks on the 3rd. After work on Tuesday, we picked Leah up from school and grabbed a quick dinner. Afterwards, we headed over to the Village Hall area where the fireworks were going to be held. We met my sister-in-law Amy and her family and Randy and Lisa and kids for the festivities. They recently built a really nice amphitheater behind the Village Hall and there was a band playing. They also have a nice park. There were a handful of activities for kids too (bounce houses, slides, bubbles, etc.) before the fireworks started. It wasn’t as crowded as I thought it would be. Leah had fun, but it was a little TOO hot for me!

We all brought chairs and blankets to setup to watch the fireworks. We got settled about an hour before they started. Leah was pretty rambunctious and ran around with her cousins. At 9:15 pm the fireworks started and they completely caught Leah off guard and it was downhill from there. The first firework was a series of loud booms and crackles and it startled her. The fireworks were being setoff not far from where we were, so they were big and appeared to be super close. Leah cried the whole time and kept telling me it was “too much” for her and she wanted to go home. I thought she would have settled down and actually enjoy the show, but she never came out of it. (Last year, she loved the fireworks so I am not sure what her problem was this year). After about 5 minutes, we decided it was time to go. Rob quickly packed up our stuff and I walked Leah back to the car (and she cried the whole way there). She finally calmed down when we got into the car and pulled away. She told me several times that the fireworks were too much for her. As we were driving, we saw several fireworks far off in the distance. Leah said, ”Momma, I like the baby ones. They are cute.” I think they were just too close and “in her face” and she didn’t like it. We’ll see how she is next year!

On the actual 4th of July, we went over to my Aunt’s and cousin’s house for a BBQ. It had to be at least 100 degrees outside and I was one uncomfortable momma. My feet and ankles are horrendously swollen and the heat was pretty unbearable. I spent most of my time in the house! My dad was also over there too. It was too hot for him, he was outside much longer than he should have been. Ever since he got sick, he doesn’t fair well with the heat. Speaking of my dad, he had another doctor’s appointment this week and got the okay to schedule an appointment with the surgeon. The chemo and radiation did help shrink his tumor (which is great news). Hopefully he will be able to have surgery and get the rest of the tumor removed. There was a delay because he developed radiation pneumonia (spotting on his lungs) and the surgeon wouldn’t even see him until this was cleared up. He has been on a heavy duty prescription the past couple of weeks to help get rid of it. We were hoping he could have had the surgery by now, but we’ll have to wait and see when we can get it scheduled. (I am on a tight timeline with the baby coming soon and I’ll feel bad if I can’t be there or do as much for him as I would like). We stayed at my aunt’s house for a few hours and then came home. It was just way too hot outside! Overall, we enjoyed our 4th of July festivities!

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Vacation has come to an end

Our week of vacation has officially come to an end! It was back to work and back reality today! We definitely tried to make the most out of our time off! We finished up the week by taking Leah to Cypress Cove on Thursday. She enjoyed the water and ran around under the different splash areas. After spending time at the park, we left and treated Leah to McDonald's for lunch. She sure loves herself a good happy meal!

Then on Friday, we went to the DuPage Children's Museum. She had a good time there too and was so curious about everything. It turned out to be a rainy morning/afternoon so it was the perfect time to go!

Saturday we headed back to Wisconsin for the day to celebrate Brandon's graduation. He was having a large graduation party at his house. It was definitely a hot day, but Leah had fun eating junk food and running around playing with her cousins.

To wrap up our weekend we met the Potter's, O'Connell's, Shannon's, Dygdon's, Csorba's and Barkus' at the Eyes to the Skies Festival in Lisle. It was fun. We had a great spot in the picnic grove. We setup camp and the kids had a blast running around with each other - all together there were 13 of them! Leah and Jack definitely took a liking to one another and spent most of their time chasing after each other. We didn't stay for fireworks since they didn't start until 9:45 pm - a little too late for the Held's :) considering we had to work today.

This week definitely went by fast, but I am so happy that we got to spend so much time with Leah. Her baby brother will be here before we know it (4 weeks from today) and she won't be the only child anymore! She definitely seems excited. She has been a little more clingy than usual...I think she knows change is coming!!

Mason's Room is Done (practically)

Mason's room is finally done! We've been putting it off, putting it off and next thing you know we are only a couple of weeks before his arrival. We still need to get a few more accessories, but for the most part, his room is complete! It is such a relief and a big item checked off my list! Leah was Daddy's little helper and tried to help wherever she could! Thank you Rob and Leah for getting this done!!

3 Years Ago

Happy Anniversary, Rob! It's been a wonderful three years of marriage! It sure has gone by fast! You are an amazing husband and father!