sayings & names

Just over the past week or so, Eden has been adding some new sayings to her regular conversations:

• Holy cow!
• I think that might have to wait til another day. [Her comment after saying she missed us and then Granddaddy started to list all of the fun things they were going to do this past week.]
• A'ight = the cajun version of all right
• That's really cool.

She also came up with three names for the baby while she was at CC & Granddaddy's -- Thomas, Bob, and George. Bet you can guess what shows they were watching this week.

bed rest update

Well, today is officially day 11 of bedrest. It has included a roller coaster of emotions for me, thankfully mostly good. I have been checking my blood pressure numerous times every day to get an indication of what affects it, and so far with bed rest it has remained below the 150/90 mark which is cause for concern. I have even had some really great readings @ 118/74 when I've been resting completely for a while.

I am now going to the doctor twice a week (yay for getting outside the house), and they are doing/planning to do an ultrasound every week to watch Bebe's growth. At yesterday's appointment, they estimated Bebe's weight to be 5 lbs 3 oz, which sounds wonderful to me since E was only 4 lbs 15 oz when she was born. Yes, I know the measurements can be off, but going over the 5 lb mark and seeing the indication that Bebe is growing well is music to my ears.

Last weekend, Momma and Daddy joined us to celebrate Easter and more importantly to pick up Eden for their week of fun in Jackson. Reports are that they have a wonderful time with outings to the new children's museum, the library, church, playgrounds, lunch at Chick-fil-A and Up the Creek, a yogurt party upstairs for snack time, races in the front yard, "fishing" with Dora in the swimming pool, driving the golf cart, swimming, starting the day watching PBS Kids in bed, and Eden's first trip to Chuck E. Cheese (she saw a home movie of Whit's third birthday party there at the beginning of the week and as soon as E mentioned it later, her Granddaddy and CC jumped on the chance to head there again). I think there were some attempts at quiet thrown in as well.

Before they left Baton Rouge, Momma and E pampered me with a pedicure. We had originally planned to go to a local salon, but of course those plans were changed.

Eden's finishing touch for my pedicure ...

I still have quite a bit of grading to do to end out the semester. I thought having students turn in papers before I hit the 36 week mark was early enough, but at least I can grade with my feet propped up. I will hit the 36 week mark (the day that Eden was born) on Monday, and next week is the final week of class and the point at which I should have all of my grading done. I'm hopeful, for me and Bebe, that we can make it to the 37 week mark and that I just might get a few days of actual boredom in before this little one arrives. 

Easter Egg Hunt & Brunch

This was the invitation ...

... and this was the party ...

All the kids had a blast. When we opened the doors and released them to the eggs, they ran around picking them up and putting them in baskets. Of course, some decided it was best to open each egg first to see what was in it ... that was Eden's strategy for about half of them anyway.

Several of Eden's good friends were there including Josie and sisters Camille and Caroline ...

... Conner and Keegan...

...and holy cow! A picture with everyone! That was fun, picking up the crawlers...

... and throwing a ball and moving a basket to get the two lone holdouts to participate.

There were several choices of treats including candy, rubber bugs, and stickers ...

... but perhaps the best egg filler were the bandaids. Yep. If you want to know how to make a 3-year-old happy, just fill eggs with band-aides. It did not matter what was on them - she liked Spiderman and Spongebob just the same. I think we counted over a dozen at one point.

After the finding and opening of eggs, the kids found some berry bushes ...

... and got caught by a tickle monster.

Then we took an intimate family picture ...

(band-aides on people other than kids was pretty normal)

We did the hunt this particular weekend because our friends, the West familiy, had come into town for Jennifer's dissertation defense ... yeah! They now live in Jackson, and Eden loves to hang out with Josie. We kind of like Josie's parents, too.

Overall, a great morning. We had more food than you could imagine - all wonderful. And the kids had a BLAST! We are glad to have such a great backyard for things like this and are thankful for the great weather. Little did we know that three days later Ashley would be put on bedrest. Glad we got this shin-dig in before the restrictions started.

big sister class

On Saturday, April 9, we took Eden to the Tyke Hyke class at the hospital where she was made a certified Big Sister.

She learned how to hold a baby ...

... feed the baby a bottle...

Funny story. The instructor was asking all the kids about how babies eat. She asked "Where does a baby cow drink? Where does a baby cat drink?" Eden looked confused. She turned to Ashley who asked Eden where babies drink .... "Boobies," she whispered. We both looked at each other and commented under our breath, "Just ask her the question. She knows!"


... and change the baby.

We also got to take a tour of the hospital, and Eden got to see real babies in the nursery. She did SO well, walking by herself, talking to the instructor, and just being a big girl. Here is her certificate!

Afterword, we shopped at BabiesRus for diapers and other right-after-Bebe-comes supplies. I pushed her around in a stroller while Ashley walked around and got supplies - we had to try out nearly all of them but had a successful trip and walked away with all the neccessities for Bebe's arrival.

Miss Oicha, the baby in my belly

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our family Easter photo

Spring Break & Bedrest

Three years ago during spring break, I was supposed to begin analyzing data for my dissertation. I took a few days off at the beginning of the week to celebrate my birthday, went in for a *normal* OB check-up and was told I wouldn't be going home without a baby. With high blood pressure and pre-e setting in, it was time for us to meet Miss Eden.

