Uh Oh ...Naming Dilemma Already??

Well, since the ultrasound Tuesday night, we have been running around saying "Jaiden Thomas" this ...and "Jaiden Thomas" that. The name Jaiden had been something we've had "set in stone" for nearly two years now. We had been having a discussion about baby names, and I had told Jaimie that I loved the name Aiden for a boy. Because Jaimie has a personal J-name tradition in his family, he said he liked the name, but it didn't start with a J. ...So we added one and got Jaiden!! Perfect! We also agreed on the spelling, because the first three letters of Jaiden and Jaimie are the same. I like little things like that.

Then, earlier this year, Jaimie's oldest son, James, and his girlfriend, Amy, had their second son. What did they name him? Jaiden (spelled differently tho). I went thru a hissy-fit stage ... pouting around the house and whining, "How could she take our name?!" ...Well, truthfully, they never knew the names we'd had picked out for our kids, so it's not really their fault. But I was being whiney and selfish, so it totally was their fault!! So I made a list of 'alternative' J boy names, but Jaimie pretty much shot the idea down and reassured me that it wouldn't matter what they named their son ... that we could still have our little boy be Jaiden. And so that's what we did.

Buuuuut ...last night when we got up off the couch to head to bed, and Jaimie touched my stomach and said Jaiden (amongst all his little nicknames), he tells me, "You know, I do like the name Jackson." At first, all I hear are the bombs raining down around me ... but then I snap out of it and say, "I've always liked that name too ... I had thought about using it if we ever had more than one boy. You know, it's kind of a homage to my hometown, too? Jacksonville!" And Jaimie goes on to say, "I like the nickname as well -- Jack."

OMG ...what have we gotten ourselves into?? You know how I said in my last post that I was a little disappointed it wasn't a girl? ...Well, at the same time, I was also relieved that we wouldn't have to worry about picking out a middle name just yet!! lol I was happy that our little Jaiden Thomas' name was "set in stone." ...I guess we picked a really weak stone ...'cause it's starting to crack and crumble!!

So now we have to decide if we're going to stick with Jaiden ...or perhaps go with Jackson (and maybe play with spelling on that ...I like Jaxson, Jaimie's not too sure about the whole 'ebonics' X thing). By choosing Jaiden, we'll have two boys in the family only a year apart with that name ...we don't have that problem with Jackson. But Jaiden has been such a long time favorite ...UGH!! Such a tough dilemma ...I love them both!! Why couldn't we just have had twin boys? lol

I've created a poll on the baby's blog. Jaiden v. Jackson. Lemme know what you think. Either way the middle name stays the same ...Thomas, after my late grandfather. <3 Well, at least we have another three months to figure it out!!

Best Day Ever ... So Far!! ^.^

My appointment yesterday went fantastic! Just one quick 'rant' before I start, however.

** Don't let the doctors/nurses fool you!! The drink for the Glucose Screening Test is NOT awful!! It's the "You're not allowed to pee before your ultrasound" that is the true horror!! =D **

Aside from my desperate need to pee when I got to my appointment yesterday and Jaimie not being able to make it for the full ultrasound, my visit to the doctor's office went *very* well!

I went in and Colleen, the ultrasound tech, first checked my cervix and something else ...then she let me pee. Oh, thank you, Colleen!!! lol

She then got started on the baby's anatomy. She told me that she would check out what she had to, then she would show me the baby and answer my questions. However, while she was doing her measurements, I would comment or ask something and she answered everything. Colleen is, by far, the best ultrasound tech we've ever had!! =D

Colleen said that the baby looks great ...everything is measuring well too. =D She looked at the baby's head and brain, stomach and kidneys, heart, and femur. It was really amazing to see the baby's heart beating on the screen!! ^.^ She also checked the placenta and measured the amniotic fluid around the baby.

So a few stats: Colleen measured the baby at being 29 weeks (based on my last period I'm about 27 weeks). The baby is 15 inches long (and I can't remember if she said that was crown to rump or not >< I think being that long, tho, it's probably more a head to toe measurement!) and weighs 2lbs 14 oz ...that's almost 3lbs!! Baby Ohz is in the 77th percentile ...my little over-achiever! ^.^ Based on Colleen's measurements, she put my expected due date up to December 22, 2008!! Maybe we'll have a Christmas baby!

Okay ...so I know you probably skipped all my blabbing for what you really came here for. I know you're all dying to know ... "Did you find out what you're having?!?!?" ...Either that or you're saying to yourself, "Pictures, woman!! Pictures!!" lol

Well, here HE is!!! Our little Baby Ohz -- Jaiden Thomas!!

