It's a.....

well, what do you think it is?

Everything is going well. The quad screen I took at the end of October came back negative. The doctor couldn't find any indication of any abnormal chromazones. He did say that an ultrasound isn't the perfect way to find anything wrong, but they can be reassuring. He ended by saying, this was a reassuring ultrasound. So...all things point to good :) It's definitely a relief, but I'm still praying for a healthy baby.

The technician, and the doctor, took some 3D or 4D (whatever it's called) pictures - it was so cool! I wasn't expecting it at all. All of a sudden, the picture on the monitor completely changed and there was this yellow baby! It wasn't just a black and white picture, it was a baby! It was absolutely awesome! Here are a few pictures of that. He's hiding behind the placenta.

J.R. and I were talking after the appointment and we realized that we still can't use the name Emma for our child. I thought maybe we could find a name that was a boy version of Emma, or similar to Emma. The first name I thought of was Ernie. J.R.'s exact quote was "Over my dead body". So, of course I said, from now on, I'm calling him Ernie. Well, he has to have a name, right? Right? J.R's response to that was, "Do you really want his name on a Masque sweatshirt to be Ernie? Come on now?" The Masque is the theater group I advise, and when someone is inducted into the club, they are given a Masque name. Ben's is "Jack Bauer" since that's what I called him when he was in-utero. We'll see I guess.

I'm thrilled to be a mom of two boys. It would have been nice to have a girl, but I think in my heart I was hoping for a boy more than I was hoping for a girl. As long as the baby is healthy, I OK with whatever the gender is. I'm blessed to have the opportunity to be a mom again.

Allergy update

Well, first we had a great time in Massachusetts for Thanksgiving. We saw lots of family, went to Edaville Railroad where we rode on a train and saw Christmas lights, and we went to my 20th High School reunion. I'll post more pictures later as I haven't downloaded them to my computer yet.

When we came home, J.R. called the doctor's office and asked about the "D" and "pareve" markings on food labels. We were concerned because even soy milk has the "D" on it, and the pareve marking didn't make sense to us, especially after a good friend of mine (who is Jewish and often cooks kosher) seemed confused by that statement as well (see my previous post...and thanks Maani for being such a good friend and helping me once again to cheer up while I have the baby blues). The doctor said that basically those markings just mean those products are made in a facility that also processes milk. He said not to worry about it; nowadays manufacturers really keep their products very separate from each other. We can give Ben those products, but if he reacts, then we should stop giving them to him (obviously). I'm thrilled because this opens up so much more for us, including the products specifically labeled as being processed in the same facility as milk can be processed. Ah...I'm feeling better.

I'm still a little stressed about it, but I'm very thankful it isn't a gluten or peanut allergy. I think those would be worse! I feel this is minor compared to those, and compared to what some other people can have. I met a student today who is basically allergic to everything outside (grass, ragweed, pollen....)pet dander, I think she said dust, mites and oh....is lactose intolerant. She has to get shots on a regular basis. Thank you, God, for blessing us with a challenge that can easily, by comparison, be overcome.

I'll post pictures of the cuteness that is Ben soon.

Kisses.....

Milk Allergy

It's been a rough weekend for me. We found out on Friday that Ben definitely has a milk allergy. I'm taking it really hard. I know you'll tell me it's not true, but I feel like it's my fault...I carried him for 9 months, I breastfed him, there must be something I did wrong. I wish I knew what it was so that I stop doing it now...I don't want the new baby to have an allergy. (You're also reading words from a hormone crazed pregnant lady - keep that in mind.) Another thing that saddens me is that there is so much he can't have now, that he enjoys eating! It breaks my heart. He eats what we put in front of him, so it's not like he can choose what he wants, so I guess he's not missing anything there. However, there are going to be times where everyone else is eating something he wants but can't have.

This is what it boils down too. Ben still isn't drinking milk (he drinks soy). This summer when we tried to give it to him, he would only throw it up. He also throws up if he eats cheese, although lately, he's had a little cheese and he's been OK. I told his doctor this, and also that daycare says he breaks out when having pineapple or orange juice. She referred us to an allergist. The allergist said even though he's been able to tolerate some milk products, if we continue to give it to him, his body will continue to think he has an allergy. So we need to stop giving him any and his body will, heal I guess, and hopefully he'll grow out of it. Milk allergies are not uncommon in kids, and it can be grown out of. (Oh - and the allergist says Ben has eczema, and when certain things, like syrup, o.j., and pineapple juice, touch his skin, he'll break out.)