This week during LSU's spring break, I was supposed to begin grading 50 final projects for one of my classes. I took a few days off at the beginning of the week to celebrate Easter week with an egg hunt and brunch at our house, "relaxed" and cleaned up the house while E and G were in Mobile, and on Tuesday ended up having to be checked out at the hospital because my blood pressure had started to climb. While I was admitted to the hospital for observation for 24 hours, at least this go round I was sent home to bedrest.

It has been an eerily similar experience. Looking back on things, it seems clear now that the pre-eclampsia set in between my 34 and 36 week appointments with Eden. We just didn't know to be looking for anything at the time and thought the swelling was a normal symptom of pregnancy. This time because of finding out about the MTHFR gene abnormality and the pre-e last time, I have been checking my blood pressure at home for over a month. I hit the 34 week mark on Monday, and I think simply caught the earliest indication of things while checking my bp at home.

Being in the hospital for 24 hours this week and barely moving at all really showed me how much I was doing when I thought I was "taking it easy." Here is what I did on my relaxing day at home on Monday waiting for G and E to get home from Mobile:

• 4 loads of laundry
• cleaned our room and put up clothes
• cleaned out winter maternity clothes from my closet
• organized maternity clothes to return to friends
• made one trip to Wal-Mart
• put up the new lamp in the den
• organized and cleaned out the back cabinets with the new storage bins from Wal-Mart
• sorted through E's artwork from school
• finished our monthly budget
• checked the mail
• rested on the couch for lunch and my snacks

No wonder my legs hurt at the end of the day. I know I have only been on bed rest for 4 days, but it seems like a blessing in disguise. I am able to continue working with my feet propped up with grading projects, etc., and a few gracious colleagues are facilitating my final few classes so that I can remain at home. I know that I am doing everything I can to help this baby grow as long as possible before meeting the world, and I do not have to worry as much about my own health. Being at home, I get to see E and Graham throughout the day and still lie on Eden's bed at night to tell her about her day.

Thankfully, Momma was scheduled to arrive the day after I was released from the hospital, so Eden has been getting plenty of attention and activity. With E going to Jackson for the week tomorrow, I know I will be able to fully rest and work next week. I am feeling really blessed today.

- ashley

playtime

Playtime lately is a combined inside-outside attack. Eden LOVES computer games - we play on pbskids.org, mostly letter games but she also likes to make picture collages and paint (which is one of her favorite noncomputer activities, too).

She also LOVES her new soccer goals.

Score!

The new addition is the kite ... She can hold the string over her head, and it soars for at least 10-15 seconds. The wind is still not strong enough for much flying, but she gets to run around like crazy which is fun to watch.



She also enjoys watching me run around like crazy.

separation anxiety,Volume 1, Issue 4

This post could have easily been titled "The Crib That Rocked Her World" since we think that may have been what spurred E's new round of separation anxiety that started two Sunday mornings ago. Here is the new view that we think is the cause of things ...

We put the crib up on Saturday night. Sunday morning Eden saw it. She did not really say much. She asked to play in it, and all seemed fine. We went to church and dropped her off at Sunday school. I had the joy of taking her to her class with her saying "Mommy. Mommy" in a very sad voice over and over and over. She did not stop when I left her in her room. 20 minutes later the pager buzzed. Ashley went to see what was the matter. Eden had not stopped crying since I dropped her off. We had never been buzzed from the nursery before.

Fast forward to Monday and drop off at school. Again, my joy. She missed Ashley that morning before she even left for work. Needless to say, drop off was not very fun.

She got better ... about Thursday (the last day of her school for the week). Friday, her sitter, Kim, came. The trend continued.

The next week was better, but every so often (at least once per day) she either acts like a baby, cries when Ashley is not around, or does something that reminds us that she is thinking of that crib. Hopefully 7 more weeks is long enough for her to get used to the idea of a new baby ... wishful thinking, perhaps.

.........................................................................
Earlier posts about her separation anxiety

No, Momma - Oct 29, 2009

Separation Anxiety Update, Nov 22, 2009

Separation Anxiety - Vol 1, Issue 3, Feb 2, 2010

peep

The other day Eden was supposed to be sleeping and having her quiet time. She wasn't. I had been in several times already. The last time I went in I told her that she needed to be quiet by saying "I don't want to hear another peep out of you."

She looked at me, smiled, and said "Peep."

It took everything in me not to burst out laughing. I did not ... until I got to my room and burried my head in my pillow.

the way I am

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jumpy thing

When we are inside, Eden loves to jump around, jump around, jump up and get down. To assist in her enjoyment, Ashley constructed a "jumpy thing" (that's Eden's official name for it).

She jumps a few times on the couch then launches herself onto a pile of pillows.

She likes to share the fun with her friends.

 

across the street

When we're not hanging out in the backyard, we go across the street to the big soccer field (though now that Eden has her own goals, we don't go over there much). These are some pics from a few weeks ago, kicking the ball around.

And goofing around.

 

Eden is actually quite good at kicking the ball on the run - we think she's a natural! Bring on the soccer team!