Since Jaimie was not there, I asked Colleen if she would find out the sex and write it down for me ...I brought an envelope for her to put the 'surprise' in, that way Jaimie and I could open it together. She did one better tho -- she took a picture of Jaiden's 'boy parts' and put all the pictures in the envelope for me. While I was waiting to get my blood drawn for the glucose test, Jaimie came in and I handed him the envelope. He found the picture and smiled. ^.^ Then he got all giddy about getting to buy "boy toys" again. lol

I will say one thing ... I had a slight tinge of disappointment learning we were having a boy. Jaimie also felt that, because 1. he knew how much I wanted a girl first and 2. I know he's wanted a girl too. But I smiled at Jaimie and said, "Well, you know what this means? We just get to try again!" ^.^ He laughed and rolled his eyes ... "You just keep pushing my retirement further and further away!" I am *very* excited to be having a little boy ... and I know my little Jiana will be waiting for her day in the spotlight!! So, for now, my niece Jessica is still the only granddaughter!! =D Enjoy it while you can, Jess!! =D

I will have the rest of the pictures posted on The Adventures of Baby Ohz. Colleen was kind enough to give me seven!! =D I had to get a little 'creative' because I don't have a scanner. I used my (crappy) camera to take pictures of the pictures, then I cropped them down one by one to make 'individuals'. They are still slightly blurry, but not as bad as when I try to zoom in and take them individually. I also added a few labels to certain ones ...those ultrasounds can be rather confusing. I give Colleen a lot of credit for knowing what she's looking for!! =D

So, yay for Jaiden! And yay for a great doctor's appointment!!

Torture

Whoever knew that being told to drink 4 - 5 glasses of water and not pee would be *this* torturous. Okay ...so all the pregnant women who've had to do this! lol

For some reason, I didn't think I'd have to do the full bladder thing for an ultrasound. Boy, was I wrong!! I still have over an hour before my appointment and I have to PEE!!! I even 'cheated' and peed at 2 pm. It's a good thing I did tho or I'd be in even more agony than I already am!

I'm starting to think another reason women look forward to the ultrasound is so that they can pee afterward. The release has seriously got to be just as satisfying as seeing your little baby on the screen! lol

A Little Scare Turned into a Nice Surprise

So, Jaimie and I had a bit of a scare yesterday. When I woke up and went potty, I noticed bright red blood on the toilet paper. I had been having minor cramps since the day before, but had attributed it to "growing pains". I tried not to be too worried, especially since I had been feeling the baby move that morning before getting out of bed, but all I could think of was when we went to the ER in January because I was spotting and found out we'd lost our baby.

I called up my new doctor's office and they had me come in. Jaimie met me at the office and we went in and saw their nurse practitioner, Erica. First thing she did was check for the baby's heartbeat ...this was really Jaimie and I's moment of truth ...we had been thru this awful experience before in the ER. But Erica found it almost immediately and said the heartbeat was good and strong in the upper 150s. That right there relieved *SO* much worry ...but we still didn't know why I was bleeding. My thoughts had gone to either 1. a placental abruption or 2. placenta previa.

Erica then did a quick pelvic exam to see if the problem was with my cervix. It was my cervix ...but not how I'd thought. Erica found the bleeding on the outside of my cervix ...the opening is still nice and closed up tight. However, she wanted to do an ultrasound just to make sure the placenta was where it should be and the baby was swimming around happily. I, of course, jumped for joy on the inside ...an ultrasound!!!! Yay!!!

Luckily, there was a quick opening in the ultrasound tech's schedule for 3 pm, otherwise I would have had to go across the street to the hospital ...and *really* have to relive a horrible experience. Jaimie and I went home for 30 minutes and headed back to the office just before 3 pm. Colleen, our ultrasound tech, didn't seem very happy that we weren't doing a full scan ...she didn't see the point in us having to pay for two scans, since I haven't had a full anatomy scan done. But she did a quick scan anyway, to check the baby and placenta.

And that's when (mostly Jaimie) got to see our little Baby Ohz! Colleen wasn't really explaining anything because (I think) she was in a rush. But when Jaimie asked her, "Is that the baby's spine you keep moving over?", Colleen said yes. =D Jaimie told me later that it looked like something out of Alien. lol Colleen said everything looked A-OK ...my placenta isn't over or near my cervix (it's actually at the top of my uterus) ...and Baby Ohz was curled up in the vertex position.

Then, just before Colleen went to put her wand away, Jaimie asked 'the question'. We had talked about it in the car on the way back to the doctor's office ...and we decided to find out if Baby Ohz is a Jiana or a Jaiden. Colleen started poking and prodding the wand high up in my abdomen ...but it seems Baby Ohz is a lot like his/her Mommy! When my mother went for an ultrasound when she was pregnant with me, I wouldn't get my legs out of the way. Well, neither would Baby Ohz! lol So, Baby Ohz still remains a mystery.

