Extended Update

Well,  it’s been a few days, so I thought I’d offer an extended version of Marcus’ update from a few days ago.

FIRST, THE ULTRASOUND: We had this on Friday and health wise, things look good. They estimated that Babysor weighs about 6 lbs. 6 oz. I thought that sounded pretty big, but the doctor said that those numbers put him in the 62nd percentile, which is totally fine. I read online that babies gain about an ounce a day at this point, a fact I did not discuss with my doctor, but if true, means Babysor would put on 2 pounds exactly between the ultrasound day and my due date, making him 8lbs. 6 oz. — big, but not crazy huge.

Other good things from the ultrasound: They noticed a small kidney blockage at the first ultrasound, something which is very common in boys and which usually resolves on its own at birth. And so this time they saw that the blockage is still very small — just 5 mm. Doctors don’t start worrying about it unless it is 7 mm or bigger. As far as what the blockage means, well, they told me that some babies with really big blockages in utero end up needing surgery to resolve the issue after they are born. In fact, the sonographer herself mentioned to us that her own 3-month old baby was going to need surgery to fix his blockage — but his had measured 20 mm on ultrasound. So, even though the blockage is still there, the sonographer indicated that its small size was good news.

Another tidbit: Babysor has hair! Yes, they could see it on the ultrasound. Little wisps of hair along his scalp. And it was the most beautiful shade of reddish blond! …Just kidding about the color, but they did see hair and pointed it out to us.

But there was one important thing that was not great news. It’s not exactly bad news, but it’s not good news either. Our stubborn Babysor is still hanging out with his head at the top, when he should have been head down for weeks now. I still have lots of amniotic fluid (another piece of good news) which means the baby is still very mobile and so there is a chance he could turn on his own. But if he doesn’t, then the chances I will need a c-section go up a lot. They already have. I really don’t want one because I dread the extended recovery time and the possible complications with possible future pregnancies, but obviously I will do whatever is safest for me and Babysor. Still, if anyone would like to send him some words of encouragement — you know, really lay on the social pressure to flip head down like all the other babies are doing, feel free!

THE STROLLER AND CAR SEAT: We had a 20% off coupon for Babies R Us, and so we went ahead and bought a stroller/car seat set a few weeks ago. As with many of the things I have picked out for baby, this car seat is the #1 safety rated car seat sold in the U.S. I’m not bragging, y’all, I’m just saying that’s why we picked it out! Plus, here are some pics:

Check out the gender neutral color palette! Look how the front wheels pivot in all directions!

The car seat snaps into the stroller, so the stroller is usable even while Babysor is very small.

This is my view peering over the handle of the stroller, so I can see Babysor. That's a lie. This is my view peering over the handle of the stroller while standing on the first step of our stairs. I think I will need platform shoes to actually see the baby clearly when I am pushing the stroller anywhere other than down a flight of stairs. Or, I will just keep to the stairs at all times.

THE HAIRBALL BUMBLEBEE: Sometimes I will email Marcus in the middle of the day to tell him about something amusing that happened during my hours at home, or a trip to Target, or in my brain. As you can imagine, my days at home washing baby clothes and watching HGTV are filled with excitement. But the other day, Marcus was treated to the hairball bumblebee story. I will just copy and paste it here:

I finished my elliptical workout at about 10 AM, right when I was due to check my post-breakfast bloodsugar count. So I sat down on the futon, and was about to start preparing the supplies when I saw a bumble bee hovering under the corner of the coffee table! I screamed and ran out of the room, but oh no! I need my bloodsugar supplies, not to mention my cellphone, which I had also left behind in my mad dash to get out of the room. So I stood in the doorway to see where the bee went. I saw him still hovering in the same spot. How did he get in here? Why does he like the corner of the coffee table so much? I figured that as long as he remained in that same general area, I could probably go around to the other side of the coffee table and quickly grab my monitor and supplies, plus my cellphone, and not get noticed or stung by the bee. So I approached the doorway slowly, and after just getting a step or two into the room, I realized that the bumble bee looked kind of weird… After a moment I realized that it wasn’t a bumble bee at all! It was one of my hairballs, knotted at the center, and dangling from the corner of the coffee table! Still pretty scary, but not dangerous…

For those of you who don’t know, I shed hair like a madman. And this is not the first time that I have mistaken my own hair for something sinister. And before Sam, Clark and Chris start cracking wise, yes, I really do exercise on the elliptical :p It keeps my blood sugar down and my deodorant relevant.

OTHER UPDATES:

1. Marcus has a bad cold. I hope I don’t get sick.

2. One of the scars from my 2007 gall bladder surgery, once deeply hidden in the wrinkled recesses of my belly button, is now located outside of my bellybutton. I wonder what’s going to pop out of my bellybutton next. An old m&m, maybe? A fish hook?

3. Dreyer’s sugar-free mint chocolate chip ice cream, a recent discovery, has made gestational diabetes infinitely more tolerable.