So, we are now shopping for milk free products. This is SO hard! Here is the list the doctor gave us...
artificial butter flavor, butter, butter fat, butter oil, buttermilk, casein, caseinates, cheese, cream, cottage cheese, curds, custard, Ghee, Half & Half, lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate, lactoglobulin, milk chocolate, milk (derivative, powder, protein, solid, melted, condensed, evaporated, dry, whole, low-fat, non-fat, skimmed, and goat's milk), nougat, pudding, rennet casein, sour cream, sour cream solids, sour milk solids, whey (in all forms including sweet, delactosed, protein concentrate) & yogurt. Also a "D" on a label next to the kosher "K" or "U" or the word pareve (even though pareve means made without meat or milk, according to Jewish law a food product may contain a small amount of milk product but still be considered pareve - taken from www.foodallergy.org). Other things that may contain milk product are flavoring including caramel, Bavarian cream, coconut cream, brown sugar, butter, natural chocolate (semisweet, sweet), lunch meat, hot dogs, sausages, high protein flour, margarine & Simplesse.

Now do you see how hard it is!?! What do vegans eat? Should I be glad it's a milk allergy and not a gluten allergy? We've found milk in all sorts of things we didn't expect...there is powdered milk in our breadcrumbs, cheese in our tomato sauce, milk products in our mayonnaise and Miracle Whip! Also, all Wal-Mart brand products are made in a facility that also processes milk - so that's out too.

Thanksgiving is going to be tough...my aunt is making carrots and corn without butter. Oh boy! Lot's for Ben to eat...not that it's my aunt's fault. We are just going to have to bring our own food with us when we go places; restaurants are going to be especially hard. I guess it's a good thing we aren't going out to eat a lot lately. No more goldfish at church. No more Ritz crackers at home. Spaghetti only with pizza sauce. I'm worried about a few things, like daycare, but they understand and have the list, and don't have a problem with me bringing in my own food.

It's only been a few days, but we have found a few things he can eat, and few ways to get around it (i.e. the spaghetti with pizza sauce). We'll find more, and I'm going to look for some online support groups to help us, or rather me, through it. Ben seems OK so far, and hopefully he won't miss pizza night.

S/he moves!

Yup, the little one is moving around :) I thought I felt movement yesterday at work, but I thought, "Nah - it's just because I'm reading something right now about baby movements". Then last night, I was lying in bed and my arm was on top of my belly. I thought I felt something move, right through my arm (not kicking my arm, but kinda vibrating through...kinda hard to explain). I took my arm off and thought, "Nah, it wouldn't be a strong enough kick to kick my arm. Must have just been my stomach digesting dinner". Then I waited for a while, and felt it again, really concentrating this time. It was definitely baby. It really is hard to tell because at this stage, it feels more like bubbles or stomach movements or some women even say popcorn. I really thought about it though, and it was definitely baby. I thought about keeping it a secret from J.R., then in a few weeks when the baby is big enough to kick through my stomach, just reaching for his arm and surprising him with a kick. But, he was laying next to me, and I looked over at him and smiled. He looked at me and I could see he was thinking "What's up with her", so I told him, through happy tears, that I felt the baby move.

This makes me feel good in a couple of ways. It feels great because it's just a fun thing, but I'm really nervous right now about the baby's health, so it's reassuring to know he or she is bouncing around in there.

Happy Halloween

I wanted to post some Halloween pictures in my last post, but ran out of time while blogging. So, here is the 2nd part of what I wanted to post before....Ben's 2nd Halloween! While my mom was visiting, she bought this costume for him. Isn't he just the world's cutest cow?!?!!He wasn't real happy when we took the picture - I think we interrupted his playtime or something. I still think he looks cute! I'm not real crazy about the costumes with the heads on top of them, but this costume was just so cute!