But Jaimie and I cannot tell you how happy we were to know that Baby Ohz is okay and my 'super' cervix is still doing its job. After the ultrasound, we went back with Erica and she did a pap smear and took some swabs to rule out infections. She said that most womens' cervices during pregnancy are 2-3 mm thick ...mine is a 'super' 4.7 mm! lol Then we finished up being poked and prodded and went to the nurses' station to get a sooner-than-Oct 27th-appointment set up.

My next appointment ...today at 4 pm!! I'm going back for the full anatomy ultrasound (wooooot!!!!) and my glucose screening (bleh! lol). Jaimie's going to try to make it for the appointment, but if he's not there, I'm going to ask Colleen to write the baby's sex down on paper (No, Mom, I'm not mailing it to you ...but I will call and tell you the results!! lol), that way we'll still be able to find out together! =D Hopefully, since this is my first (and probably only) *big* ultrasound scan, I'll be able to get lots of pictures! =D So I'll be posting tomorrow the big news. =D Stay tuned!!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

On this day, 88 years ago, Arthur Thomas Schmidt was born in Jersey City, NJ to Adolf and Johanna, who immigrated to this country from Germany. Sixty-one years later, I finally got to meet this wonderful man when I was born into this world by his oldest daughter, Joanne.

Arthur Thomas Schmidt was my grandfather and I cannot explain the depth of emotion that I hold inside of me for this amazing man. So, instead, let me share with you some of who he was and why he means so much to me.

My grandfather grew up in Jersey City and met my grandmother, Gertrude, through his buddy Charlie. At the time, Charlie and my grandfather were enlisted in the Army and were just home on leave. My grandparents decided to write back and forth to each other and from there their relationship budded and grew. Long story short, my grandparents were married in November 1943 and remained so until the day he died.

My grandfather was stationed both in the Yukon and across the Atlantic in Europe during World War II. After the war was over, he came home and worked in places like Kellogg's and the U.S. Postal Service to support his growing family. But no matter how busy he was with work, he always found time to be a father.

My grandparents had and raised five wonderful children, two boys and three girls. My mother is the oldest girl, like myself. When my mother learned she was pregnant with me, my grandparents were very loving and supportive of her. Both she and I were very blessed to have them in our lives, especially when my mother was transferred from New Jersey to Florida with her job. They were retired and decided to come to Florida with my mother and I ...so I was privileged enough to grow up in a house with my grandparents and my mother.


My grandfather was my first male role model. I credit him for nurturing my sense of humor among many other things. He was always patient and loving with me, and let me do things he probably would not have let anyone else do (like be his hairstylist [see below]). We would watch baseball together and he would always help me understand what was going on in the game. Whenever we would watch National Geographic, he would joke that "There you are, Jess," when the monkeys would be on ...so I would point him out when the baboon was shown. I would help him put together his 1000 piece puzzles (well, I tried, at least! lol) and he taught me how to play Gin Rummy (not to mention 52-card pick-up! ^.^). When needed, my grandfather could be strict with me, but he was always loving and kind.


In him, I learned about the characteristics of the man I wanted to be with one day. I truly feel in my heart that he left me a path that led me here to Nebraska and to Jaimie. After my grandfather died in February 1997, my grandmother, mother, and I know that he watches over us. Whenever we see a butterfly, it is our way of knowing that he is with us. When I met Jaimie, he told me he lived in a small town south of Omaha. The name of that town: Papillion, which means 'butterfly' in French.

Since the start of this pregnancy, I have worn a small butterfly necklace as a way of reminding me that Grandpa is with me and is looking out for me and the great-grandchild he will never get to meet in person. I do wish that he was still here and could see this little baby for himself ... and that my children could grow up knowing this wonderful man who played such a special role in my life. But, instead, he will watch over and protect us all ...and I will get the privilege of telling our children about who he was and what he did for me.

So, Happy Birthday Grandpa!! I love and miss you with all my heart. <3

What else haven't you told me??

So I knew a lot of the basic symptoms I would experience during pregnancy -- morning sickness, weight gain, water retention, back pain, fatigue, etc. What I didn't really know a lot about I read in pregnancy books -- headaches, my hair not falling out, and a couple others.

What I didn't know was that I would experience a symptom not in my previous knowledge base or in any of my books. But it's something that occurs in many women during pregnancy.

So here it is ... something 'they' never told me! ...My hands frequently fall asleep at night to the point that it wakes me up and my hands are numb and tingly. I don't sleep on them, and really, it's mostly my right hand that this happens to ... because when laying on my left side, I have a tendency to curl my hand around Jaimie's or underneath my chin, which bends my wrist and apparently cuts off my already stressed-out circulatory system.