4. I THINK WE’VE DECIDED ON A FIRST NAME FOR THE BABY.

19 comments

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    • Dad on August 24, 2010 at 5:07 am

    Got it! Traumatic events (like bees) lead to inspiration, creativity and discovery (i.e. CM eyeball IQ test). So, the name is BUZZ for the baby! Right? GREAT NAME!

    • Megan Watkins on August 24, 2010 at 7:56 am

    If you like the Dreyers Sugar Free ice cream, you will love the Skinny Cow ice cream. YUM YUM!!

    • Clark Morgan on August 24, 2010 at 8:31 am

    What’s this business about future pregnancies. Have you learned nothing?

    • Shona on August 24, 2010 at 11:22 am
      Author

    Ask me in a year, Clark 🙂

    • Shona on August 24, 2010 at 11:23 am
      Author

    You nailed it, Dad. Buzz Sorensen.

    Not too bad as a nickname, actually!

    • Sam on August 24, 2010 at 3:10 pm

    I thought bumblebee was a cute nickname. As far as the head up/down thing. Check online and/or with your doctor. There are excercises you can do to promote a change in position.

    • mom on August 24, 2010 at 5:33 pm

    so, what’s the baby’s name???

    • Tricia on August 24, 2010 at 9:37 pm

    I can’t believe you say you have a name and then thats it…. what kind of people are you!!! Just Kidding! Just so you know Shona… I’ve had 2 c-sections with both boys. Cooper was 8lbs 10oz and couldn’t “fit” down. Porter was only 7lbs 6oz, but because I have had one c-section and read and heard to many scary stories of v-bacs, we as a couple decided it was safest to do another c-section. Yes, the recovery is harder, but you can do it! Jed actually prefers the c-sections… then he doesn’t have to deal with the screaming and yelling like the real labor. We go in and I just cry a lot afterwards, but the baby is already here by then. Just so you know there is good’s to a c-section also;) Hope all goes well and if you have any questions.. feel free to ask away! LOVES Tricia

    • Marcus on August 24, 2010 at 10:33 pm

    We’re keeping the name secret, it will be a surprise!

    • Shona on August 24, 2010 at 10:45 pm
      Author

    Tricia, we’re the kind of people who like to torture friends and family 🙂 But thanks for sharing your c-section experience. I guess my main worry is possibly being bedridden with a new baby! On the other hand, my mom will be here to wait on me and the baby hand and foot for as long as we need, right Mom?… Right?

    Oh, and I think I’ll still scream even if I have a c-section; it’ll give Marcus a good story to tell, and keep the doctor on his toes.

    • Marcus on August 24, 2010 at 10:47 pm

    Just keep the hairballs out of the room… no more screams

    • Shona on August 24, 2010 at 10:59 pm
      Author

    Sam, I haven’t asked the doctor about it yet, but I did read about some exercises online. Most of them involve getting into strange positions and holding them for 15-20 minutes. I’ve tried a few but have yet to find one that did not kill my back after five minutes. However, I was just reading a message board today where a woman commented that her midwife recommended applying cold to the location of the baby’s head, suggesting that it will be uncomfortable enough that the baby will actually turn his head away from it, hopefully in a downward direction. Sounds like hard science to me! So my next step will be to sit still for 15 minutes while Marcus smears ice cream across the top of my abdomen… that is, unless my doctor has a better suggestion (but how could he?)

    • Megan Watkins on August 25, 2010 at 11:09 am

    And you will have me and my mom there to wait on you hand and foot!! So if you do have a c-section you will have plenty of “slaves” :).

    • Marcus on August 26, 2010 at 6:13 pm

    Yay! I won’t have to do a thing! Maybe I should book a vacation…

      • Shona on August 26, 2010 at 8:33 pm
        Author

      You’re not going anywhere! 🙂

    • Megan Watkins on August 27, 2010 at 7:26 am

    I think you will deserve a vacation, I don’t care what my brother says!!! As if we needed another excuse to eat ice cream but that sounds like a good idea. That way it serves a double purpose and you don’t feel quite as guilty when you lick it off 🙂

    • Kellie on August 27, 2010 at 3:43 pm

    This hairbee incident does not surprise me one bit. I seem to recall seeing your hairbrush on your bathroom counter in a photo once. It was terrifying. I’m glad you’ve changed your ways! 😉

    • Shona on August 27, 2010 at 5:48 pm
      Author

    Megan, I doubt I could lick ice cream off of my own abdomen, but maybe I could use a spoon 🙂

    Kellie, yes, I distinctly remember years ago you expressing an unreasonable amount of digust upon seeing my hairy hairbrush! And I haven’t changed my ways! But I do shed a little less, now that I am pregnant (an interesting side effect), hairball bumblebees notwithstanding 😉

    • mom on August 28, 2010 at 5:55 pm

    Marcus, you know how I hate secrets…..sheer torture!!

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