At the end of the month, our friends Kelly, Bill, Molly and Ben came to the zoo with us for Boo at the Zoo. We had a great time visiting, especially since we hadn't seen each other for a while. Boo at the Zoo was a trick or treating event at the zoo. There were different candy/snack stations all around the zoo, so Ben went trick or treating for the first time. Although, I do have to say, mom did most of the trick or treating! I tried to get Ben to hold out his bag, but he was more interested in playing with it, so I mostly took his bag and went to the tables myself. Here are some pictures of the day.

Ben and J.R. when we first arrived at the zoo. (I love this picture!!!)

Even though you can't see Ben's face, it's a cute picture of the whole costume. Ben always seems to fall asleep at the zoo.
Me and Ben, my little moo-cow!

Ben really knows a lot of animal sounds, so what made his costume more cute was when we would ask him what a cow says. He'd pucker up his lips and say "oooo". So cute.

Ben can also oink like a pig, roar like a lion/tiger, woof like a dog, quack like a duck, growl like a bear (and show his little claws), baa like a sheep, chomp like an alligator (he moves his hands like an alligator chomping), ooh ooh ah ah like a monkey (while raising his arms up a little and bouncing them) roar like an elephant (and raise his arm like it's the elephant's trunk), meow like a cat, stick his tongue out like a lizard (as previously posted about - check out the video if you haven't seen it), and hiss like a snake. We are trying to get him to neigh like a horse, tweet/chirp like a bird, and today I started working on a turkey gobble and associating it with Happy Thanksgiving. He's identifying quite a few body parts too, and does motions for at least 4 songs that I know of. He's not talking too much, but his signs are coming along pretty well. I can't believe he's 17 months old -he's getting so grown up :)

Fall Festivities

I love the fall; it's probably my favorite season. I love curling up under the blankets at night, wearing sweaters (did you know at one time I had 42 sweaters?) and watching the leaves change color. I find it so much fun to do fall related activities...like fairs, pumpkin patches, Halloween, etc. There was plenty to do during October, so we had a lot of fun. At the beginning of the month, my "yoga" friends and babies all got together at a local arboretum then had a light dinner together. The trip was fun, but it was also great to be with my friends. This was probably the first time the kids had been together since they've all been walking, too. It was so much fun to see them interacting and playing with each other. At the arboretum, we walked through this great train display. There were miniature buildings from around the world, and around the city, all with trains passing them by. Here's a picture of Ben and J.R.

OK - well, maybe later there will be a picture. I guess I don't have those pictures on this computer, so I'll have to update this post later on.

My mom came for a visit mid month. I'm glad she came, we had a great visit. We went to a pumpkin patch and Ben came home with his very own pumpkins. We went on a hayride out to the pumpkin patch, Ben saw chickens, horses, sheep and other farm animals, he went for a wagon ride and just had a fun time. Here are some pictures from that day.

Fightin Phils

Ben waving his rally towel.

Ben and J.R. at a Phillies game.

So the Phillies made it to the World Series!  It's very exciting around here.  I've only lived in Philly for 4 years (10 in PA) but I'm already a fan.  The Red Sox will always be number one in my heart, but it's OK to cheer for a team in the AL and NL, right?  So, my favorite team in the NL is the Philadelphia Phillies!  

Like I said, it's been exciting around here.  It's been 15 years since the Phils have made it this far.  The city is taking a break from it's normal green (Philly is totally a football city) and going red. I'm seeing more and more Phillies t-shirts and jerseys.  Even Ben and I are wearing Phillies gear now.  When the team clinched the NL title last week, J.R. was a little teary eyed.  He's been a fan all his life.  I actually got a little teary eyed when I watched the team disembark their plane from LA.  Yesterday, J.R. and I were dropping my mom off at the airport from a weekend visit, and we decided to take a ride.  We drove around to the side of the airport and saw lots of TV crews.  Come to find out, the team was boarding a plane to Tampa Bay.  So, we parked the car, and joined the 4 or 5 women from Citizens Bank and 1 or 2 other fans and watched.  Three TV stations interviewed us and the Phillies website interviewed J.R. Unfortunately, we watched the 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and 10:00 news, and looked on all the stations' websites and found nothing.  J.R. did make it onto the Phillies website though, so that's cool.  It was a fun experience.  I feel like I had a small part in the celebration, other than cheering in my living room.  

I'm upset the Sox didn't make the Series, but at least its easier now for me to want one team to win over the other. Go Phils!  Beat Tampa Bay!

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