I've always had a 'weird' circulatory system ...my feet have always fallen asleep faster than most peoples' ...and I have experienced times when, after sleeping on my hand, it has fallen asleep. But never have I had a hand fall asleep just by having it bent!

Many women get Carpel Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) during pregnancy because of the increase of fluids pumping thru our bodies that puts pressure on the nerves in our wrists. So far, my wrists do not hurt ...so I don't think my hand tinglies can be completely diagnosed as CTS. Hopefully, it won't get that bad either!

So Jaimie's new mission, he says, is to wake up throughout the night and make sure my wrists are straight. ^.^ And, actually, I only had one incident last night where I was woken by a tingly, numb hand. So he must be doing a good job! =D

Well, to all women out there, don't let anyone tell you that your hands falling asleep is not a symptom of pregnancy! I am here to attest to this little known, but fairly common, pregnancy malady! ^.^;

Today's Doctor Visit

Well, I didn't actually see the doctor today. This was my OB new patient work-up appointment. I went in, filled out paperwork, then the nurse took me back and got my weight and blood pressure (which she said was great! No yucky preeclampsia worries yet!), and then she asked me mostly the same questions I had already filled out for her paperwork. =D lol She gave me a freebie bag with information on pregnancy and also some samples of formula. Then I peed in a cup for her and lastly I had my blood drawn (bleh! needles...).

I made another appointment before I left, and hopefully I'll be approved for Medicaid by then. The receptionist told me, however, that if I was declined, the clinic has a financial aid form that I can fill out and apply for if I am declined. That was very nice of her to let me know that! =D So my next official see-the-doctor appointment is October 27th. A month away! lol ...I'll be over 7 months by then. My doctor won't have a lot of work to do before I pop! =D

Otherwise, just dealing with 'Revenge of the Cankles.' I think that because of my accident on Thursday, since I haven't been able to move my ankles and toes normally, my circulation got all funky and helped fuel the return of the cankles. ; ; To me, they're alot worse than the first occurance earlier this month ... I actually press my finger into the top of my foot and it leaves a crater! Bleh! These are not my feet ...maybe it's a good thing I can't see them as well! =D

So that's all for now. Time for lunch! =D

One of my worst fears come true ...

**** First off, so no one worries too much ...Baby Ohz is doing fine. This post is not about him/her. ****

Jaimie and I live in a raised ranch style home. Our main floor is where we have our living space -- bedrooms, kitchen, living room, bathrooms, etc. The bottom floor, or basement, is where I have my daycare space set up, as well as our laundry room and garage. A staircase in the kitchen leads down to the lower floor from the main floor.
Since I moved here over a year ago, one of my biggest fears has been falling down our stairs. Usually the only time I'm worried is if I have to carry something down the stairs ...and I frequently haul my laundry basket up and down these stairs. So I worry a lot.

So, after using these stairs thousands of times, carrying laundry up and down, it finally happened. Thankfully not to the extreme that I always feared ...but it was enough to scare the living crap outta me. As I got to the bottom of the stairs carrying a basket full of clothes, I missed that last step at the bottom. As I look back on it, I kind of amuse myself because in that split second when my foot missed, I thought to myself, "Duh, stupid, you still had one more step."

I can't tell you exactly what I did after that. I can't remember if I dropped the basket as I fell to the floor or if I got to the bottom, dropped the basket on my own and then dropped myself to the floor as pain started to radiate from my ankles. I can tell you I missed the step ...and I can tell you I was on the floor cursing ...but if you ask me about the fall itself, I have no clue.

By missing that step, I twisted both my ankles really bad. They *hurt* like nobody's business. Thankfully, Jaimie had called me about 10 minutes before I went down the stairs to say he was really close to home and on his way. So I was only at the bottom of the stairs for about 30 seconds before he came thru the door. Obviously this was not what he was expecting when he got home ... and after the day(s) we've had lately, this one was just icing on the cake.

Again, to reassure everyone ...Baby Ohz is perfectly fine. Thankfully, I fell from where I did and not higher up on the stairs. *That* would definitely have been bad. The only thing injured on me is my ankles. They haven't swollen (at least not that I noticed), but my pinky toe on my left foot is bruised. Last night, I had to limp because my right foot was hurting more than my left ...but today it is the opposite. I've taken acetaminophen to ease the pain, but ended up waking up at 4:30ish this morning because the meds wore off. Boy, did my ankles hurt. And here I thought I'd be hobbling around from being pregnant before I ever had to hobble around for anything else!

And, as an added note, when I had my weekly Wednesday conversation with my Mom, we talked about me carrying laundry up and down the stairs. She had said if it were her, she'd just throw the basket down the stairs and pick it up at the bottom. Jaimie has now restricted me from basket carrying on the stairs, so I'm going to have to go with Mom's method if I want to get my laundry done. =D